... of contrasts and of self- control. Stevenson's novel demonstrates the adverse effects of scientific experimentation on people which bring out both good and evil sides to them. The Victorian era in general also had its own dual personality: the rich and the poor, the saved and the fallen and the worthy and the disgraced. The Victorian era placed high expectations on the respectable classes and dismissed those who did not meet these expectations. Stevenson demonstrates the fact that the pressures existing in high society were so great that many of the rich and respectable lived a double-life of propriety and shame. They went out at night and through dark alleys to experience what went on in the other half of the city. Here, among the dim lit alleyways and under the protection of darkness, the upper class were frequently involved in such illicit activities as gambling, prostitution, brawling, heavy drinking ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now