The Theme Of Repression In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
It can be very difficult to lead a respectable life which is constantly being looked upon by peers without both good and bad sides of one’s personality surfacing. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson the author describes the difficulty of a man leading two different lives. Repression is defined as the action or process of suppressing a thought or desire in oneself so that it remains unconscious. Dr. Jekyll makes the amazing discovery about isolating personalities but his desire for leading different lives prevails due to his nobility of being good in the name of science.

Dr. Henry Jekyll is a respected doctor and physician who since his youth days has secretly engaged in corrupt behavior and actions. 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

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” because the story takes place in Victorian England we see that the characters have no room for expression of emotions or violence. Everything they do is secret, so the more Dr Jekyll is repressed, the more he wants to be Mr Hyde. The original characteristics of Henry Jekyll are reflected as “...life of effort, virtue, and control” (pg. 172) because, most of his life his vice activities were maintained a secret. According to Jekyll, when evil is separated into one body, one will not know right from wrong because there is no conscious in a being of complete evil which was Hyde for