Explore how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the duality of human nature in “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” The duality of human nature comes in many forms and throughout ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ Stevenson assess and stretches the boundaries of the balance within and between humans; personifying various differences in the mind and body with the characters of Jekyll and Hyde, and how they are represented at the time of the plot. Many of Stevenson’s own experiences with different people and places contributes to the perspective and insight of the reader. Stevenson presents the duality of human nature through the setting descriptions of the two sides of London and the residence of the characters; this is also representative of his life and experiences …show more content…
In contrast, Dr Jekyll immerses himself into society and his friends, “the doctor gave one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies”- he actively seeks the company of others, but upon the expulsion of the animalistic desires of Hyde, that he deemed unfit for society, he began to withdraw himself from his acquaintances. “sat Dr Jekyll, looking deadly sick.” Hyde’s actions were taking a toll on Jekyll’s prosperity, leaving him a shell of the man he was before. At the time the novella was written/is set, there was a very clear divide between the wealthy, upper-class who hosted dinners and had servants and people who lived in the deep recesses of the city, forgotten about. Jekyll, fully realising the segregation, remained on his estate bought “from the heirs of a celebrated surgeon”, while he inhibits Hyde in “the dismal quarters of Soho” further showing the social difference between the two. Can this also be a divide in class? Despite both being well-mannered and in possession of wealth, Hyde, at the time, would be seen as lower-class, an outcast from society. *use the source!... well