In the story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, an interesting duality is presented. Throughout the story, Jekyll and Hyde’s personalities clash, fighting for control, in turn exposing their true natures. Jekyll, a kind, well respected man is viewed by the town as being in an unfortunate arrangement with the nefarious Mr. Hyde. In actuality, Mr. Hyde may be the one getting the short end of the stick, as without being tied down to Jekyll, Hyde could be many times more powerful and wealthy than he already is. He may lack a key aspect to life that is the respect and kinsmenship that Jekyll receives, but because of his nature and that of 1880’s England, he hardly cares; old England was treacherous and strict, …show more content…
By his sheer drive, Hyde quickly becomes a very wealthy, well known, and infamous man in London. He pursues money and power ruthlessly, lacking empathy or courtesy, using any means to get what he desires. The effectiveness of Hyde cannot be denied, as he has already made what one could presume to be millions based off his lifestyle. Hyde’s reputation, however, has gone into the abyss, his profiting off the suffering of others does not sit well with any sound human within London, especially after the Carew murder, when the people were “crying it in the square” (Stevenson, 30) so loud that Jekyll sunkenly mumbled, “I heard them in my dining room.” (Stevenson, 30). Being as he is, Hyde does not mind the dislike from the people. His nature is heavily narcissistic, keeping his drive focused on his infamous status rather than his negligible respect. In a way, Hyde could be related to the drug, cocaine, as argued in the article “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Cocaine”. The drug was still somewhat new to England at the time and was widely frowned upon as it made abusers paranoid, spontaneous, and crazed, all characteristics associated with Hyde. This connection could also allude to his addiction for power, but not just social superiority. Hyde
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a mystery novella, is told through the eyes of Mr. Utterson, who, in appearance, is described as a “lawyer of a rugged countenance” (Stevenson 1). He is inexpressive and looks as if time has worn him thin. While he is loved by his close friends, he comes across as someone who is reserved. As the story progresses, Mr. Utterson struggles to allow himself to venture away from his traditional rational thinking and begin exploring his curious thoughts. Mr. Utterson holds the values of a Victorian gentleman.
Hyde creates terror; the servants are scared of him and start to cringe in horror. Throughout the novel Hyde’s evil grows and becomes stronger. Dr.Jekyll good was being sucked by the evil in
He murdered Sir Danvers Carew. " Mr. Hyde broke out of all bounds and
Another point depicted in Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the actions of both identities during the time they are present. Mr. Hyde is on the go during the night time, while Dr. Jekyll is active during the day. During the night Mr. Hyde lurked around the corrupt part of London whereas, the distinguish Dr. Jekyll affiliated with the sophisticated wealthy part of London. Therefore, this is a clear indicator that shows specific details of the morality of Mr. Hyde as being bad or evil, and Dr. Jekyll as being good or pure.
The notoriety of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has made the narrative about the duality of man humanity known even to those who have never open the book nor seen the famous film adaptation. However, though it may not be immediately apparent, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is, at its core, a story of addiction. Britain’s Pharmacy Act of 1868 had sought to identify and eliminate the use of narcotics, and though the effects were largely beneficial at first, by the 1880’s, when Stevenson’s novella was first published, deaths related to opium were on the rise. It is no coincidence that the title character is a chemist, like those affected by the Pharmacy Act, nor is it a coincidence that he is the victim of an addiction.
Significance of Reputation in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde illustrates the significance of concealing your secrets and desires in order to maintain a flawless reputation. He creates distinctive characters with various reputations and contrasts their abilities in retaining one. Stevenson emphasizes this through Hyde’s actions, when portraying Utterson’s flawless reputation, the contrasting vulnerability to desires between Utterson and Jekyll and the creation of Hyde.
And hitherto it was his ignorance of Mr. Hyde that had swelled his indignation; now, by a sudden turn, it was his knowledge. It was already bad enough when the name was but a name of which he could learn no more. It was worse when it began to be clothed upon with detestable attributes; and out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a
In both Crime and Punishment and Pride and Prejudice, the reader is afforded a glimpse of the darker side of human nature. Raskolnikov’s shocking coldblooded murder of Alyona Ivanovna, an elderly pawnbroker, and her sister Lizeveta, reflect a degree of brutality almost unimaginable in a human being. Likewise, Miss Caroline Bingley, while certainly not guilty of crimes as grievous or horrific as Raskolnikov’s, betrays a similar sentiment of heartlessness in her treatment of the Bennet sisters throughout the plot of Pride and Prejudice. However, the nature of each character’s cruel actions remain remarkably different. Raskolnikov seeks to transcend the ethical conventions binding society and act as a conscience-free moral agent, whereas Caroline Bingley’s behavior is very much a product of institutionalized classism, and she acts wholly within the parameters which Victorian England’s strict
In Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde represents threats to British society.
Adding on to this, Patricia Comitini agrees with the subject letting the reader know, “This critical focus on the double has also become part of popular culture in that many versions of the story present Jekyll and Hyde as the representation of the struggle between good and evil that occurs within everyone.” Jekyll’s addiction to the drug is what caused him to transform into Hyde, and it is this addiction that leads him to commit evil actions. Hyde is also a symbol of addiction because he represents Jekyll's inability to control his darker impulses. Alyssa Valentine from the Clearbrook Treatment Centers describes these impulses. “Addiction doesn’t care where you’ve come from, what accomplishments you have achieved, or how nice you are.
Temptation Ramifications In Stevenson's novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll gives Lanyon, his distant friend, a critical choice: he can take the potion Lanyon had helped him obtain or he can leave without any explanation. He says “will you be wise? Will you be guided?...or has the greed of curiosity too much commanded you...as you decide you shall be left …. neither richer nor wiser.”
Hyde the embodiment of Jekyll’s repressed homosexuality, he also represents all of the negative aspects of being a homosexual in the 19th century. The most visible homosexual men in the 1800’s were middle to low class men and outsiders (Evans and Onorato). Hyde lives in the “dismal quarter of Soho” (Stevenson 22) which is described as a “dingy street [with] many ragged children huddled in the doorways, and many women […] passing out, key in hand, to have a morning glass” (Stevenson 23). This shows the reader that Hyde is indeed a man of low standings, which fits the stereotype of the 19th century gay man. Another key point is that Hyde is accused of blackmailing Jekyll by Enfield as he calls Hyde’s house the “Black Mail House”
“The man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground” (3). Mr. Hyde ran over a young girl late into the night without feeling any guilt. Robert Louis Stevenson shows the archetypal theme of good and evil exists in all people in the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. Good and evil exist in all people and we struggle with these two forces. This is shown through Jekyll because he is good with a little bad in him, this is also shown through Hyde, who is evil with some good, and it is lastly shown with the lab because it brings good and evil into Jekyll’s life.
This may be why he permanently morphed into Mr. Hyde, and then committed suicide because he could not face a world in which he was so hated. In a way, he became what he always was, a base man who sought after
Robert Stevenson uses his protagonist’s, Dr. Jekyll, person versus self conflict to illustrate this point. Throughout the text, the reader learns that Dr. Jekyll was born into good fortune and was well-respected in society. However, the reader learns that it was not enough for him. He craves irregularities and he seeks a way to experience both sides of his identity without harming his reputation, which leads him to immoral experiments that bring out Hyde. To be specific, Jekyll states the following, “Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame” (Stevenson 55).