Explore the ideas of duality in both Macbeth and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde?
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Robert Louise Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde both demonstrate duality through the theme, character, appearance and settings. Macbeth is the story of worthy warrior who serves his country Scotland, but is lead into a poisonous path of sorrow and despair due to the conflict of moral and foul in his mind, thus showing the rise of a heroic man to the demise of hated ruler because of his ambition. Shakespeare uses dichotomies to display Macbeth’s righteous as well as malicious qualities. Stevenson’s tells a story of Dr Jekyll, the embodiment of a trustworthy and noble gentleman, who has another distinct identity within him that is
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These inseparable conflicting forces constantly struggle for sovereignty in his consciousness as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are implied to be the primitive duality of good and evil. Dualism is used to convey both good and evil within individuals during the Victorian and Jacobean era.
Stevenson uses the ideology of the three divisions of psychoanalytic theory which was created by Sigmund Freud (a neurologist) in the nineteen hundreds. This theory suggested that the psychological side of humans was constructed of three different forms, the id which is the instinctual side; the super-ego which is the moral/ethical and ego the realistic part. This theory can be seen in Stevenson’s novella to show duality in the form of ambition as Dr Jekyll had desire and thirst for Knowledge which led to Mr Hyde. Henry Jekyll
In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare shows the gradual change in the protagonist Macbeth by displaying how he goes from a hero to a tyrant. Similarly, in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Stevenson includes the downfall of his protagonist in his story by showing him as a prestigious gentleman at the start of the play, but near the end he is shown as the villainous Mr Hyde. In ‘Macbeth’ the protagonists downfall is somewhat caused by the Witches and Lady Macbeth whereas in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ the protagonists downfall is due to his addiction to his potion. At the start of the play, Macbeth is shown as kind and brave due to his acts in the war. King Duncan says, “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”.
In the gothic novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson depicts an idea of the supernatural realm. It is a tale of a man that is well-known among the townspeople as Dr. Henry Jekyll. The doctor transforms into a being completely opposite of himself. Being a man of science, he feels a compulsion to create a potion that will release his alter ego, Mr. Hyde, while protecting his true identity. Throughout the story, many examples of symbolism are presented to the reader.
Jekyll & Hyde: The Duality of Scientific Philosophies The novella “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” has many elements of science compiled inside the story. The main scientific occurrence of the story is the duality between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which is what creates the basic concept of the story. The whole story plays around with this idea of duality and also on different scientists in the novella’s perspective on science.
In the novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the complexity of human nature. He uses characters and events in the novel to present his stance on the major theme: “man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). Branching from this major theme are many more specific views on the idea that human nature is divided into good and evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two very different people who occupy the same body. Human beings struggle with good and evil and Stevenson goes to the extreme to to show this relationship.
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.
Duality is shown in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a gothic tale of a scientist whom looks to advance the life-giving qualities of mother nature. Through this novel, Shelley proves that good and evil in human nature is not always simple to define, and that everyone has both of these qualities within them. The duality of human nature is shown through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, who are both heroes in the novel while simultaneously displaying anti-hero qualities. Shelley forces the reader to sympathize with them both but also creates gruesome ideas of the two. Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.”
Deception in ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ ‘The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is a novella by the scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. Stevenson, born November 13, 1850, is also the author of the well known book; ‘Treasure Island’. Robert L. Stevenson, who died December 3, 1894,, was said to be influenced by authors such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. This book is part of the gothic genre, a genre of literature that combines fiction, and horror, death and at times romance. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll and Hyde is about a London lawyer named Mr, Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde.
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
The novella Jekyll and Hyde tells the tragic story of a battle between good and evil, a battle for total control over the mind and soul. The clash between the pure and impure sides of man: a fight to the finish. It explores the aspect of a person’s good and bad side; holy and unholy, the one who bathes himself in God’s light and the one whom plays with The Devil’s fire. The battle between the good-willed Dr. Jekyll, and his evil persona: the murderous Mr. Hyde. The author, Stevenson, presents this in numerous ways and describes the two conflicting sides well.
Dr. Jekyll is viewed as a smart man with a lot of knowledge, however, due to Jekyll not being satisfied with his life, he is determined to get more out of his live and is willing to do anything to fulfill his determination. Dr. Jekyll expresses this when he states, “[A] grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside… [t]here was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul.” (Stevenson 57).
Jekyll and Hyde TCEA In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the predominant archetypal theme is “good and evil exist in all humans, and we live our lives struggling with these two forces.” This theme describes the duality of good and evil in Dr. Jekyll—the good being Jekyll and bad being Hyde— and the struggle he has with both sides fighting for dominance within himself. The emotional mindset and the physical attributes of Jekyll and Hyde show the good and evil within themselves.
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson is a book that intrigues one’s mind, because it makes us question ourselves about the balance between the two opposing forces. The story starts out with Mr. Utterson, a lawyer and a great friend of Dr. Jekyll, hearing about Hyde for the first time, who is very shady and somewhat misconfigured. Mr. Utterson hears about Hyde’s bad reputation, and his usage of Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory; therefore, Mr. Utterson suspects some kind of relationship between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson’s friend Lanyon, who is a doctor, dies after Dr. Jekyll goes into seclusion; Mr. Utterson goes to Dr. Jekyll’s house to seek the truth behind Lanyon’s death, but he instead sees Hyde dead. Mr. Utterson
In the novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry Jekyll had the belief that there were two sides to everyone. One side being good. One side being evil. There is a purpose for the two coexisting.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consists of reputation, good vs evil and damage control. In other words, Utterson tirelessly works to prevent his best friend Dr. Jekyll from being dragged into the horrid affairs of Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll goes through the greatest of lengths to prevent his Hyde identity from being discovered, in order to avoid anyone knowing of his somewhat questionable scientific work and morally despicable behavior. Much of the novel is based on the characters ' reputations, how they have to maintain a good public image, as they are upper class people. The novel takes place in Victorian England and the main characters are all male members of upper class London.
Stevenson also warns readers of the all-consuming nature of evil. This is indisputably epitomised in the character os Dr. Jekyll as he succumbs to his “other self”, Hyde, and is unable to escape from the insidious nature of Hyde. Only death was able to relieve Dr. Jekyll of his immoral and “wicked” side (Stevenson 1689). Therefore, the text could be viewed as a 19th century social novel that allegorises the evils and immoral vices of