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Theme Of Deformity In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

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“It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it” (Stevenson 34). In Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Gabriel Utterson goes on an investigation to discover the true motives of Edward Hyde after experiencing his vile actions of murder. When he finds out, his good friend, Henry Jekyll, is working with the criminal, he digs deeper to uncover their connection. After various experiments, it is found that Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll's alter ego, who lives out Jekyll's deepest desires. During the Victorian era, the theory of degeneration, the retrogression from a human to an animalistic state, brought great fright to the British. In Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde represents threats to British society. …show more content…

His unsightly appearance portrays the physical and mental ugliness shown by those affected by degeneration. McCrystal describes how his abnormal qualities are disturbing to readers, “Hyde's animalistic and unnatural qualities contribute to his rejection from society. Hyde does not fit “normal”society, as Mr. Enfield remarks: ‘He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity’. Jekyll, too, describes the image of Hyde as evil having left ‘an imprint of deformity and decay’” (Stevenson qtd. in McCrystal). McCrystal explains that Hyde’s abnormal character sets him apart from societal norms. Stevenson describes Hyde’s form as incomprehensible a multitude of times, and refers to him with an “impression of deformity without any nameable malformation… I read Satan’s signature apron a face” (Stevenson 14). Hyde’s impression on society has such a great impact that he has constructed himself to resemble the devil. Jekyll creates this monster to offer himself the freedom to pursue his desires, but he never thought his inner thoughts were of this potency. He is soon forced out of his own home because of Hyde and sent himself into hiding to protect the rest of society that was not yet affected by Hyde's cruel

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How does Stevenson present Hyde as a frightening outsider? demons=us Hyde as a character is never fully present, he is always coming or going from one place to another whenever he is introduced into the narrative. All the characters find it difficult to describe him, no one knows what he is doing when he is out of Mr Utterson’s perspective. Stevenson has effectively manipulated language and dramatic effect from the first mention of Mr Hyde in order to create the elusive evil that haunts the streets of Victorian London. Stevenson presents a sense of displacement about Mr Hyde, when he is first encountered, he is ‘stumping along eastward’ at ‘3 o’clock’ in the morning, and when he is met by Mr Utterson he is ‘approaching home’, again in the

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Hydes menacing personality evokes a feeling of horror by leaving the reader questioning a character, in this case, Hyde, reliability in the human world

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Hyde is described with these terms because Enfield has no true answer to describe his appearance. He says Hyde is displeasing to look at and must have some sort of deformity, almost as if Hyde is not a normal human being. Hyde turned angry at carew's “trampling” him with his cane until “bones were shattered” (Stevenson 48). Instead of Hyde stopping his devilish actions of bashing poor Carew, he continued to keep going with no remorse. It was almost like he had no heart feeling or emotion of sympathy, this is something the devil would do.

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There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point (Stevenson, 1886, p. 5) The quotation above is important to the book because the initial description of Hyde given by Enfield is consistently given by others as well. As Hyde is a being of pure evil, he sets others on edge yet his creation is entirely scientific.

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Overall, Stevenson’s presentation of the duality of man is conveyed by the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde because towards the end of the novel. Jekyll begins to realise that the schism which once caused them to despise one another, help them understand each other situation. Jekyll even begins to ‘pity’ Hyde toward the end of novel, praising his ‘love for life’ by calling it ‘wonderful’, as his creator he consequently acknowledges the condescending attitudes towards Hyde, unfairly for his appearance, however rightfully so for his actions. Moreover, like Darwin’s theory, Hyde could never be accepted into society, often being characterised as a ‘brute’. Additionally, Jekyll’s actions would be condemned by the Victorian readers, as he was

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The novella Jekyll and Hyde tells the tragic story of a battle between good and evil, a battle for total control over the mind and soul. The clash between the pure and impure sides of man: a fight to the finish. It explores the aspect of a person’s good and bad side; holy and unholy, the one who bathes himself in God’s light and the one whom plays with The Devil’s fire. The battle between the good-willed Dr. Jekyll, and his evil persona: the murderous Mr. Hyde. The author, Stevenson, presents this in numerous ways and describes the two conflicting sides well.

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In the novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the complexity of human nature. He uses characters and events in the novel to present his stance on the major theme: “man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). Branching from this major theme are many more specific views on the idea that human nature is divided into good and evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two very different people who occupy the same body. Human beings struggle with good and evil and Stevenson goes to the extreme to to show this relationship.

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Hyde’s physical factors were: “pale and dwarfish; he gave an impression of deformity without any namable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky whispering somewhat broken voice” (10). Jekyll is large while Hyde is small in stature, because of Hyde’s ethics being lower than of Jekyll’s. Hyde is also smaller because he is suppressed; he is hidden and shameful to Jekyll’s moral value. Hyde is described as “deformed” and has a “broken” voice. A voice is used to be heard by all; it is your projection onto the world.

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Through the character of Dr Jekyll character, we can see an unwillingness of entering the social order, which is made evident by Mr. Hyde, his direct opposite. At first he drinks the drug in order to enter into a realm that has no social mores, no laws from the father to follow. He assumes a Mr. Hyde, the new identity so as to test those boundaries. Through the “monster culture” we can establish that Dr Jekylls unconscious desire is personified in Mr. Hyde, and this will enable us to see Dr Jekyll as the illusion of reality and he was not whosever he claimed to be. He possessed unconscious desires which he had to let out.

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Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a short novel written by Robert Stevenson, shocking the audience with its sudden twist. Told mostly from the view of Mr. Utterson, Jekyll’s lawyer, he goes through the mysterious connection between Jekyll and a horrible man named Mr. Hyde. In the end of the novel, it is discovered that Jekyll is Hyde, taking a potion to transform into the hideous man. After several transformations into Hyde, Jekyll finally glances into a mirror, seeing a short, hideous and hairy man, much different from the tall and clean Jekyll. In the novel, Stevenson uses mirrors to represent Hyde’s physical manifestation, an object that reflects within the person, and he uses the mirrors to show the unstable duality of the individual's psyche.

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This distinct use of visual imagery creates a stark contrast between two seemingly different personas who will later be revealed to be different sides of Dr. Jekyll himself. The use of environment and setting also aids in distinguishing the two characters. When Mr. Utterson visits Hyde in his home, the surrounding environment is portrayed as a “dingy street” and “a gin palace” with “many ragged children huddled in the doorways” (Stevenson 1689). These images are symbolic of vice and poverty, all of which emphasise the perverse and deviant nature of Hyde as he commits several sins in the novel and is lacking in morals. On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll’s home is often depicted as “warmed by a bright, open fire”, “large”, and “comfortable” (Stevenson 1685), an embodiment of the Victorian outward respectability and “moral”

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