The Distribution of the Sensible in Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Abstract

This article explores the concept developed by the French philosopher Jacques Rancière, the distribution of the sensible, and applies it to the analysis of the construction and perception of one of the best known monsters in literary history: Mr Hyde. As the distribution of the sensible refers, broadly speaking, to who is allowed to speak, what is visible and what remains invisible within a perceptual framework, this article offers an analysis of narrative voices that allow readers to get a glimpse of Mr Hyde's mysterious identity and his relationship with respectable Dr Jekyll. Their silences also speak of the true nature of this monster, special attention is given to the reasons why narrative voices fail to provide a full account of events. Consequently, what is said by various characters in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and what is left unsaid guide the study that ultimately attempts at determining the aesthetico-political regime the novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886 belongs to.