Victorian gentlemen were expected to uphold strong moral standards and hide any behaviors deemed improper according to their social class and reputations. As members of the upper classes, they held positions such as doctors, lawyers, and clergy, and tried to maintain an appearance of respectability while secretly engaging in vices like drinking and visiting brothels. Stevenson was interested in exploring the dual nature of man and how gentlemen hid their darker sides to protect social standing through his story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

1. Victorian Gentlemen
Objective: To begin to understand why Stevenson was interested in
man’s different side.

2. Jekyll and Hyde is about a group of gentlemen.
• A man’s social class was one part of being a gentleman- they were
from the upper classes of Victorian society.
• His profession (job) was very important- army officers, church
ministers, doctors and lawyers were counted as gentlemen.
• Gentlemen were expected to have strong morals and be kind,
particularly towards poor people.

4. Victorian gentlemen tried to hide their darker
side
• In Victorian middle and upper class society, it was important to look
respectable. Because of this, people hid their true feelings, especially
if these were immoral or improper.
• Reputation was very important to Victorian gentlemen. They did not
want their good name ruined.
• To protect their reputation, people often kept their behaviour secret.
• They didn’t like to talk about anything that might damage their
reputation.

5. Gentlemen were obsessed with their
reputation
• Gentlemen were determined to keep their reputations.
• Gentlemen would often walk through public places such as Hyde Park
in London. This helped them to keep up their appearance.
• Gentlemen were expected to not show too much emotion. Any
desires they had, like sex or alcohol, they had to hide.
• Many gentlemen were snobbish about places like brothels or pubs
even though they visited them secretly (hypocrisy).
• They paid large amounts of money to keep activities like going to the
pub or a brothel private. This made it easier for them to be
blackmailed.