Theme & Key Quotes: Science vs Religion

Theme & Key Quotes: Science vs Religion

Key Theme:

• Science and religion are two critical opposing forces in Stevenson’s ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. The text explores the moral implications of pursuing scientific knowledge and playing god.

Key Quotes:

Dr Jekyll’s Scientific Ambition

• “With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to the truth…” (Chapter 10)
  • This quote shows Dr Jekyll’s ambitious pursuit of scientific knowledge, disregarding moral and religious implications.

Jekyll Playing God

• “I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice. I knew well that I risked death…” (Chapter 10)
  • This shows Dr Jekyll’s fearless approach to science and his resolve to defy the natural order of things - akin to playing god.

Lanyon’s reaction - Religion’s Stand against Science

• “O God!’ I screamed, and ‘O God!’ again and again; for there before my eyes–pale and shaken, and half-fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll!” (Chapter 9)
  • This shows Dr Lanyon’s horror-struck reaction, upon witnessing Jekyll’s transformation into Hyde - a direct result of Jekyll’s reckless scientific exploration, which challenges traditional religious beliefs.

The Consequences

• “And now in my last triumph, I died to a life of moral obligations and arose like a reborn into another life of no boundaries – a terrible life” (Chapter 10)
  • The quote highlights Jekyll’s recognition of the terrible consequences of his scientific pursuits, comparing it with a life beyond moral and religious boundaries.

In the exploration of science vs religion, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ ponders upon the perils of overshadowing morality and religion with unchecked scientific ambition.