Mr Hyde Dualism

If Hyde has been described as Hyde "savage, uncivilized, and given to passion…poorly evolved" (Shubh), then perhaps he represents the true, original nature of man, repressed by society, norms, and conscience. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde suggests that this restrained, amoral side of human nature, once given a chance to escape, cannot be controlled. Even in this 'height of western civilization', Victorian England, this tempting evil can overcome even the most virtuous of men. Jekyll is neither good nor bad, but a man whose deeply repressed urges motivated him to separate, but not remove, the evil parts of his nature. There is a misinterpretation that Hyde is an unwanted byproduct of trying to create pure good, that Jekyll is not in control as Hyde, and that Jekyll doesn't enjoy being Hyde. In fact, Jekyll loves being Hyde, he revels in the freedom that he brings him (Stevenson 54), but the problems with his dual personality starts when he has to face the consequences of his actions. Jekyll has a difficult time balancing Hyde's debaucheries and Jekyll's rational, refined side. However, Jekyll realizes too late that he has indulged in Hyde too much and has let him grow out of control. At the beginning of the novel, Hyde was the “smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll” (Stevenson 57). His more youthful appearance represents how young and free Jekyll feels as Hyde, but also symbolizes how little his personality was seen before Jekyll drank his potion. Early in the novel, Hyde is easily controlled, Jekyll can use his potion to limit how often he transforms into Hyde (Stevenson 56). However, as he starts to morph back and forth, it starts to take more and more potion to control the switches until

Jekyll talks about the years before the creation of the potion that transforms him into Hyde. He summarises his finding of the dual nature, human beings are half good and half evil. Jekyll’s goal in his experiments is to separate two opposite elements, creating a person with only good characteristics and a being of only evil. He does this because he wants to free his good side from dark urges. He fails this experiment, in fact he only manages to create a whole evil person ‘Mr Hyde’. In the letter, Jekyll says ‘I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man . . . if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.’ The events of the novel inform the reader that the dark side (Hyde) is much stronger than the rest of Jekyll, this is why Hyde is able to take over Jekyll. This letter is really important for the reader so that the whole novel is understood. A lot of horror is created and it is all quiet in the reader's mind. The reader feels horrified by the way in which Jekyll seems to love and care for Hyde. Jekyll’s words make the reader angry that a man who was so good could enjoy becoming so

“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” Robert Louis Stevenson was no fool when it came to understanding the duality of human nature evident within mankind. In his novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson is able to explore his interests concerning the dark, hidden desires that all human beings are guilty of possessing. In his story, a well-respected professional by the name of Dr. Jekyll experiments with the idea of contrasting personalities and successfully undergoes a physical separation of such identities—one which would soon wreak havoc upon his very existence. As a result of his success, Edward Hyde is born. Hyde, characterized as a miniscule and terrifying, apelike figure from the start,

On the other hand, the interaction between the immorality and integrity of Jekyll is characterized by his repeated expression of temptation and his inability to resist, ultimately resulting in the death of his persona. Similar to how the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” gains a new identity, Jekyll’s persona is gradually replaced by the evil persona of Hyde. Some psychoanalytic critics “see Jekyll and Hyde not as equal personalities, but Hyde as a suppressed version of Jekyll, undercutting Jekyll's idea that separation of the two personalities may be achieved” (Brackett). At the outset, the relationship between Jekyll’s immorality and integrity is lopsided in favor of the latter, but as Hyde commits worser crimes, Jekyll’s spirit deteriorates.

The book portrays Hyde in like an animal; short, hairy, and like a troll with gnarled hands and a horrific face. In contrast, Jekyll is described in the most gentlemanly terms; tall, refined, polite and honorable, with long

He is tall, handsome, and of age fifty. In society, he is a respectable doctor and a well-known London scientist with a large estate. In addition to his wealth and fame, he is a man of morals, seemingly pure good and courteous. While devoting himself to charitable acts, he also enjoys dinner parties with his bachelor friends (Stevenson). Although he has an excellent outward appearance and demeanor, he is constantly embroiled in a fight between human nature within himself. Being a scientist, he furthers his understanding of the duality of man, the good and evil, as he tells himself if they “could be housed in separate identities” (Stevenson 43). This leads to an experiment that houses his evilness in the soul of another man. On the surface, Dr. Jekyll is the embodiment of pure good, but his experimentation with human nature allows him to deviate from the

To begin with, Stevenson describes how Dr. Jekyll has duality in his personality and that he possesses another soul within him. Since Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an allegory, two sides are being displayed. One of these is Dr. Jekyll, who portrays a friendly, lovable, thoughtful and helpful. When Jekyll

In Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the two main characters, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde are depicted as contrasting and opposing in personality. In the opening chapters of the novella, Mr. Hyde is portrayed as the epitome of evil, while Henry Jekyll is seen to be genial and kind. Throughout the novella, each character develops and changes; Hyde is perceived to become more evil, while Jekyll to become weaker, distancing himself from his once close friends. In the final chapter of the novella, Jekyll’s personal testimony, when Dr. Jekyll is on his deathbed, he reveals his connection to Mr. Hyde. As the characters change throughout the novella, Stevenson slowly reveals their personalities to the unsuspecting Victorian reader.

Dr. Jekyll is a well-respected man with a past of high social expectation, some moral standards that society expects one to follow is just too unrealistic to uphold even for people that are highly moral because of one’s selfish desires that is difficult to keep in control. This is demonstrated by Sigmund Freud when he talks about one’s “id,” which is the selfish desires of a human, and when he talks about one’s “superego,” which is the part where one reflects on social standards. In the novel, “Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, he deals with the duality of human nature within Dr.Jekyll, a good victorian and Mr.Hyde, a criminal living in Victorian Society and longing for his desires. In the novel, Stevenson

Duality is arguably the most prominent theme of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, appearing throughout the story in various descriptions and plot points. In the beginning of the book, however, there is no direct evidence of the unity of the two personalities of Dr. Jekyll, that of himself and his inner demon - Mr. Hyde. It is for this reason that the story remains intriguing to the end, keeping the reader guessing about the identity of Mr. Hyde and his relationship to the esteemed Dr. Jekyll up until the denouement. The explicitness of the descriptions of two seemingly two separate men make it seem as though they are in fact two men caught up in dangerous business. Only through the foreshadowing through the pervasive theme of

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll; this upstanding citizen, a true Victorian gentleman has created a potion to separate the dark side that is within us all. In this novel Stevenson, illustrates a way that one can face their demons. This novel brings a whole new scenario when it comes to bringing out one’s “wild child”, Mr. Hyde is the complete opposite of Dr. Jekyll; in a way he is the mirror reflection of Dr. Jekyll. This is because, a mirror image is often the person, but it has been flipped. Dr. Moreau on the other hand, has his creatures to be his mirror images.

The writer of this gothic novella, R.L. Stevenson, had kept the suspense of the story till the last chapter – Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case. In this chapter, Dr. Henry Jekyll reveals the existence about his dual personality through his confession letter (death note) and that Mr. Edward Hyde is the other ‘hidden’ personality of Dr. Henry Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll makes a potion that transforms him into Mr. Hyde. More than the transformation itself, it is the discovery of the existence of his other personality.

It’s just a fact of life. The struggle of good versus evil in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be paralleled to the struggles in today’s society. Dr. Jekyll, a good and intelligent man, is in a constant battle with evil. Although there are many endearing qualities about his personality, Dr. Jekyll is still easily tempted by the “dark side”. Society today is no different.

This side of his identity isn't dynamic; however, he chooses to initiate it through his analysis. This side winds up dynamic through the persona of Mr. Hyde - a criminal man who perpetrates pitiless demonstrations of savagery against others. Through this adjustment in Jekyll's character, Stevenson demonstrates the duality in human instinct - the possibility that everybody can do good and insidiousness

The story of the novel, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is about the dualism in life of an individual due to internal conflicts. Everyone has double persona due to the conflict between good and evil, the conflict between flawed self and quintessential self, the conflict between ego and alter ego. The theme of duplicity is quite evident in the character of Dr. Jekyll in Stevenson’s masterpiece due to constant clash between himself and his evil shadow.