The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Modern Readings of Addiction and Identity

A concise and professionally structured resource exploring how modern readings of addiction and identity can illuminate The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

This resource provides focused analysis of addiction as a critical lens rather than a literal diagnosis, examining Jekyll’s repeated secrecy, temptation, relapse, self-division and loss of control. It explores how Hyde can be read as both release and consequence, showing how Jekyll’s chosen escape from respectability becomes a destructive dependence that fractures identity.

Key features:

• Clear analysis of modern addiction and identity readings as critical perspectives on the novella
• Focus on compulsion, secrecy, shame, respectability, relapse, loss of control and fragmented identity
• Exploration of “profound duplicity of life”, “slowly losing hold”, “not truly one, but truly two”, “slavery”, repression and hidden desire
• Activities to reinforce and practise key concepts, including retrieval, quotation analysis, language methods, structure, context, theme, debate, creative journal writing and extended essay planning
• Detailed answer key included for straightforward checking and review