Abstract

This paper, based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s life and social experience, explores the femininity in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Critical moments of feminine quality in this male- centered story are identified through the roles that female charactres play as (1) humble counterpart to males in socio-cultural context, (2) feminine energy in sex and sexuality in the gender context and (3) object of the Oedipus complex in the familial context. It is pointed that Stevenson designed femininity in male characters and interchangeability between two genders. The novel can therefore be seen as a story offering readers a panoramic view in which Stevenson’s Victorian female world, his concerns about gender issues, and his standpoints of human nature are all well presented.

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