Chambers 1

Vivian Chambers

Erin Riddle

English

20 November 2023

While Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be

considered a metaphor for the consequences of societal repression, the protagonist, Dr.

Henry Jekyll's experimentation with separating his good and evil sides may be

interpreted as a metaphor for the suppression of desires deemed unacceptable by

society. Hyde's emergence can be seen as the inevitable result of attempting to

suppress and compartmentalize these natural human instincts. All humans have two

sides inside of their minds warring for control and influence over their thoughts and

actions; in the text, Dr. Jekyll himself shamefully confesses to the darker side of his dual

nature and the internal conflict he experiences.

He writes a shame-filled statement in which he reveals his experiments and the

emergence of his evil alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde. The actions of Mr. Hyde serve as

direct evidence of the darker, more malevolent side of Jekyll's personality. For example,

in the first third of the book, Jekyll states, "Many a man would have even blazoned such

irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me, I

regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame” (Stevenson 42). Hyde

engages in brutal and immoral activities, highlighting the stark contrast between the two

personas. The description of Hyde trampling over a young girl without remorse

showcases the ruthless and sinister nature of this dual personality, even though

throughout the narrative, Dr. Jekyll unsuccessfully tries to maintains control over the
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transformations into Mr. Hyde. His fruitless attempts to manage the dual nature of his

consciousness are evident when he describes how he “was slowly losing hold of my

original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse”

(Stevenson p #). This struggle exemplifies the ongoing battle between the two warring

factions within his mind.

In the exploration of the evidence-based concept of the universality of dual

influence, as exemplified by the dichotomy between the angelic and devilish aspects of

human nature, the book provides a compelling narrative demonstration. Dr. Jekyll's

experimental potion, intended to separate his virtuous self from his darker impulses,

becomes a metaphorical laboratory for the universal struggle between opposing

influences within individuals. The angelic force represented by Dr. Jekyll and the

devilish counterpart embodied in Mr. Hyde vividly illustrate the dual nature inherent in

humanity. Stevenson's narrative underscores the universality of this dual influence,

suggesting that the tension between our better and darker instincts is a fundamental

aspect of the human experience, transcending individual circumstances or cultural

contexts.

The character of Dr. Jekyll himself serves as a microcosm of this universal

struggle. His initial noble intentions to compartmentalize his morality and indulge in his

darker inclinations in a controlled manner speak to the pervasive reality of the human

psyche grappling with conflicting forces. The unfolding narrative reveals that the dual

influence is not an isolated phenomenon but a shared human experience. Through Dr.

Jekyll's transformation into Mr. Hyde, Stevenson provides a poignant exploration of the

universal struggle between the angelic and devilish aspects within each person,
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reinforcing the idea that this duality is a pervasive and relatable facet of the human

condition.

Additionally, in Stevenson's novel, the duality of human nature is vividly explored

through the transformative experiences of Dr. Jekyll. The narrative serves as a

compelling case study supporting the evidence-based concept that humans' darker

personas can obliterate empathy and intensify dehumanization. Dr. Jekyll's

experimentation with a concoction that separates his benevolent and malevolent sides

culminates in the emergence of the ruthless Mr. Hyde. As Hyde, Jekyll's darker persona,

he engages in a trampling incident where he callously tramples a young girl in the

streets without remorse (Stevenson P#).This horrifying act underscores the notion that

the darker aspects of human nature can lead to the erosion of empathy, resulting in

actions that disregard the well-being of others.

Furthermore, the narrative takes an even more sinister turn when Mr. Hyde

commits a murder in broad daylight. The open and brazen nature of the killing serves as

a chilling illustration of the dehumanizing influence of the darker side. In this state,

Jekyll's capacity for empathy and moral restraint is completely overshadowed by Hyde's

malevolence, emphasizing how the darker aspects of human nature can overpower the

humane qualities that typically govern our actions. Stevenson's exploration of this

psychological dichotomy provides a cautionary tale, prompting readers to reflect on the

fragility of empathy and the potential for its erosion when confronted with the darker

facets of human existence.

“Henry Jekyll, however, is nobody's hero. Although his actions are prompted by

no single motive, his primary impulse is fear. If Lanyon is afraid to admit vital
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truths about himself, Jekyll fears these same truths once he discovers them.

Dedicated to an ethical rigidity more severe than Utterson's, because solely

self-centered, he cannot face the necessary containment of his dual being.”

(Saposnik, Irving S. "The Anatomy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.")

Stevenson delves into the evidence-based concept that humans' earnest

endeavors to maintain moral uprightness may falter, despite well-established moral

foundations. The character of Mr. Hyde serves as a poignant example of this notion.

Despite Dr. Jekyll's initial intentions to separate his darker impulses from his virtuous

self through scientific means, the malevolent Hyde repeatedly emerges, demonstrating

the precarious nature of moral control. The uncontrollable nature of Hyde's escape from

Jekyll's attempts to contain him reveals the inherent difficulty in maintaining moral

fortitude, even with the most well-intentioned efforts. This narrative thread underscores

the vulnerability of the human psyche to succumb to darker inclinations, challenging the

notion that one's moral foundation can always withstand the internal struggles that arise.

The novel's denouement further reinforces the evidence-based concept as seen

in the letters at the end of the story. Dr. Jekyll, in a desperate attempt to rectify the

situation and suppress Hyde permanently, leaves behind a testament detailing the tragic

consequences of his moral experiments. However, the letters reveal the inevitability of

Hyde's resurgence and the eventual dominance of the darker persona. This somber

conclusion suggests that, despite Jekyll's sincere moral reflections and efforts to

prevent the reappearance of Hyde, the internal battle between good and evil within him

remains unresolved. Stevenson's exploration of this concept prompts reflection on the

limitations of human agency in maintaining unwavering moral rectitude in the face of

internal conflicts and the inherent complexities of the human condition.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420093725/GLS?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=2
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“Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [The Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde], often has been classified as a literary study in divided or "split"
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personality. Indeed, given Jekyll's own profession that his life is one best defined by
"commit[ment] to a profound duplicity" (p. 122),1 such subsequent readings of the
character of Dr. Jekyll ought not much surprise us.”

“one of the first reviewers of Stevenson's story, announced to the audience of the
Saturday Review in 1886 that ‘Mr. Stevenson's idea ... is that of the double personality in
every man,’6 and Richard Gaughan, over a century later, has attested that such a
conclusion among readers remains common even today; he reminds us, for example,
that even in the late twentieth century, ‘we use the term Jekyll and Hyde casually to
suggest a split personality or some conflict between someone's good and evil sides.’

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420101180/GLS?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=1
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"[T]he functions of the mind are of a twofold nature--those of the intellect or faculty of
thought alone--such as perception, judgment, reasoning--and again, those of the moral
faculties--the sentiments, affections, propensities, and passions, which it has pleased
Heaven, for its own wise purposes, to implant in the nature of man."("The State Trials
Report" [Alexander Cockburn speech] 42)

Claims that the brain was composed of several faculties, and that the brain and the mind
were connected,1 led some nineteenth-century physicians to challenge the conventional
attribution of madness to a failure of intellect alone;2 they argued that, in addition to the
intellect, the moral faculty could be subject to disease.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420093734/GLS?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=5
8df2e3c
he most likely origin of Stevenson's conception of multiple personality disorder as it
appears in Jekyll and Hyde is the theory of the double brain, first developed by
Continental physiologists such as Austrian anatomist Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)
and later imported to England by such physicians as Sir Henry Holland (1788-1873) and
Arthur Labroke Wigan (d, 1847) during the first half of the nineteenth century.

"[M]an is not truly one, but truly two," Jekyll relates, apparently supporting theories
suggesting that each brain hemisphere might house a separate personality, indeed, a
separate soul (p. 48). Jekyll's lament that "these polar twins should be continuously
struggling" likewise evokes contemporary scientific views that the left and right
hemispheres not only differed in their abilities, but also occasionally exhibited contrasting
desires and moral inclinations (p. 49).
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420093723/GLS?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=0
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Utterson is haunted by what he calls "the strange clauses of his will." They appear
"before his mind's eye, as clear as a transparency" (42) leading him to begin a search for
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Hyde that ends in another version of the ironic Gothic bequest. When he and the butler
Poole break into Jekyll's laboratory, they find Hyde, dressed in the doctor's clothes, and,
no doubt, his shoes.

Another is to make explicit the implication in much of the 'fiction of inheritance' that the
term "will" signifies two things at once--a quality of mind and a document, the force that
intends and the instrument for carrying out those intentions. Utterson worries about both
aspects of Jekyll's will, at one point saying, "I have been wanting to speak to you Jekyll.
... You know that will of yours?" Jekyll replies, "My will? Yes, certainly, I know that" (43).

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420093720/GLS?u=avlr&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=e
1ee70e8

By carefully juggling the literal and the symbolic, Stevenson details the emerging
influence of Hyde, the amoral abstraction who takes possession not only of Jekyll's
being but of many a reader's imagination. Hyde so dominates the popular mind that
Jekyll's role has been all but obscured. In order for the story to become fully meaningful
again, their true identities must be restored.

Henry Jekyll, however, is nobody's hero. Although his actions are prompted by no single
motive, his primary impulse is fear. If Lanyon is afraid to admit vital truths about himself,
Jekyll fears these same truths once he discovers them. Dedicated to an ethical rigidity
more severe than Utterson's, because solely self-centered, he cannot face the
necessary containment of his dual being.