The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Stevenson are both set in Victorian London, England. In them, Wilde and Stevenson address many ideas such as honesty, double life and duality. However, they approach the area in opposite ways; while Wilde uses comical allusions and satire to poke fun at many issues of Victorian society, Stevenson uses death, dark and gothic methods to convey his point to the audience. Furthermore, in both works the repressive nature of Victorian society is tested, as the characters cannot express themselves due to the thin line between respectability and inadequacy of the era. The Victorian period led to the belief that respectability and money were everything. Hyde led a double life to escape the restrictive expectations of respectability in Victorian society. Therefore, Wild and Stevenson explore the effects of the repressive culture of the time, forcing very respectable characters to flee by lying and acting inappropriately in the eyes of the Victorians. In The Importance of Being Earnest there is a change of setting: from city life where he and Algernon do what they want, to country life where Jack has responsibility and morality. On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll also has a change of setting, although not as obvious, when he transforms into Mr. Hyde. Once this change occurs, in the eyes of the other characters, Mr. Hyde is a hideous creature who wanders the streets at night and is essentially homeless aside from using Dr. Jekyll's house. Therefore, both characters move places, so that they can express themselves. Additionally, the transformation also shows a name change to Jack and Dr. Jekyll. Jack uses the name Earnest and Algernon uses Bunbury, so they can do things you wouldn't normally expect them to do. Furthermore, Doctor Jekyll not only changes his name to Hyde, but is also stripped of the title of doctor. He goes from a highly respected scientist to an unknown cripple who scares Londoners. However, all the characters want to do is break free from their everyday roles and Jekyll initially uses their second personas to have fun and take the pressure off, but later things start to go horribly wrong. The characters are forced to lie compulsively and transform into their second personalities. So, although initially used as a mental and physical break from the harsh onlookers of Victorian society, they get stuck in the cycle they can't break out of and things go from bad to worse for the characters. Doctor Jekyll loses all control over his second personality and is forced to use his potion more and more often to transform back into Jekyll, often as an obsession or addiction. Likewise, Jack and Algernon must continue to lie because the women they are engaged to both plan to marry a man named Earnest. This is especially a focus for Gwendolen, who has no intention of marrying anyone other than a person named Earnest. As a result, the whole affair becomes problematic for Jack. Overall, the social pressures that forced them to try to escape the reality they hate, once they are there, they are stuck in those roles, as the story depicts an internal struggle and conflict in