‘Hardly human’: an analysis of portrayals of physical disability in Frankenstein and strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abstract

This paper has the objective of analysing the works Frankenstein (1818), by Mary Shelley, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), by Robert Louis Stevenson, particularly the characters of the Creature and Hyde as portrayals of physical disability during their respective times and contexts. By using the history of disability in the nineteenth century and studies regarding the subjectivity of the Gothic body (Halberstam, 1995) as a theoretical background, this research argues that both the Creature and Hyde can be seen as disabled people within their own narratives, especially considering how they are seen and treated by those around them —for instance, they are constantly dehumanised and othered by their peers. These analyses are then contrasted to examine their unique subjectivities as well as their similarities, observing how portrayals of physical disability differed between distinct Gothic works and their relevance not only to discussions of disability at the time, but to today’s debates too.