Explore the theme of Duality in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ Essay

First published in 1886, The peculiar Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an immediate achievement and unriv in alled of author Robert Louis St stillsons stovepipeselling refreshings. It is a classic example of medieval fiction and even though it may be seen as in force(p) a horror falsehood, with accounts of violent absents and a disturbing, scientific experiment at rest(p) wrong, the book also explains the suppression of the Victorian society. Furthermore, Stevenson brought egress further ideas of kind psychology during the Victorian times, as the story explores the theme of duality in hu homosexual temper the idea that e genuinely person has two fonts to themselves a nicer, kind side which after part also be seen as cardboard as it is displayed in social situations, whereas the sinister, darker side of man is unsuspected and cloak-and-dagger. This pass on be my main focus in the essay, analysing how Stevenson uses this theme of dual nature in his novel.The Stran ge Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has another unusual twist because, afterwards all the horr poleous acts that set ab come on been committed and the unpredictable behaviour of the characters, it is just in the last chapter that the plot and the reliable dual nature of heat content Jekyll argon revealed to the reader, through a letter that Jekyll leaves. It is in this letter that he describes in detail his theory of good and evil in matchless body, his scientific interests and what made him want to create such a potion that could discriminate his personality. Jekyll starts with an explanation of his family background and tells us how he was born to a massive fortune, endowed besides with excellent split showing that he had the best start in life and, even from an early age, it was clear that he had every chance of creation successful in the future.This leads to the expectations of him, coming from a wealthinessy family with a high status in the Victorian times Jekyll ha d to do what was expected of him and extend a doctor or a lawyer, which he did achieve. He has all the money, respect and status and from the outside, Jekyll seems to chip in the perfect tense Victorian homos lifestyle. He lives up to this perfect life, putting on a show of having an honest nature, and maintaining good manners and hefty behaviour in unrestricted he was now no slight distinguished for religion. He was busy, he was much in the open air, he did good. However Jekyll lives a double life, in that locations more to him than the side that he displays in public.As much as he wants to be a good person and keep up his appearance, Jekyll finds it fractious to over-correct up his sinful side, where he feels the needs to commit bad kit and boodle such as visiting prostitutes and going out drinking. It doesnt clearly state what exactly it is that Jekyll wants, so it is left to the readers imagination. raze though it might not seem as bad to us in todays society to dr ink and absorb sexual urges, it came across as taboo in the Victorian times so we assume that it was in the immoral side of Jekylls nature to go round getting drunk and having sex. Furthermore if you had a higher status, it would be required of you to suppress these feelings so you wouldnt be shunned upon for acting on your desires.Unfortunately it becomes more and more challenging each day for Jekyll to go on living with the two contrary sides within him, he conceals his pleasures for the reason out that the position he has earned in society and his reputation, depend on it. Jekyll learns that man is not very one, scarcely truly two. ground on this theory, Jekyll researches and develops a potion that could al meek him to try and split the two parts of him, so he can have two separate identities one with a good nature and the other where he can endue in to his darker desires without facing the consequences.After finally finding the right chemicals and substances, Jekyll put s unneurotic the potion and takes a sip, aware that he could be risking his life. As soon as he has taken the potion he begins to experience agonizing straining, the symptoms of which include a grinding in the bones and deadly nausea. However, all these pains disappear after a while and Jekyll starts to feel new, strange feelings he hasnt felt before which he finds incredibly sweet. He sees disordered sensual images in his head and he instantly feels younger, stronger and happier. It seems as if, in a way, Jekyll has created a body to go with and represent his hidden personality and with just a gulp of the potion he has the function to commute himself into this other person, Mr Edward Hyde, whe neer he wants. He realises that he now has an unknown besides not an innocent freedom of the soul and so he knows reliable away that he can let out all the feelings he has kept repressed for so long, that he can carry out the acts he has alship canal desired, and commit sins without fee ling that he guilt that he would have, as Jekyll.At first it seems as if the discovery of this potion was to Jekylls expediency now he has another identity which allows him to do everything he has daydream of doing, without paying the consequences. However Jekyll kept his darker side restrained for such a long period of time, and now that he can release himself through another body, the feelings that were repressed are now so strong that they become violent and lead to him causing harm to the society. Edward Hyde only appears briefly throughout the novel, and is first introduced through one of the other characters, Mr Enfield, telling the story of how he witnessed Hyde carelessly trampling all over a young for no apparent reason, late at night this is what makes Hyde automatically come across as evil from the beginning of the story, to the readers.Robert Louis Stevenson also leaves what it is that Hyde gets up to, to the readers imagination too, but Hydes major appearance in the n ovel is when he viciously kills an old man known as Sir Danvers Carew (the local MP) using a stick and wish the trampling of the young girl incident, without a motive. As Sir Danvers Carew is described as an aged and beautiful gentleman who is verbalize to have bowed and accosted Hyde with a very pretty manner of politeness, it is unmindful(predicate) to us what exactly it was that provoked Hyde to engage in such a horrifying murder. The occurrence that Hyde breaks out in a great cremate of anger and trampled on Sir Danvers until his bones were audibly shattered and also that the voiceless wooden cane he used to beat Sir Danvers with was broken in half, indicates the intensity of Hydes anger and how malicious the murder really was.The murder case brings out the cruelty in Hyde, and furthermore, represents the savagery within him and how brute like his nature is how could a person kill another man so viciously, without even feeling the slightest bit of remorse? Hydes petulan ce is described as imitatorlike and the fact that his behaviour is linked to him being a beast or a savage animal all comes down once again, to the repression of Jekylls feelings the monster in him comes out roaring. at once Jekyll transforms back into himself he realises just how awful the murder he committed as Hyde is and this leaves him feeling blow out of the water and also worried about the join of trouble he volition be in, so in that respectfore vows to never take the potion again. On the other hand, Hyde makes it impossible for Jekyll to stick to this vow. This is for the reason that Hyde loathes Jekyll he wants to be this free, untamed personality all the time and so the power that he has over Jekyll grows more and more until Jekyll finds himself unwillingly transforming into Hyde at ergodic times, without even needing to drink the potion. Jekyll becomes helpless and get it ons that the only way he will ever be able to get rid of Hyde is by final stage his own li fe.Throughout the novel, R.L. Stevenson uses lyric poem which portrays both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as two very different characters, both of their differentiate descriptions suggest that they are nothing similar and that they have nothing in super acid they are both opposites. If it wasnt for Jekylls will which shows us both characters are well acquainted, we would opine that they have nothing to do with each other. As soon as Hyde is just vaguely mentioned in the novel, the other characters and the narrative descriptions use proscribe language directly towards him. They act as if theyve been horrifically shocked by his facial nerve features which makes the reader picture him as a repulsive facial expression at creature, peculiarly as he is said to be pale and dwarfish and that he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation.The text even indicates that thither is some(prenominal)thing so wrong with Hydes physical appearance that he can scare away the other characters in the book by only when looking at them but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running. Also Hyde is often related to having animal-like characteristics and behaviour, linking to Darwins theory of evolution which was newly introduced in the Victorian times or so the same period the story was set. The idea that humans had evolved from animals extremely shocked the Victorians. On one hand it was difficult for them to get their heads just about the fact that humans descended from apes and that the human mind could be composed of animal element, since they strongly believed that God was the creator of the world and all the species, contradicting Darwins theory which challenged creation stories and religious article of faiths.On the other hand it was highly disturbing for the Victorians to acknowledge that they too had descended from apes, when they thought that every individual had been uniquely made by God. It must have been espe cially frightening, for a Victorian to read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and discover the beastlike aspects of Hyde which suggest that he is stuck in the phase of evolving from an ape into a human. This also reflects back to Jekyll creating the potion by attempting to split his personality, he was tamper with Gods creation and going beyond the limits as a human. Jekyll goes too far with his experiments, resulting in disasters. The two different areas in capital of the United Kingdom that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are associated with also differentiate from each other and reflect their contrasting personalities. Jekyll lives in Cavendish Square, a very wealthy area in the tungsten end of capital of the United Kingdom, symbolising the high status of the career that Jekyll has hes a doctor who is wealthy and respectable.Alternatively Hyde comes from Soho one of the poorest areas in London with a bad reputation, at the time the story was set. It is described as a dismal qu arter with muddy ways and slatternly passengers and was spot to the disreputable and indecent places in the Victorian times, such as brothels and music halls there was a dingy street, a gin palace, a low French eating foretoken, a shop for the retail of penny numbers which indicates the low wealth of Soho. The dingy streets and cheapness of Soho makes the reader imagine dirty and grubby roads in comparison to those of Cavendish Square which are as great as a ball-room floor.The quote many ragged children huddle together in the inletways describes the poverty-stricken and deprived state of this area. Naturally this poorer area would have a higher crime rate than other areas in London, which is wherefore it was where one might go to make dodgy deals, or where a person would be most likely to bump into criminals and beggars. Soho particularly reflects Hydes personality and the reader can see exactly why he would fit in so well in such a place, as he can be defined as a criminal in many occasions of the story.The theme of duality throughout the story is also reflected in other characters of the story and the setting too, as well as just Jekyll and Hyde. There are many cases where some of the characters are shown to be hypocrites and even lead double lives. For example, the officer investigation the Carew murder case lit up with professional ambition when he comes to realise that it is the local MP whose death he is in looking into, and the advantages of this case for his career regardless of how brutally Sir Danvers Carew was killed. This hypocritical behaviour of the policeman clearly shows the reader his selfishness and that he cares more about what good it would do him to deal with something that would make a deal of noise than exposing a murderer. He knows that it would lead to his personal recognition within the community, as Sir Danvers was a gentleman who was highly looked up to so he seizes the chance.In addition to this Sir Danvers was said to be walking the street alone, late at night around the time of his murder so despite the fact that he appears to be so polite and innocent, is there no chance that he could have had another unsuspected side to him, too? Another example of a hypocrite would be the old woman at Hydes provide, who is even said to have an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy. On the realizeing of Hyde being in trouble with the police, a flash of awful joy appeared upon the womans face meaning that it is to her satisfaction to hear about her masters sins and involvement in crime when its her job to still be loyal and trustworthy towards him, regardless of any crime he has committed. Although theres nothing more than a couple of sentences to these two little revelations in the novel, they reveal to the reader the true and double natures of people who we would expect better from.Even Jekylls house symbolises duality firstly there are two entrances, a bowel movement door used by Jekyll and the back door used b y Hyde, supporting that there are two sides to everything, and also that it seems less intelligible to the reader that they are both the same person. The front section of the house consists of Jekylls general living space, and he commonly uses this area to cast away dinner parties and gatherings. The hall is warmed by a bright, open enkindle and furnished with costly cabinets of oak which gives the impression of being very take and comforting. Jekylls elegant home echoes a great air of wealth and comfort representing the character he acts as in public.The rear door which Hyde enters and leaves from is blistered and distained and leads to Jekylls laboratory and private room where Hyde is usually seen. The back retinue of the house dont share the elegant interior and genial atmosphere of the front rooms making them seem as if they are not connected to each other. The laboratory is a sinister barricade of building with no windows which makes it significantly dark and depressing as there is no natural light coming in to the room. The negative language used links Hyde to the back section of the building and reflects his personality. We have already acknowledged that the theme of duality is related to the suppression of the Victorian society, as we know Jekylls double nature exists due to hiding his feelings. It was common for Victorians, gentlemen in particular, to suppress their feelings as status depended on reputation, making it difficult for them to give into pleasures that they desire.An example of this is shown in Mr Utterson the lawyer, who solves the truth behind the story of Jekyll & Hyde. As his profession has a high status, he obviously has to live up to the good reputation he has the quote and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years shows that he refrains from doing the things he would like to, simply concealing his emotions. Likewise, Mr Enfield subtly implies that he is also hiding something when he quo tes I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three oclock of a black overwinter morning as he doesnt give any elaborate about where he was and he was out so late, perhaps he was committing some type of sin, and giving into his suppression.The structure of the book continues to reflect the overriding theme of duality as it has a non linear narrative with a number of characters narrating the different chapters of the story. This suggests that there are more than two ways of looking at something, as the reader gets to see the same subject through the eyes of different people and learn about their vary viewpoints, which backs up the authors theory that man is not truly one, but truly two. Although it is effective for us to be told the story from multiple perspectives, since it creates more of a mysterious tone throughout the novel and sets the suspense, it is quite biased as the accounts we are told from the different characters are base on their individua l emotions and opinions regarding the events.I believe that Stevenson succeeds in getting his belief of dual nature in humans, across to the readers throughout the novel as the overall message of the book is that the human personality can be split into several parts. There is no one person who is all pure, or all evil, each and every one of us has different personalities and people living within ourselves. At one point in life, all humans will have put on a faade, pretending to be a different person in public whilst their true emotions remain hidden inside. Stevenson explores this concept in depth, and the conclusion is that there will never be just one way of looking at something there is never just one side to a story.