Themes Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

Dr. Jekyll is benevolent and pleasant in his social interactions. He attempts to cover up his darker self by creating a courteous public persona. Everyone has a different persona when they are outside in the eyes of the public and when they are inside. Through Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll reveals his destructive side. Transforming into Mr. Hyde gives Dr. Jekyll a freedom to act and behave without caring about the public’s opinion or about the consequences of his actions. Dr. Jekyll is captured and locked up deep inside, he appears reasonably appropriate on the exterior but his inner reflections drives him towards immorality. As Dr. Jekyll privately turns into Mr. Hyde, not only is his appearance transformed, but also his behavior. This can be a similar caparison on people in today’s society. People with high status or popularity are always being watched with every move they make. If they make one small mistake, then that will look bad on

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one long social commentary. One of its main themes is breaking down the façade of perfection created by the upper class, and examining what lies underneath. In fact, the whole story is about a man in high society, whose private life is rather an opposite of his public one. In Dr. Jekyll’s letter, Stevenson writes, “I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold slave to my original evil… I was suddenly aware that I had lost in stature,” (Stevenson page 2273). The idea of a “loss in stature” holds a double meaning. Stature, meaning size, can allude to Hyde’s height which is understood to be much less than Jekyll’s own. Yet, stature, meaning stance in society, can also imply that Jekyll, when transformed, no longer hold’s his prominence in his culture. This speaks to the Victorian society’s habit of only portraying the high society as impeccable which Stevenson battles throughout this mysterious case. Another parallel of appearance is described by Nabokov as he states, “The relations of the two are typified by Jekyll’s house, which is half Jeykyll and half Hyde,” (Nabokov 186). The side facing the street filled with others in the upper class is neat, tidy, and welcoming; this is Jekyll’s half. The side facing a dimmer and more dangerous street is dark, looming, and mysterious; similar to Hyde’s

Now this story does not follow Dr. Jekyll through his journey of creating his evil alter ego. Moreover he is not even the first initial character that we are introduced to in the novella; we are first introduced to a man named Mr. Utterson. He is actually the lawyer of Dr. Jekyll and he takes an interest in his newfound protégé who is referred to as Mr. Hyde. His negative feelings towards Mr. Hyde, beget a personal investigation into his life and his connection to Dr. Jekyll. Sadly he does not realize the truth behind the mystery of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde till the end of the novella, where he finally discovers the secret from reading Dr. Jekyll’s last words written in a letter addressed to him after Dr. Jekyll’s untimely death.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde does warn about the dangers of repression. Due to Dr. Jekyll repressing his inner most desires, he finally finds a way to release them that ends in his untimely death. The Victorian conventions of that time were very conservative while they held a strict moral and class code. It was unseemly that one did not hold themselves in the most dignified ways, especially for one in the higher class like Dr. Jekyll. This is why he spent his life’s work on finding a way to live a double life, so he could keep the advantages that he earned by being an upright citizen of his class. He spent his entire life earning those privileges, but the desire to free himself from his restraint proved unbearable. One can really see this when Jekyll

One of the most vital concepts incorporated into The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the representation and depiction of the duality of mankind. Jekyll works to find a solution which will separate him into his reckless, immoral persona and his respectable, Victorian self. After consumption, this potion causes him to completely transform into a man who is known as Hyde. As Hyde, he can express himself in immoral, evil ways. This not only includes moral and immoral wants but rational and irrational wants. Not only does this transformation enable him to keep his good reputation even while he does horrid, unacceptable things, but it allows him to do things which he most likely would not even

Although he is a reputable man, who supposedly did not welcome malicious talk, his longing to obtain knowledge on what Mr. Hyde is hiding causes him to break his rules of repression. Ultimately, it is the lapse of his ability to repress his desires that induces his death. He even admits this about his fatal decision by telling Jekyll, “I sometimes think if we knew all, we should be more glad to get away”

Jekyll is an educated doctor who gives money to charities and is a good friend to others but also at the same time wants to know what it’s like to do bad things. When he turns into Mr. Hyde he commits those crimes. An example is when Mr. Enfield witnessed Hyde trampling over a young girl. When the crowd that had gathered demanded he make amends, Hyde bought off the crowd with one hundred pounds using a check with Dr. Jekyll’s name on it. This shows that Mr. Hyde had no remorse or

Jekyll admits in his own recounting of the tale that he had an “impatient gaiety of disposition” and he “concealed [his] pleasures,” even before Hyde existed. Through this, Jekyll showed that he preferred chasing his desires to building both family and reputation. (Stevenson, 1991, p. 41). Once Hyde emerges from Jekyll, this abandonment becomes even more pronounced: “I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy” (Stevenson, 1991, p. 43). The character of Hyde is the antithesis of Victorianism as he is quick to engage in any act which pleases him, regardless of the possible consequences to reputation or the effect it could have on his society.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are extremely complicated and snowball leading to more questions. Ultimately these questions and answers are the basis for one of the most compelling stories questioning science and morality within human beings. Jekyll’s ambition was to separate good from evil within a human being, but the consequences were too much to handle, both on a personal as well as a social level. It also casts a mirror upon Victorian society, showing its fears and hopes surrounding the topics presented by Stevenson in his novella. Surprisingly this story does give an accurate depiction of society during that time and the duality most men felt. It was a great strain to project a good image in public, yet privately have dark desires that were not considered morally acceptable in open society. This is where Victorian society must either accept its flaws or hide them and fear exposure as flawed

Dr. Jekyll was seen as quite an upstanding person in the book. He was a scientist to whom was fascinated with human Psychology apparently. When he designed the potion that turned him into Mr. Hyde, it gave him free access to do whatever he wanted to, seemingly without repercussion. It was a novelty at first, then he started using it more and more to become Hyde. He kept his addiction a secret, like most people with an addiction do, and did not want help.

However, since it is Hyde committing the crimes and not Jekyll, it leaves the reader to wonder if this is Stevensons’ way of saying that all humans have some repressed sociopathic tendencies, and that some of us are just better at hiding them than others. Hyde

Another, explanation for why would Jekyll put himself in seclusion was a realization that Hyde is the very personified guilt Jekyll suppress. Consequently, Jekyll tired and can't fathom to contain the pain and control of Hyde constantly gnawing at the very existence of Jekyll as a last resort for redemption and freedom a decision that plays on a constant loop while the potion necessary needed now rendered ineffective Jekyll cant write anything at his state of constant transformation caused by the turmoil of who will dominate the body, a loose cannon by the name of Hyde or the two faced gent

Jekyll was a renowned doctor with many high society friends. He loved to have social gathers for his friend to mingle and communicate. He was very pleasant, wealthy, attractive, and lived on an estate with servants and cooks to care of him. He was an older gentlemen and very hearty in shape. He appeared to be lonely because he felt that something was missing in his life. He was very smart from a child and wanted to change himself. That was his reason for creating Mr. Hyde. He wanted to start a new life. He was selfish because he was not doing the experiment for the sack of discovering a cure for people but to save his self from the sickness that plagued him as a child. Even through, he was well aware that his experiment was unethically and immorally improper to continue as he states “I was often plunged into a kind of wonder at my vicarious depravity” (Robert Louise Stevenson). Yet Dr. Jekyll continues the

Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is a short novel of the Victorian era. It portrays the major problem of criticizing people based on their behavior in Victorian society. Individuals who misbehave or talk about scandals are not respectable in Victorian's eye. Utterson, a lawyer, is one of the main characters in the novella who investigates the mystery of Hyde. At first glance, Stevenson shows Utterson as a perfect Victorian gentleman who is reserved and well-respected in society. However, on the other hand, Stevenson portrays Utterson as a man who has a great interest in dishonorable men who are dismissed by elitist Victorian culture. Utterson is unconsciously driven by his hidden desires of id. Regardless of being one of the respectable men of Victorian society, Utterson pursues Hyde, a sinner, revealing: his need to keep friendship with despicable people, his desire to know about the inner motivations forcing people to misbehave, and his imagination about violence; all driven by his id.