Evil In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

Does possessing the role of a bystander surrounded by evil make you innocent and irresponsible for the immoral acts that you are surrounded by? In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the dual nature of men by highlighting the immorality that exists inside of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll’s repressed identity. Through murder and assault, Mr. Hyde is portrayed as an unstable and dangerous being; however, Dr. Jekyll’s secret involvement in the manifestation of Mr. Hyde plays a larger role in the presence of evil throughout the novel. Dr. Jekyll does not hesitate to digest the transformative potion that he has concocted despite the fact that he understands that the substance unleashes his evil, hidden persona on the world. Dr. Jekyll’s

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson consistently portrays Mr. Hyde as the villainous figure of the novel. The immoral actions of Mr. Hyde lead to him developing a reputation as a dangerous societal presence. It is apparent that his puzzling demeanor invokes fear inside of his acquaintances in the statement, “he answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman. The old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr. Hyde broke out of all bounds, and clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway (14-15). Stevenson highlights Mr. Hyde’s unpredictability by recounting his actions as “sudden.” The employment of this literary term alludes to the fact that Mr. Hyde is an unstable, loose-cannon. The uncertainty revolving around what Mr. Hyde might do next leads to a growing sense of fear in his surrounding townsmen. Mr. Hyde’s “ape-like fury” is included in the narration as a dehumanization tactic. By suggesting that his actions are “ape-like,” Stevenson is illustrating Mr. Hyde as a barbaric and savage character, one to be apprehensive of. The

Hyde is portrayed as the sole villain in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, his appearance in the novel is initiated by the Dr. Jekyll’s scientific exploration and desire to act upon his evil urges. Without Dr. Jekyll’s direct involvement, the transformative potion never would have come about. His ability to secretly release his repressed self upon the world as Mr. Hyde while still maintaining a pure and faultless public persona as Dr. Jekyll allows for the absence of agency. It is evident that Dr. Jekyll abuses his transformative potion to indulge his inner desires in the phrase, “his every act and thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another; relentless like a man of stone. Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde; but the situation was apart from ordinary laws, and insidiously relaxed the grasp of conscience. It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty . . . his conscience slumbered” (46). By stating that “Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde,” Stevenson is noting that Dr. Jekyll is fully aware of the extent of the evil acts that are being committed by the other identity involved in his dual nature. Dr. Jekyll acknowledges that Mr. Hyde’s actions are undoubtedly appalling and cruel, yet he continues to consume the transformative potion to allow the blame for his evil impulses to fall upon Mr. Hyde. Since Dr. Jekyll repeatedly ingests the