Jekyll And Mr Hyde Duality Analysis

Duality is the ghost of man. It haunts man in unperceivable matters such as the right and left brain (Melina par 1). Although duality may not make complete monsters out of humans, as seen in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, which is the first science fiction work (Stableford par 7), it can still summon unimaginable evils from within us all. This is especially seen in the Gothic and fictitious novella known as Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” This book contrasts his previous works such as Treasure Island, an adventure tale (Robert Louis Stevenson par 9); however, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is also an adventure tale in its own right. Although Dr. Jekyll’s physical transformation was a hideous

This phrase is seemingly prophetic to not only the story of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” but to human morality as well. The first example of duality in the novella can be seen in the physical descriptions of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde is so disgustingly ugly that his very face alone caused Mr. Utterson to feel a “nausea and [a] distaste of life” (Stevenson 12). Hyde is even described as bearing “Satan’s signature” upon his face(Stevenson 12).Mr. Hyde is a young, small, and stumping man that embodies all of the wickedness of Dr. Jekyll (Buzzwell par 2). On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll is a prosperous physician that loves his friend Mr. Utterson (Buzzwell par 1). However, both the bestial Mr. Hyde and well-respected Dr.Jekyll both share a common desire: evil (Duality of Human Nature par 1). Mr.Utterson cries out on page thirteen that Dr. Jekyll was no saint as a youth, in fact, he was wild and Mr. Hyde could possibly be the ghost a sacred sin (Stevenson 13). In continuation, Dr. Jekyll admits in a letter that he created Mr. Hyde to seek freedoms that he as a respectable man would not be able to (Stevenson

Hyde, Dr.Jekyll faced a “Descent of Man” (Buzwell par 2). Charles Darwin wrote in “The Descent of Man” that humanity “descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped” and this can be compared to the “ape-like” Mr. Hyde (Stevenson 18). Mr. Hyde is Dr.Jekyll’s de-evolution and through this de-evolution, Jekyll no longer has to bear the persnickety expectations of society; instead, he is free to unleash his roaring devil (Buzzwell par 2). Though this Victorian novella was published in eighteen-eighty six, it indulges in matters that haunt every man (Robert Louis Stevenson par 10; Duality of Human Nature par 2). As with every man, Dr. Jekyll was faced with a dilemma: whether to let himself go into pleasurable evil, yet lose his respectability or to keep his respectability and lose his pleasure (Stevenson 57). This temptation can be seen in numerous cases, especially in the royal one of King Midas (Story Arts par 3-4). King Midas was blessed with a golden touch that soon turned into a curse because he could no longer eat or touch anything without it turning gold (Story Arts 1-4). He soon lost his most valuable possession, his daughter, and it was only then that he learned that his greed would cost him (Story Arts 4). Similarly, Dr. Jekyll had to kill himself to end his greed by stopping Mr. Hyde from completely controlling him (Stevenson 56). In conclusion to this, Dr. Jekyll faced his demise from giving into a struggle as “old and commonplace as