This study notes covers Calvinist Doctrine and the Impossibility of Purification within Jekyll (character) for GCSE English Literature. Revise Jekyll (character) in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for GCSE English Literature with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 10 of 17 in this topic. Use this study notes to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

🏛️ Calvinist Doctrine and the Impossibility of Purification

Stevenson grew up in Presbyterian Edinburgh, shaped by a Calvinist tradition that taught the doctrine of original sin: the fallen nature is not a correctable flaw but an irreducible part of every human being. The fallen self cannot be excised — only resisted. Grace does not remove temptation; it gives the strength to withstand it. Separation of the sinful from the virtuous self was, from a Calvinist perspective, not liberation but heresy.

Jekyll's experiment is, in this framework, a theological error. He believes he can engineer his evil side away and purify what remains. Stevenson's Edinburgh background gives the tragedy a moral logic that extends beyond the scientific or the gothic.

How this connects to Jekyll's character: When Jekyll writes "man is not truly one, but truly two," he is articulating a belief that Calvinist doctrine condemns as dangerous. The attempt to separate the two selves — to give the "good" self a body free of desire — is precisely what Calvinist theology said could not be done. Stevenson structures the narrative to prove the doctrine correct: the separation does not purify Jekyll. It destroys both selves. The Calvinist logic is built into the novella's architecture.

Practice questions for Jekyll (character)

In which chapter of the novella does Jekyll directly narrate his own story for the first time?

A. Chapter 1 — he introduces himself to Utterson
B. Chapter 5 — he explains the potion to Dr Lanyon
C. Chapter 10 — his Full Statement of the Case
D. Chapter 8 — he shouts through the locked door of the cabinet

1 markfoundation

Identify ONE technique Stevenson uses in the following extract, and explain its effect on the reader: "I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life."

2 marksstandard

Quick recall flashcards

Mnemonic for Jekyll's arc: what does R-A-E stand for?

REPRESSED → ADDICTED → ERASED. R: Repressed — Victorian life drives desires underground; the experiment is planned. A: Addicted — transformations become involuntary; the drug meant to separate becomes the trap. E: Erased — Jekyll writes the truth knowing Hyde takes over permanently. Remember: each stage is Stevenson's structural argument about the cost of compartmentalisation, not just a sequence of events.

What are the three stages of Jekyll's arc?

REPRESSED → ADDICTED → ERASED. Repressed: decades of Victorian respectability drive desires underground; the experiment is planned, not impulsive. Addicted: control fails; transformations become involuntary; the potion that was meant to separate becomes the trap. Erased: one final act of authorship — Jekyll writes the truth knowing Hyde will take over permanently before anyone reads it. Stevenson gives Jekyll the last word, then takes it away.

How Stevenson Indicts Jekyll: The Irony of Self-Knowledge

The Vocabulary for Jekyll

Calvinist Doctrine and the Impossibility of Purification