Jekyll And Mr Hyde Morality

“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.” This famous quote was said by Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of the strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this Novella, we see an upstanding, well-respected, and intelligent scientist who interferes with the darker side of science, bringing out his 'second' nature, by transforming himself into Mr. Hyde - his evil alter ego which is the embodiment of all evil impulses, but is he truly evil or just is he just misunderstood? I believe that Jekyll and Hyde are not evil individuals, only reflections of a broader fault of humanity

The Victorian era, famed for its outstanding morals and social customs, was often seen as being a period of peace and perfection for England.

Desires were repressed, and even in the novella, Jekyll was depressed as he had to be a slave of society, following their demoralizing and outlandish unspoken rules. This could be seen in real life where many upper-class men had to travel to poorer areas just so they aren’t recognized, carrying out their desires, for having this “Victorian gentlemen” persona was a formality and showing any sign of emotion or any wrongdoing could easily shatter one’s reputation which will change the perception of that person. This could be seen in the novella when Enfield tried blackmailing Hyde by threatening to make “a scandal out of his name”, emphasizing how significant one’s reputation is. There was a general dislike for unpleasant topics, such as a human fault or any personal subject that granted a glimpse into the undesirable parts of human nature. This could link to the conversation between Utterson and Enfield in

However, he was never arrested or caught; Can you guess who this is? It is the Infamous Jack the Ripper. Now I bring this up because at the time, the case was left behind and this can almost be associated with Dr. Jekyll who was also a doctor, but no one ever questioned his relationship with Mr. Hyde even though Hyde was seen coming in and out of his house. This shows how the upper class could easily manipulate their way out of things, just because of their social status, no one could ever deem them as having a different side of them, linking the theme of Appearance vs reality and how nothing is as it seems. This heavily contrasts with how Victorians had identified people for they heavily relied on the Theory of Physiognomy which is based on associating personal characteristics and traits with physical differences and especially with elements of people's faces. This theory by itself disadvantages the lower class as they could not retain goods/services to make them visually appealing unlike the upper class; Stevenson even tries to show this through a comparison between Jekyll and Hyde’s appearance, Jekyll being “a large, well-made,