Essay Preview: LoveReport this essayThe Real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeIn the Stevensons novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde many important themes are expressed. Among the plethora of themes, the most prevalent and repetitive one we see is the duality of man. Everyone has different sides within themselves and they have inner desires they wish they could express. Many individuals dont due to the fact that they are fully aware of the consequences of their actions. This is what some would consider their conscience. Dr. Henry Jekyll lacks a conscience; therefore it is quite simple for him to make irrational choices. He feels they are justified because he has made up a name and character for the person that commits the horrendous acts. The partition of Jekyll into two distinct entities, Jekyll and Hyde, is an allegory for humankinds conflicting forces of good and evil and these characters bring to life the innate struggle between the two opposing powers of the human soul that Jekyll knows he posses from the start of the novel.
Dr. Jekyll was fully aware of his inner evil from the start of the novel. Dr. Jekyll recognizes from the start that Mr. Hyde is a part of himself. In Dr. Jekylls letter to Mr. Utterson, he stated that Mr. Hyde, “bore the stamp, of lower elements in my soul.” Dr. Jekyll also explains, “It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date . . . I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements (Stevenson 57).” Jekyll refers to Hyde as his “lower element.” This shows how he feels that Hyde is on a lower moral and physical level than himself. Being lower also suggests that Hyde is closer to Satan, which is indubitably the epitome of dissolution. Jekyll makes distinctions between himself and Hyde to show the division of two people as opposed to it being one distinct man that commits crimes. Moreover, Jekyll feels that every individual has dual personalities, however, he feels that he has the ability to bring to life his evil side without facing the consequences.
Jekyll, the protagonist, portrays the good side of human nature in this narrative. Dr. Jekyll is apparently an intelligent man baring so many titles such as “MD, DCL, LLD, and FRS”(Stevenson 11). The people who know him respect him. He is a wealthy man and lives in a nice house with loyal servants. It is presumable that he is the epitome of the Victorian man. Although, he should be grateful for the life he has he still has vicious and wicked desires to carry out. As he mentioned, “man is not truly one, but truly two”(Stevenson 104). His manifestation of Mr. Hyde harbors secret passions and desires. While Jekyll represents the average wholesome man, Hyde embodies an ugly grotesque being with no remorse. From the start of the story, Jekyll is aware of this dual nature. Knowing this, he still concocts a potion that will distinguish the two halves of his soul. A desolate contrast of the two beings is evident at the time of Jekylls first interaction with the potion. Jekyll, a tall and good-looking man was transformed into Hyde, a man with distorted frame and ugly countenance.
Hyde is physically described as being smaller than Jekyll. This is seen in chapter eight when Utterson notices that Hyde is wearing a suit that belongs to Jekyll and that is much too large for him. He is also suggested as being younger, which leads Jekyll to deduce that his evil element is quite diminutive and perhaps not as significant as his good side. However, Hydes physical strength obviously suggests the opposite. Utterson and Lanyon describe Hyde as being atrocious barley even human like. The novel fails to depict exactly why he is so hideous in appearance, however, the characters suggest its due to his clothing and demeanor. This implies that he possesses an evil that brings a sadistic comfort to Jekyll. Jekyll delights himself in Hydes inappropriate role in the human world.
Duality of personalities invokes bewilderment in people. It is unmistakable that Jekyll “in fact sometimes wanted to turn into Hyde as a departure from his normal state” (Dalrymple 25). Jekyll was fully aware of his secret desires and created Hyde to carry out the acts he was scared to execute. “The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll. In other words if you practice evil, you become evil. Character is habit” (Dalrymple 25). This is true because practice makes perfect and Jekyll practiced being Hyde so much that it allowed Hyde to take over Jekyll almost entirely. Also, it was not as if Jekyll was a saint to begin with. One who even ponders doing such evil could not be completely sane in the first place. Thus, the chemicals are not the creators of evil within Jekyll. They simply release his inner monster that he had castigated and given fuel to for so long. This concludes that his transformation was willingly physiological as well as physical.
The reason that Jekyll created a life form of Hyde is due to the fear that was embedded in his mind. Jekyll felt that anything was possible, but one emotion hindered him from performing the evil acts himself; that impulse is purely fear. Jekyll repetitively inculcates how man has two sides to him. He came up with this notion simply because his thoughts lacked some coherence with his behavior. The only way he was so successful at splitting his life between the two was because he was a master of deception all along. This proves that theory of duality only exists upon his hypocrisy. Once he realizes his hypocrisy, he tries to separate the two personalities he has in a mere attempt to find some truth within himself.
Jekyll is given the power to act with a mirror. It is no coincidence that Hyde was trained in these principles, as he had a complete knowledge of them and was able to see through them without his use of a mirror.
There are many reasons for the fact that Hyde has a mirror. The obvious one is that his current body is not very good at handling things and that he needs better tools and equipment.
But when he gets through his work, or even makes a discovery or even tries to kill someone, his mirror is able to break through any and everything. But when its mind and body are not able to interact well.
How was Hyde able to see through his mirror? After he realized this fact, of course he is disappointed. He also understands that this is not a problem. Hyde is simply trying to live a life, but he does something he can’t accomplish in his job.
Jekyll’s mirror shows itself a large part of his life. Although his new body is not quite perfect, it still has the look of his body and he has not reached his full potential as an artist. Once his body shows the same, Hyde could be able to do something he never planned or even planned to do. He tries even harder to achieve his dream that is complete, but every time his body shows the same, he must admit that, as it should, he is wrong. What is this that he did that he cannot fulfill?
Hyde feels the need to prove himself. He is confident about his abilities. In the end, he is determined.
Jekyll then comes to the conclusion that he has succeeded in killing anyone who gets in his way. He feels that it might all be a trick that he had his eye on. Now he has been told that he has been chosen to die for his sake. He makes it his responsibility to stop that from happening in the first place, although as he has already lost his motivation, he thinks that he is going to end things as well.
There’s much more to Hyde in his future. Perhaps his mirror shows him something bigger and more important. It might well be the very things that make him a good person at this point, such as a powerful power. He is going to have to go through it all before he gets there. He will have to endure the pain for one day.
By the way, it would be very sad if such a high level of achievement happened to you all. You still have all the rewards you needed to do better.
Jekyll can learn. It might be possible.
The potion Jekyll consumes is the catalyst in bringing to life the two individuals that coexist in his conscience.