Essay: Theories of degeneration in Dracula (1897) and Jekyll and Hyde (1885)

The 19th century was classed as an era with many incredible changes; from the increase in secularisation due to Darwin’s theory of ‘evolution’, to technological advancements and inventions such as the telephone, cinema and more. As well as it being a time of anxiety, it was also a time of hope. As well as new inventions, new ideas were being explored – there were new expressions of sexuality, ideas, identity and thought. The end of the 19th century became known as the ‘fin de siècle’ (known as ‘end of the century’.) With this term came pessimism, decadence, aestheticism and degeneration. This essay with look at the ways in which late-nineteenth-century theories of degeneration are permeated in the following novels: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1885).
Degeneration theory is classified as post-Darwinian, and Lankester states, ‘Degeneration may be defined as a gradual change of the structure in which the organism becomes adapted to less varied and less complex conditions of life.’ When adapting this theory into society, they usually focus on the working-class. In addition, it also focuses on other races, aside from white Europeans, being classified as degenerate. Karschay states, ‘‘Degenerates’ were not only perceived as members of an alien ‘race’, but often as monstrous freaks of nature who belied humanity’s claim to evolutionary perfection.’ Certain aspects are also seen as signs of degeneration such as crime, alcohol, prostitution and homosexuality. These aspects are evident in many Fin de Siècle texts.
The portrayal of degeneration is apparent in both novels of Stevenson and Stoker. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde explores the dark side of the unconscious. In the novel, you could state that Dr Jekyll represents the upper class in Victorian society, whereas Mr Hyde represents the lower class or working class. The themes that are explored include good vs. evil, identity and morality. Dr Jekyll’s character seems to be on the edge of morality in the novel – it’s clear to see that Hyde represents Jekyll’s deep unconscious mind. Hyde is described as animal-like, often being called ‘the beast Hyde’. There are qualities of Hyde being like a degenerate criminal in chapter 4, as it states, ‘And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows [..]’ This statement alone shows evidence of criminality and evolutionary aspects in regard to ‘ape-like’. It could be argued that his character and features are inspired by Darwin’s ‘evolution’ theory. As Karschay states, ‘Hyde is marked out as an evolutionary throwback, a degenerate individual in a seemingly intact world of spotless Victorian decency.’ As well as this, there is often the debate of reason and science versus the unexplainable. The events that occur with Dr Jekyll have become that inexpressible, that even science cannot explain nor control it. The characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are known as ‘doppelgangers’, also known as the double, and the fact that this concept is uncanny, is what makes it unexplainable.
It is evident that Jekyll is battling with coming to terms with his identity. He is able to become Hyde so that he can act out his fantasies, that are otherwise repressed by society. In regard to identity, Middleton suggests, ‘Gothic fiction also throws into question the idea of a fixed, stable individual identity because it insists that civilisation is merely a thin veneer of custom through which the uncanny and irrational can erupt at any moment.’ There was an exploration of the divided self. It could be argued that is an example of someone resisting the homosexual self. Sanna states, ‘The turn of the century witnessed the explosion of homosexual discourse from both apologists and accusers, from the scientific and medical milieus as well as from the literary one.’
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a good representation of Fin de Siècle texts. It follows the story of English lawyer, Jonathan Harker, visiting the castle of Count Dracula that is situated in Transylvania. The purpose of this visit is to ensure a real estate transfer to England is finalised for Dracula. The novel focuses on Dracula and his move from Transylvania to England, and the strange occurrences that are happening in his castle, then later in England. During his stay at Castle Dracula, Jonathan experiences disturbing events and later escapes. In the meantime, the fiancée of Jonathan, Mina, is horrified to find that her best friend Lucy has been mysteriously attacked. We later find that the attacker is Dracula. Lucy eventually turns into a vampire and as a result, is killed by her friends. In a turn of events, Jonathan, Mina and their friends decide to hunt down Dracula and rid him from the world. They decide to set a trap to lure Dracula out, and as Mina is infected, they follow him from his hideouts all the way to Transylvania. In the end, Dracula meets his demise and dies.
Dracula is a depiction of the degenerate fantasy; the novel explores the Victorian anxieties of degeneration. The ‘vampire’ is seen as the most ‘seductive’ monster of fiction and is often sexualised in novels. Previous vampire texts include Wake not the Dead (1800), The Vampyre (1819) and more. Davison looks at this sexualisation of vampires and states, ‘Vampirism is the ultimate “sexually-transmitted” degenerative disease.’ It could be argued that vampirism is a degenerate contagion that is passed on through blood. The degenerate contagion in this case is Dracula. Lecercle looks at this idea of vampirism being a disease and Dracula, and states, ‘Why does Dracula, en route from Varna, eventually reach his destination at Whitby, rather than Liverpool,
Falmouth or even London, which are much nearer? Is it not because the rat that brought the last great cholera epidemic to England, in the middle of the nineteenth century, landed at Sunderland, a few miles further North?’ In other words, Dracula is literally a walking disease that has arrived in England solely to spread its infection.
Dracula can also be portrayed as the degenerate immigrant who everyone is afraid of; he is the foreign monster from the East, wanting to enter the West. It brings to light the xenophobia and Victorian anxieties of England’s role as an imperial power. Miller looks at this and states, ‘Stoker’s novel provides a distinctively Anglocentric view of the world, exacerbated by contemporary social and political tensions.’
Throughout the novel, there are sexual connotations of biting, sucking and the mingling of blood and fluid. Bentley looks at these sexual connotations and suggests, ‘In Dracula, the mark of the vampire’s bite is usually described as two round punctures cause by the elongated canine teeth, whereas this phrase (‘thin open wound’) suggests a cut or slit similar to the vaginal orifice.’ Dracula’s character is very charming, and with his arrival to England, he could easily pass as an English gentleman. As a result, he would never be seen as a threat to the women he is preying on. Regarding blood, it could be argued that the blood is symbolised as semen. Day backs this suggestion by saying, ‘The Vampire craves blood for its life-giving properties; semen too is a fluid without which procreation cannot occur.’
Dracula never seems to really prey on men; even if he wanted to, he couldn’t bite a man. This is evident in chapter 3 with the encounter of the three young women, Dracula and Jonathan. Dracula bellows with jealous fury at the three women and says, ‘How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me!’ Moore looks at Dracula’s behaviour here and suggests, ‘His behaviour towards Jonathan in this scene borders on the seductive, as he looks at his face ‘attentively’ and whispers softly, ‘yes, I too can love.’’ This is representative of homosexual desires that occurred in the Victorian era. It was difficult to speak about at the time due to homosexuality being classified as a crime. But this didn’t stop writers, such as Oscar Wilde, writing about such things. As Pollard states, ‘The obvious homosexual references, occurring metaphorically, escaped Victorian censors.’
As well as homosexuality, Dracula looks at the degenerate woman and the ‘femme fatale’ . ‘Femme fatale’ refers to a woman who is deemed as deviant and uses her own charm to seduce a man, who she would then, cause distress to. Stoker explores female sexuality, from the three wives at the beginning of the novel, to Lucy Westerna, who could be seen as the image of the femme fatale.
Lucy is a beautiful 19-year old girl who lives with her mother, but she is quite naïve and is only interested in choosing a husband out of 3 men who have proposed to her; Dr John Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. Her sexuality is evident in chapter 5, when she writes to Mina, ‘Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many men as want her, and save all this trouble?’ She is later encountered by Dracula, and due to being most susceptible to his presence, is preyed upon and eventually becomes a vampire. Lucy and the femme fatale is evident in chapter 16 in her description, ‘The sweetness was turned into adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness.’ She is also presented as ‘anti-maternal’ due to preying on children. The purpose of biting and preying on young children is because they are of a lower hierarchy to her. Vampires tend to prey on those of a lower hierarchy.
Jones looks at the portrayal of the female vampire, and suggests, ‘Their full or partial transitions from Victorian woman (female victim) to New Woman (female vampire) can thus be seen as metaphors for the shifting nature of femininity in late Victorian Britain.’ Although Lucy can be seen as ‘the New Woman’, Jonathan’s fiancée Mina could also be seen as a character that has attributes of ‘the New Woman’. She is a strong female figure who manages to overcome Dracula’s temptations and traps him in order to kill him. It is also important to consider that in the novel, she is involved in decision-making, in which Helsing describes her as having a ‘man’s brain’, and yet, she remains perfectly feminine throughout; reminiscent of ‘the New Woman’.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde expresses the aspect of degeneration in both society and individuals. With Stevenson’s novel, we look at Dr Jekyll and his battle between good and evil. However, according to Buzwell, he states, ‘On a deeper level, however, the comparison is not merely between good and evil but between evolution and degeneration.’ The novel explored themes of devolution and made comparisons between the gentleman Jekyll and deviant Hyde. It could be argued that degeneration occurred due to modern life, and due to this there was a fear of humanity going backwards with evolution. As technology was advancing, life was becoming easier but some may argue that this would lead to an increase in degeneration. As Lankester states, ‘Any new set of conditions occurring to an animal which render its food and safety very easily attained, seem to lead as a rule to Degeneration; just as an active healthy man sometimes degenerates when he suddenly becomes possessed of a fortune.’ In comparison, Dracula looks at degeneration through a number of different aspects such as the criminal, the homosexual, the femme fatale and more. Stoker looks at society’s anxieties of the 19th century and places them all into his work, with Count Dracula being depicted as a degenerate aristocrat.