Science and Religion (Scottish Highers English): Revision Notes

Science and Religion

The theme of science and religion in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde reflects the tensions in Victorian society between scientific progress and Christian faith. Stevenson explores how these two forces shape both individual characters and the wider community, ultimately presenting a warning about the dangers of scientific ambition that challenges religious beliefs.

The Victorian conflict between science and religion

During the Victorian era, science and religion were increasingly at odds. At the start of the nineteenth century, most people accepted the Biblical explanation that the earth was created by God. However, throughout the century, scientists began to challenge this view. They argued that the world was formed through a process of evolution rather than divine creation.

Many Victorians found this scientific view troubling. It suggested that science had the power to create life, which challenged their religious understanding of the world. This tension between faith and scientific discovery forms the backdrop to Jekyll's experiments in the novel.

How Jekyll and Lanyon represent different approaches

Jekyll and Lanyon both work as scientists. Their profession relies on rational methods and hard evidence. However, they live in a Christian society where religious faith remains powerful. Jekyll is fond of religious texts and often calls on God to help him during his ordeal.

The two scientists take very different approaches to their work:

Lanyon's approach:

• Lanyon focuses on the science of the material world
• He keeps science and religion completely separate
• He cannot accept Jekyll's attempts to use scientific research to experiment with spiritual matters

Jekyll's approach:

• Jekyll's scientific work leads "wholly towards the mystic and the transcendental"
• He uses science to explore "that hard law of life, which lies at the root of religion"
• The "hard law" refers to the Christian belief that all humans are sinful
• Jekyll attempts to combine science and religion in his experiments

Religion as a social force in Victorian society

Christianity teaches that everyone is sinful. This belief shapes Jekyll's entire experiment. Hyde was created because Jekyll felt deeply troubled by his sins, even though they were relatively minor. When he was younger, he "regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame." This quotation reveals how Jekyll's religious guilt about perfectly natural desires drove him to take extreme action.

Victorian society placed great emphasis on appearing respectable. Being seen to do good or charitable deeds was considered a sign of moral worth. After Hyde murders Carew, Jekyll becomes "distinguished for religion" for a few months. This phrase shows how Jekyll uses religious activity as a public display to restore his reputation. He is known for doing good deeds, which helps him maintain his respectable image.

The novel uses religious language throughout to remind readers that Jekyll's actions are sinful. Jekyll is described as a "secret sinner" and Hyde is called "the spirit of hell." This language reinforces the Christian framework of the novel and suggests that Jekyll's experiment is fundamentally immoral.

Science portrayed as mysterious and unsettling

Stevenson presents Jekyll's scientific work as both mysterious and disturbing. The transformation itself is hideous to witness. Lanyon finds it sickening, and Jekyll describes his first transformation as provoking "racking pangs", "deadly nausea" and "a horror of the spirit." These physical descriptions emphasise the unnatural nature of what Jekyll has achieved. The violent language suggests that Jekyll's experiment violates the natural order.

Jekyll's cabinet contains curious objects that Utterson and Poole struggle to understand. There are "traces" of chemicals and "various" measures of "some white salt." They notice that the cheval glass has seen "some strange things." Stevenson uses this vague language deliberately. By making the scientific details unclear, he presents science as mysterious and beyond ordinary comprehension. This creates a sense of unease about what Jekyll has been doing.

The destructive power of science

Jekyll's science causes death and destruction throughout the novel. This demonstrates how powerful science can become when it upsets the conventional order of Victorian life. Jekyll himself provides two reasons why he cannot share the full details of his experiment.

First, Jekyll says he will not "deeply" describe his experiment because it caused his evil side to return with a "more awful pressure." This acts as a warning about the power of science. The phrase "more awful pressure" suggests that the scientific process unleashed forces that grew increasingly difficult to control.

Second, Jekyll's experiment was "incomplete." Even Jekyll, a respected scientist, failed to achieve his aims. He could not control the power of the evil he unleashed. This failure is significant because it shows that science, even when conducted by experts, can have unpredictable and catastrophic consequences.

Jekyll's challenge to religious beliefs

The "temptation of a discovery so singular and profound" motivates Jekyll to create Hyde. This quotation reveals that Jekyll is driven by the desire for scientific breakthrough rather than moral improvement. He attempts to change human nature, which Christians understand as God's creation. By trying to separate the good and evil within himself, Jekyll is attempting to redesign what God has made.

Jekyll meddles with human nature for selfish reasons. He does not have good intentions. He wants to enjoy his pleasures without guilt or consequences. This selfish motivation means that Jekyll creates an evil alter ego rather than a good one. His experiment fails because it is not grounded in moral purpose.

Despite this moral failure, Jekyll has still achieved a scientific breakthrough. He repeats the phrase "I was the first..." throughout his statement. This repetition shows how proud he is of his achievement. He begins to think he is "beyond the reach of fate." This phrase reveals Jekyll's dangerous arrogance. He believes that his scientific knowledge has elevated him above normal human limitations and even beyond divine judgment.

The novel makes clear that Jekyll's experiment does not achieve what he intended. Instead of separating into one good and one evil side, Jekyll simply creates an evil side while remaining a mixture of both good and evil himself. Science proves to be a powerful force that even Jekyll, with all his expertise, cannot master.