Two Sides of the Same Coin : Understanding Homophobia in The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abstract: This thesis has used a Queer approach in an attempt to explore that double as  a literary element is used to show a homophobic society in Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The narrative of the novel shows homoerotic codes when the novel is observed through a Queer reading, although homosexuality is never explicitly exposed. This thesis discussed the split character of Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, which represents a form of suppressed homosexuality that is the result of a homophobic society and internalized homophobia. This was done by analyzing the protagonists and some of the main social factors that that helped to spread homophobia: religious motives, law, the threat of violation of social values, and secret fear of being homosexual. Ultimately the analysis of this thesis helped to reveal a homophobic society in the novel, representing late Victorian society. Consequently in late Victorian society in the novel, the social, religious and legal repression of homosexuality led to internalized homophobia, and a tendency for homosexuals to internalize forms of self-loathing and self-damage, which is represented in the duality of Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde.