Dr Jekyll describes himself as a good person. He is moral and decent and joins in with charity work and enjoys a reputation as a good caring man. This is shown by Lanyon’s opinion of him and his social status. Jekyll doesn’t like to take things too seriously he is seen as well liked and a highly respected doctor in society and he has to act wisely and sensibly and he can’t show his fun side. Dr Jekyll has the desire to act like other Victorians do and i.e. sleep with prostitutes etc. On the outside Victorians were seen as fine good citizens of society but they hid dark secrets. Victorians didn’t marry so they could enjoy their dark side and do bad things but although they engage in bad activities everyone denies they do. Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that had been set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame.” Jekyll is no worse than anyone in society as he is a good man but he also experiences the temptations of dark urges like everyone else. Many people think the story of Jekyll and Hyde was Stevenson’s way of admitting his own dark side. Henry Jekyll leads a double life then reflects on it and feels the shame of having dark evil urges. “Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that had been set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame.” But he realizes that it is normal and the body is a combination of both good and evil.
Throughout the book there is a belief in dual nature, though this does not emerge until the last chapter. Dual nature is a very big theme in the book and we come to this theme after witnessing all the events in the book after reading Dr. Lanyon’s narrative. Jekyll believes the soul is being where an “angel” and a “fiend” fight to master the body. Jekyll reflects on the theme of dual nature by saying “All human beings …. are commingled out of good and evil.
Jekyll wants to separate the identities the good side being good and the bad side being bad. He wants to do this to see if he can separate both dual nature’s of man. Jekyll developed the potions to do this but Jekyll only succeeds in creating one pure evil one as in Mr. Hyde.
At first Jekyll enjoys having his dark side in purest from which he admits to Utterson in his letter. “It seemed natural and human. In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine” It also emerges that Hyde enjoys the delight in committing evil, violent acts against the innocent, yet for no reason. But this is because the evil side has been suppressed and therefore not been able to take part in minor evil activities so when the evil side is let out it explodes with a very violent action. As the book continues, gradually the evil side as in the “fiend” (Mr. Hyde) takes over the body and gets the better of Jekyll. “I was slowly losing control of my original and better self and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse”. Jekyll continues to have no control over his evil side and when he goes to sleep he awakes as Hyde. Jekyll can’t take it anymore and he has felt the consequences of his experiment. Jekyll has given in to his evil side and commits suicide.
To try and create a sense of evil in the book Stevenson uses symbolism and uses animal imagery and light, dark and weather. Stevenson tries to create a connection between Victorian London and the dark events of Hyde. He does this by using fearful imagery by saying how the streets twist and turn and how the city lay covered in fog and by using fearful imagery matches the crimes that take place in the city. Mr. Utterson even has nightmares where he has visions of the fearful city. “The figure of Hyde haunted the lawyer all night and if at any time he dozed over, it was but to see it glide more stealthily through sleeping houses, or move the more swiftly through wider labyrinths of lamp-lighted city, and at every street corner crush a child and leave her screaming”. Stevenson uses symbolism for Dr Jekyll’s house and the laboratory. Dr Jekyll’s house is quite a nice home described as having “a great air of wealth and comfort” and the laboratory is described as “a certain sinister block of building”. The laboratory obviously symbolizes Mr. Hyde, as it is very neglected and decayed and the nice, well-kept house symbolizes Mr. Jekyll. The connection of the house and the laboratory is also a symbol. The building although connected look on two different streets and therefore it is quite hard to see that the two buildings are as one just like someone would be unable to know of the relationship of Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Also as stated earlier Mr. Hyde’s small build may symbolize Dr. Jekyll’s dark side.
Stevenson’s final message is that If you deny your dark side you will end up regretting it as it will build up then one day explode in an action i.e. killing someone or doing something very bad. Also that you shouldn’t give your dark side an inch otherwise it will take it a mile. Everyone has a dark side you just have to balance it correctly.
