The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set in the Victorian era, a time when hypocrisy was rampant. “Insincerity” was not the mark of a bad man; in fact it was what one had to practice to integrate into society and have a decent reputation. Today, hypocrisy may be thought of as a bad character trait, whereas the Victorians would have thought it was similarly improper. So the Victorians were actually hypocrites, because the alternative was to be honest, and therefore incorrect. The pressures of “conformity, moral pretension, and escapism” constituted Victorian hypocrisy (Houghton 146-149); furthermore, they are also the same things that pushed Dr. Jekyll to create an alter ego, Mr. Hyde, and are what ultimately caused him to take complete control of him. Jekyll found that the expectations of staying in line and not showing his inner desires were difficult to control, so he created an outlet for them, Mr. Hyde. In a new society conventions determine whether or not a person fits into the society or is expelled from it (Houghton 147). For Dr. Jekyll, these conveniences were tiresome and difficult to manage: “I found it difficult to reconcile myself to my imperious desire to hold my head high, and to wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public” (Stevenson 48). Houghton states that individuals in Victorian society were inclined to avoid behavior that “might make him seem like an outsider or newcomer” (147). In the form of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll was able to gain relief from cultural pressures to act and behave in a certain way. He could finally escape the demands he faced on a daily basis. Dr. Jekyll had done what he had to do to “avoid social stigma” in his public life (147): “Men have hired bravos to transa...... middle of paper......principles that they surrounded him in the hypocrisy of Victorian life. He wanted to conform to society, act as if he were flawless, and hide his inner desires. However, he took joy in his feelings of wrongness and did not want to let them go. He succeeded in creating the evil Mr. Hyde, but still felt the desire to be imperfect as Dr. Jekyll, which caused Mr. Hyde to gain power over Dr. Jekyll and take control of his free will. Ultimately, all Dr. Jekyll had control over was whether to live or die, so he took his own life and that of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll died in the form of his evil double, Mr. Hyde. Works Cited Houghton, Walter. "[Hypocrisy]." The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ed. Katherine Linehan. New York: Norton, 2003. 146-49. Print.Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ed. Katherine Linehan. New York: Norton, 2003. Print.