ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON LIFE

The only son of Thomas Stevenson (1818-1887), a construction engineer specializing in the construction of
lighthouses, he tempered the melancholy and harshness of the Scottish character with the panache and
gaiety that derived from the French origin of his mother, Margaret Isabella (1829-1897 ), daughter of
Reverend Lewis Balfour (1777-1860), parish priest of Colinton. Both mother and grandfather had lung
problems, with frequent fever and cough. There has been talk of sarcoidosis, tuberculosis or bronchiectasis,
and in any case of an uncomfortable inheritance for the boy who was often ill and needed to spend several
months a year in a healthier climate, such as that of southern France. Even the restlessness of a traveler
and his constant thinness were for him linked to his health.

From his childhood he always carried dear the memory of a nurse, Alison Cunningham, known as "Cummy",
to whom he later dedicated a book of verses, but who helped to develop his imagination by telling him
many stories that did not make him sleep and at the same time fascinated him beyond measure.

When he enrolled, according to family tradition, at the engineering faculty of the University of Edinburgh,
the study soon took a back seat, preferring to devote himself to literature. He wore his hair long and
dressed, like his cousin Bob, as an artist, and although he accompanied his father in the summer on his
inspection trips along the coasts and the lighthouses, he ended up changing his faculty to law, graduating
but never practicing the profession.

In 1871 he began to collaborate as a scholar with Edinburgh University Magazine and The Portfolio, from
which he had some essays published. It is only in 1878, however, with the publication of An Inland Voyage -
impressions of a canoe trip across the rivers and canals of northern France - the analogous account of
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. ), that he succeeded in affirming his brilliant spirit of observation
and his delightful humor, also enriched with French readings.

During a trip he met Fanny Van de Grift (1840-1914), a separated American (by a certain Samuel Osbourne)
and mother of two children (Isobel and Lloyd Osbourne) [1] with whom he fell in love [2] and, despite the
opinion opposed to her parents, he decided to follow her on her return trip to California. The two married
in San Francisco in 1880. Fruit of the trip were The Silverado's Camps (1883), Across the Plains (1892) and
The Amateur Emigrant (1895), published later.

Returning to Europe in 1880, Stevenson enters a phase of great creative activity which, taking into account
his always precarious health, leads to a truly remarkable production both in terms of size and value. In 1881
and 1882 he published the essays and short stories, written up to that date, respectively in the volumes
Virginibus Puerisque and New Arabian Nights. Also in 1882 he wrote Familiar Studies of Men and Books,
which contains Stevenson's greatest contribution to literary criticism, with essays on Hugo, Whitman,
Thoreau, Burns.

In the meantime, his health had suffered from the strain, so much so that he was given only a few months
to live, and the writer, from Scotland, where he had returned after making peace with his family, was again
forced to wander around the main health resorts. European, from Davos to Hyères and then to
Bournemouth. In 1886 he wrote the historical novel Kidnapped and, in less than a week, The Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These novels did much to extend the popularity that the 1883 publication of
Treasure Island had brought him. He became friends with Henry James [3] and also wrote two volumes of
verse, A Child's Garden of Verses (1885) and Underwoods (1887).
A MIRROR OF THE TIMES
The strange story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a fascinating product of Victorian England. In this age of
scientific and technological progress and the rapid expansion of the British Empire, many writers began to
doubt the ideals of progress and civilization. A sense of pessimism and anxiety developed in a society full of
contrasts, as Dickens has shown us so clearly: the creation of wealth, the spread of `` civilization '' that
came with imperial expansion, was accompanied by desperate poverty, crime and double moral standards.

For example, Shelley's Frankenstein, often considered the first work of science fiction, presents a vision of
science linked to the idea of secrecy, and emerges as a warning against the dangers of science and its
applications that still resonates today in the connotations of the name 'Frankenstein ". , typically applied
to the "monstrous" products of science rather than to the scientist himself.

PLOT
One day while walking with a friend, the lawyer Utterson hears an episode about an evil individual named
Edward Hyde. The thing that worries the lawyer most is that, apparently, Hyde has the trust and protection
of his friend Henry Jekyll, a well-known and good-looking doctor. Not understanding what Jekyll may have
in common with an ugly and brutal person like Hyde and suspecting that Hyde is holding him in his hands
with blackmail, Utterson decides to personally investigate that matter thoroughly. After an interview with
Dr. Layon, esteemed doctor and old friend of both, it emerges that there had been a separation with Jekill,
due to some strange scientific theories of him. Utterson confronts his old friend by asking him if he was in
trouble and declaring himself willing to help him. Jekyll shows himself calm and states that he can get rid of
Hyde whenever he wants and reminding his lawyer friend to take care of his will that he has in custody of
Hyde because he was his only heir. Later, after a crime of which Hyde is found guilty, Dr. Jekyll questioned
about the disappearance of his protégé replies by saying that he will no longer be seen and the matter is
definitively closed. Subsequently the doctor withdraws completely into himself as if something were
afflicting him, to the point that one evening his servant calls the lawyer Utterson worriedly. The two, after
repeated attempts to break down the door, enter and, with supreme horror, find only a corpse in the room.
It is Edward Hyde, dead, dressed in the clothes of Dr. Henry Jekyll! A message written by Jekyll (and a letter
from Dr. Lanion) clarifies the whole story: the two were the same person, since the brilliant Dr. the strange
case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeJekyll had discovered a serum capable of changing his physical appearance
and his mentality, transforming him into Hyde. Gradually Hyde's part was gaining power and would soon
take away from the good part of Dr. Jekyll, so Jekyll preferred to commit suicide, killing the evil part of him
with himself.

THE SPLIT SELF

Dr. Jekyll appears to be the embodiment of the respectable Victorian gentleman: reserved, formal, and
known for his charities. Physically, he is a handsome man. Hyde, on the other hand, is the embodiment of
the uncivilized part of humanity that "hides" under the formal bonds of civilization. He is small and pale
and extremely ugly. Taken alone, the two characters of Jekyll and Hyde don't seem very interesting, but
the two are one character. Hyde is Jekyll's secret alter ego; it is Jekyll who "creates" Mr Hyde because he
likes to be bad without paying the consequences. Hyde is his secret nature and eventually Hyde takes over.
The duality of the character can be interpreted as a critique of Victorian morality, in which appearances
were all important and all was well as long as. The double relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
appears to be a direct reference to the literary theory of the so-called "doppelgänger". This German term,
which literally means "look alike", refers to the protagonist's "alter ego", which can be good or, more
frequently, bad and negative.

THE NARRATIVE TECNHINQUE

The story is told from different perspectives. The first is that of Mr. Utterson. His point of view is
complemented by other narrators: a short story written by Dr. Lanyon, a friend of Jekyll's who witnesses his
transformation into Hyde; Sir Carew, a respectable Member of Parliament, and finally Jekyll's letter with his
confession. However, for most of the novel we basically follow Mr. Utterson's limited point of view and
only learn the full story when he does. He tooks inspiration from some aspects of the Gothic tradition.
Stevenson offers a more accurate analysis of the psychological and moral nature of man compared to
Frankestein. He combines gothic motifs with elements of the emerging genre of detective fiction (unsolved
crimes, scattered clues, mystery and suspense).

SETTING AS A SYMBOL
The setting is London, its dirty alleys and dark corners in the fog. Most of the action takes place at night
because that's when Hyde operates. Night and fog are symbols of darkness, symbolizing the dark side of
Dr. Jekyll embodied by Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll's house also has a symbolic meaning, representing the duality
of its owner. The front door used by Dr. Jekyll has an elegant facade, while the back door used by Hyde is in
a sinister, windowless building. The passage leading to Jekyll's laboratory is a passage between two worlds:
the world of respectability and the world of evil.

TREASURE ISLAND
When the terrible sailor Billy Bones - who is staying at the inn run by the family of young Jim Hawkins - he
comes found by his old adventures buddies, he's already a man doomed. For Jim, on the other hand, he
secretly came into possession of the Billy's secret, he begins the journey in search of the famous treasure of
the dreaded Captain Flint. It all starts with the trunk that Billy had asked Jim to keep: a map of an island and
a diary of edge kick off an incredible sequence of adventures. For reach the island where the treasure is
hidden, the boy leaves along with Dr. Livesey, the noble Trelawney and a crew headed by the mysterious
one-legged cook, Long John Silver. Twists and turns, mutiny attempts, life of sea, battles, escapes between
beaches and intricate forests, betrayals and dangers weave the plot of this classic novel adventure.

NO SPOILER

Jim overhears a speech from Silver: he is preparing a mutiny of the ship with a group of pirates of the crew
and take possession of the treasure. The fight begins at this point; some of the pirates are left on the island,
but Jim decides to go down with them and try to find the treasure.

The clashes become intense and end with a series of clashes near the island's fort and the kidnapping of Jim
by the pirates: the treasure is found and brought to safety together with the boy. The crew then discovers
that Silver has managed to set sail aboard a dinghy and with a small piece of treasure.
THE THEMES
Treasure Island overwhelms readers with one multitude of adventures and manages to let the imagination
roam free thanks to a genre that can be pure escapism. Immersion in the fascinating world of piracy offers
an opportunity to deepen historical and cultural aspects, to do an excursus that - including information on
pirate women you exist and therefore dispelling the myth of a phenomenon exclusively masculine - can go
as far as modern, widespread piracy still today in many seas of the world. The growth path of the young
protagonist will involve then the boys and girls, showing that everyone can have the opportunity to show
one's courage and that sometimes in life it is necessary to face fears and fears, but that gives these tests
come out fortified.