Mr Hyde Duality

In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson argues for the duality of man, and that crime is a choice, however, this clashes with the views of crime during the late 1800s. In outlining his view of crime, Stevenson argues that race and class have rather little to do with crime and that if everyone is capable of both good and evil, then everyone is also capable of crime. Stevenson combats the bias of the Victorian Era concerning who commits crime, but at the same time, appears to be a proponent of harsh punishment, considering that Jekyll kills himself, Lanyon dies, and Utterson remains the same.
Stevenson demonstrates the duality of man through the character of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are famous for being

Someone who was respected, and seemed normal. Stevenson challenges the idea of normality, however, with the reveal the Dr. Jekyll was transforming in Mr. Hyde and had actually committed a murder. Dr. Jekyll describes Hyde, “This familiar that I called out of my own soul, and sent forth alone to do his good pleasure, was a being inherently malign and villainous; 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” (Stevenson 46). There are several linguistic intricacies here. First, he specifies that Hyde was called out of his ‘own soul’, not personality, or urges, or inclinations, but, out of his

English citizens’ belief in their own superiority, ran deep and seeped into every aspect of their society, particularly, the justice system. This extended to other British citizens that were not English, including the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Irish defendants were both more likely to be convicted and more likely to be executed in comparison with their English counterparts (Conley 780). The Irish, Scottish, and Welsh were viewed as outsiders and barbarians, particularly the Irish. The belief was also unfounded, Ireland had a lower crime rate than England at the time, but the misconception persisted. This compounded, the misconceptions about crime, crime was something that belonged to others, and barbarians, which worsened the English opinion of both criminals and outsiders like the Irish (Conley 785). Despite Victorian society’s associations of crime with lower classes and other ‘inferior races’, Stevenson presents a different case. Stevenson does not argue that crime is a racially based, nor is it based on class. Stevenson rejects reputation, class, and race as explanations for what causes crime. If every human has the capacity for both good and evil, then crime is not an inherent part of a person and requires another explanation. For Stevenson, the explanation lies in free will, crime is a choice, and with choices, come consequences for