Jekyll and Hyde Good vs evil Stevenson presents the idea of duality through the differences between Dr Jekyll and mr Hyde. Throughout the novella, there is a repeated antithesis as the good of Jekyll is compared to the “detestabillity” of Hyde. Jekyll has a highly respectable front and is known for a having a good reputation, however Hyde is infamous he known for being evil and is strongly disliked by all he meets. Hyde is described as “like Satan” and “devilish” empathising his pure evil and his dangerous and deplourable nature. Whereas Jekyll is often described as a respected man and is “well built”.
The description Jekyll portrays upon taking the potion is illustrated to the reader as if he is being re-birthed but into a whole new perception of life. Physically, he is in such a pain because his bones are grinding, horrendous spirits are among him, and he is overcome with nausea. When it subsides, he is self-aware of his new mentality of wickedness (Stevenson 1710). Hyde sees himself in a mirror as the smaller, less robust side of Jekyll, and this is probable due to the facts of evolution because Jekyll, as a public figure, practiced more good in the world, as to Hyde, who is now getting to release his evil (Ferrer-Medina). Hyde, having an aggressive instinct, no moral or social standards, takes pleasure in violence ultimately leading to his own destruction (Singh).
As Stevenson was fascinated by Darwin theory of evolution he decided to portray it in his work. Due to the fact that in Victorian times the idea of rationalism was popular and that people weren’t supposed to show their strong emotions their darker sides were repressed and The locked doors and curtained windows of Jekyll’s house form the imagery of a man locking away the truth that lurks inside; Jekyll turning into Hyde is a metaphor of what happens when the unconscious mind is revealed; the murder of Carew symbolizes the repressed mind striking out at the conscious mind. The whole narrative is about unpeeling the layers that hide the repressed desires inside Jekyll Stevenson also uses several narrative points of view to intensify the feeling of a frightening outsider. As Hyde is often narrated in a mysterious way through different characters perspectives which slowly reveals horror a feature used in gothics.
Jekyll is seen performing scientific practice, attempting to achieve a goal which can be argued to exceed his mental capacity. Dr. Jekyll wished to remove his dark side, tampering with the duality of man. He expressed hatred towards is his darker side. It shows this in the quote “many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as i was guilty of;... I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame.”
One reason Jekyll can be seen as a victim in chapter 10 is that he is constantly struggling against the power of Mr. Hyde. Despite his attempts to control and suppress the monstrous side of his personality, Jekyll finds that he is unable to completely rid himself of Hyde. This is evident in the quote, "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse" (Stevenson, Chapter 10). This suggests that Jekyll is being overwhelmed by the power of Hyde, and is struggling to maintain his own identity. Jekyll's struggle against the power of Hyde is further demonstrated in his inability to destroy the potion that allows him to transform into his alter ego.
“Hyde” is just Jekyll, having transformed his body into something unrecognizable". Jekyll does not make the potion to take away all evil away from himself. He created a potion that would allow himself to express his feelings without feeling guilt and facing any consequences effecting his respectable self. Dr. Jekyll in the novella is a respected professor and well known around the town. While Hyde on the other hand is almost the complete opposite.
Jekyll lives his life as a good person with some evil and he struggles with this threw out the whole novella. Dr. Jekyll shows his good side
Dr. Jekyll is seemingly good, kind, and benevolent; while is not purely good he is a moral gentleman. He started his experiment so he could totally separate the bad and the good in himself into two separate beings. He did not succeed, however, for Dr. Jekyll is plagued by the feeling that he wants to become evil again, thus he wants to become Mr. Hyde. It is important to note that Mr. Hyde is completely evil; he has no goodness in him, in contrast to Dr. Jekyll who was a troubled mix. Mr. Hyde feels no remorse for any evil he has done and actually feels elated when he does commit a moral sin.
While Dr. Jekyll is more of a laid back type of person, he does not want to talk certain things such as why Mr. Hyde was in his
Jekyll finds his dark side a burden and is determined to separate his good side from his corrupt side by undertaking experiments. Through those experiments, he creates Mr. Hyde finding a way to transform himself into another being so that he fully becomes his evil half. Mr. Edward Hyde is the alter evil ego of Henry Jekyll who is called “ugly and deformed” in the story many times, though no one can say why, he is an evil man who is repugnant and cruel. Hyde is created or comes to life through a potion Jekyll creates that
This in itself is answered and directly bought up by Jekyll in the book, with the quote: I believe that this quote explains that Dr. Jekyll feels that although Hyde is pure evil, he knows that there is also an evil side to Jekyll – he allowed Hyde to exist, fully well knowing that Hyde would be dangerous. Alongside the titular Hyde and Jekyll is Utterson – Jekyll’s best friend who is only trying to find the truth and bring righteous justice – compared to his colleagues, he is a lot less judgmental of bad actions; and will only choose to judge when he has answers. Throughout the story, Utterson is trying to find out the truth about Hyde – who he is, and where he came from, et cetera – as well as Jekyll, wanting to know information like why he entrusted his fortune to such an unknown and shady person such as Hyde – as shown in the
Supernatural events have been intertwined in a large portion of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This story would be nothing without the encounters with supernatural. Supernatural is defined as beyond the measure and explanation of Science. To give some background information, In Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we start off with four main characters. The four main characters are Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Lanyon, and Mr. Utterson.
Jekyll’s physical appearance is described as a: “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness, large handsome face” (12-13). Jekyll is tall and built: tying in to his stature in his community. He is also referenced as smooth-faced, just as everyone sees his personality—smooth and put together. The way the author described Jekyll was perfectly fitting to the good he represented. Mr. Hyde’s physical appearance however, was vastly different from Dr. Jekyll.
One gothic element for the novel “Frankenstein” is the supernatural. Supernatural gothic element focuses on monsters, Ghosts, curses etc. As you begin reading the novel written by Mary Shelley you cannot tell the story is about a monster being created but your introduced to victor Frankenstein he wants to study sciences. Later on in the story you see how victor grows and obsession for science and he wants to create something nobody has ever created. Victor creates a monster he gathers old human features from graves of people who have passed away to create this monster.
Overall, Stevenson’s presentation of the duality of man is conveyed by the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde because towards the end of the novel. Jekyll begins to realise that the schism which once caused them to despise one another, help them understand each other situation. Jekyll even begins to ‘pity’ Hyde toward the end of novel, praising his ‘love for life’ by calling it ‘wonderful’, as his creator he consequently acknowledges the condescending attitudes towards Hyde, unfairly for his appearance, however rightfully so for his actions. Moreover, like Darwin’s theory, Hyde could never be accepted into society, often being characterised as a ‘brute’. Additionally, Jekyll’s actions would be condemned by the Victorian readers, as he was
