A strong argument can be made that both Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Machen were aware of contemporary degeneracy theories as formulated by naturalist and biologist Darwin and criminologist...Show moreA strong argument can be made that both Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Machen were aware of contemporary degeneracy theories as formulated by naturalist and biologist Darwin and criminologist and physician Lombroso and of contemporary dual brain theories as formulated by neuroanatomist and physiologist Franz Joseph Gall and psychologist Arthur Ladbroke Wigan. Stevenson incorporated these theories in his novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and Machen incorporated these theories in his novel The Great God Pan (1890). Both authors incorporated scientific theories in their novel as a tool to demonstrate their resent towards the moral dimension of Victorian science, which was used by scientists to attribute mental and physiological aspects of an individual with ideological constructs such as good and evil. Both authors also demonstrated that the scientific discourse of the Victorian age upheld not only the dominant moral framework, but also the dominant gender ideology.Show less
