Comparing Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson

Drugs are like mirrors of light. In both ways, they offer reflections into one’s true soul, and although they may negatively influence one’s point of view, both can promote discovery through careful insight. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the audience and Utterson discover Jekyll’s last letter explaining his experiences with the transformation substance, a full formula write-up on the drug, and an explanation for creating the antidote, as the audience must decide on whether they should preserve the information for scientific discovery or if individuals must destroy it to prevent disaster. Although one may argue that the drug is too dangerous to be in humanity’s grasp, scientists must preserve Dr. Jekyll’s transformative

Jekyll alludes to this through his words to Lanyon as Hyde before his transformation when he illuminates, “And now, you who have so long been bound to the most narrow and material views, you who have denied the virtue of transcendental medicine, you who have derided your superiors—behold!” (Stevenson 80). Though many depict Jekyll’s drug as a source of evil and darkness, it also has the potential for transformation, as the idea of transcendental medicine suggests a more spiritual or metaphysical approach to healing, contrasting with the narrow and material views that Dr. Jekyll was bound to. Thus, by offering a new precedent for medicine, some drugs have the potential to provide a foundation for future research and discoveries that could pave the way for new and innovative approaches to healing and exploration. By pursuing an unconventional path, like exploring the possibilities of otherworldly medicine, some drugs have the potential to pave the way for new ideas and opportunities in

While explaining his fascination with the duality of man and his reasons for experimenting with the substance, Jekyll emphasizes, “If each, I told myself, could but be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust delivered from the aspirations might go his way, and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this Jekyll suggests the drug could separate the good from the bad and provide a path for humanity to pursue righteous aspirations without being held back by the influence of another aspect of themselves, which allows the audience to understand that Jekyll’s potion is not solely for careless deeds and instead can augment virtuousness in oneself. Thus, experimentation and usage of drugs in science can help individuals reach their full potential in morality, enabling them to better comprehend and embrace the complexities of human