Duality in dr. Jekyll and mr hyde
One branch of philosophy insists that human beings are ‘dual creatures’. By this is meant the animalistic side of a human being, being separate from man’s unique ability of rational thinking. This duality in humans is the not quite so obvious ‘lower level’ of meaning in Robert Louis Stevenson’s allegory The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The much more obvious, ‘higher level’ of meaning is that of a horror mystery. Stevenson puts across this duality in every human mainly through Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. The story also demonstrates how an innocent curiosity about our darker side of our nature can get out of hand. In all of us there is a seed of evil.<br><br>Anyone having read the book will know that Henry Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde when having consumed a special potion. The brew awakens a dormant or hidden character; this is emphasized by a physical mutation. This physical mutation from a tall, slim, man of older age to a, younger, stronger, smaller and hairier build has an important imagery to it. The contrast between the suave, distinguished gentleman and the impulsive ‘animal’ is notable. Dr. Jekyll’s clothes do not fit Mr. Hyde; they are too small for him. Hyde therefore personifies the idea that the primitive evil is smaller, and that it can be controlled. Dr. Jekyll is a socially acceptable, repressed individual who still has a dark side. He can hide it though. Hyde on the other hand is the completely liberated.<br><br>Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde don’t represent ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The experiment described in Jekyll’s letter didn’t turn out as it was intended, which was to fully separate good and evil, with a character embodying each side. Instead, Hyde seems to personify the pure evil side of human nature. But Jekyll on the other hand, is not of pure good nature, he represents the control one has (or not!) over primitive spontaneous passions and desires. Dr. Jekyll thus symbolizes the idea of repression in a respectable individual. Hyde is completely liberated from Jekyll’s repression through the potion. He is the boundless entity that gives in to all desires. Hyde is not purely evil either, after having ‘trampled calmly’ a little, girl, Hyde himself speaks in a sincere manner and offers compensation for his acts. In that way, both sides of Jekyll are both good and evil.<br><br>The two characters also don’t make a divide between love and hate. Hyde does seem to have self-love; he dedicates himself to his egotistic desires, and in this sense seems to fulfill his need for both love and hate. Jekyll is seems more subdued, he feels both of these emotions, but has control over them. He does this in order to confirm to society. One could say that the underlying basis of this duality in Jekyll is his desire to be closer to what he feels from his ‘lesser’ self. He can’t behave the way he wants to because of the risk of the loss of his high social status, one of a respectable gentleman. In the disguise of Hyde, he can lurk around Soho and other dark, red-light districts, where he can fulfill his sinister desires, without putting his important reputation at risk.<br><br>In the last chapter Henry Jekyll claims to have control over Hyde. He says he can be rid of him when he chooses to. He is addicted to his other side nonetheless. Near the end, the reader learns that his excursions as Mr. Hyde are more and more frequent. This addiction and need to succumb to his primitive self develops into an almost complete loss of control. This is conveyed when Utterson and Enfield decide to go visit Jekyll, who has decided to close himself off completely, even from his friends and servants. Jekyll seems to be very weak at that time, reflecting his ‘weaknesses’ on controlling Hyde. He has to make his leave, because of what seems to be a ‘Hyde impulse’ he is trying to hide. He can control this impulse fully, so he has to hide away from his friends.<br><br>One could also assume that the duality in Stevenson’s novel is about a curiosity of, or the need to discover one’s primitive impulsive side. If we look at Utterson’s character, there is also this need to know about Hyde. When Mr. Enfield tells about Hyde, Utterson develops on obsession in knowing more about the mysterious dark character. He goes as far as being tempted ‘to disregard the prohibition’ of reading Dr. Lanyon’s narrative, which is only meant to be read if Dr. Henry Jekyll died or disappeared. In this way he also illustrates the existence of duality in every individual. He does restrain himself to following through his desire though, which shows that one has control over their animalistic side.<br><br>The moral of this interesting story is that which many Christians recite daily: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. One needs to be in control of their darker side of human nature, and to stop this seed of evil from growing larger. Perhaps, the moral is that we cannot control evil once unleashed. Jekyll tries to ‘use’ Hyde to give in to his temptations without damaging his social position. This spirals out of control. The cost of Jekyll’s curiosity turned out to be a deadly reversal of dominance.<br>
How does Stevenson show the duality of Jekyll’s character?
HEY,
I am really in need of help here. If anybody would care to help me, whether passing me a link, helping me out, or posting whatever they can, it would be MUCH APPRECIATED.
I am in need of English coursework help to hand in for next week and am stuck. The title of my essay is
How does Stevenson show the duality of Jekyll’s character?
((USE NARRATIVE STYLE AND IMAGERY IN YOUR ANSWER))
It is the narrative style that really confuses me, so if anybody could please send me whatever help they can, it would be appreciated.
Sami.
