Stevenson not only uses Jekyll and Hyde to communicate the theme of duality; he reinforces his point by compounding hidden metaphors into the text. The first time we can identify this is in the first chapter. The street presented is described as an ordinary London street whose shop fronts are like “rows of smiling women”, their brightness contrasts to that of the run-down street. The same type of contrast is made, more importantly with Jekyll’s house; it is described as a house that “bore in every feature the marks of a prolonged and sordid negligence”. In contrast to the disrespectful neighbourhood it stood in, Jekyll’s house was more than a house; it was in parallel to the Jekyll/Hyde relationship. There was the respectable side of the house and then the bleak and neglected side. This strange choice of neighbourhood can be interpreted as reflecting the insecure hold that Jekyll had on decency, even before he played God with the potion.
The Carew Murder Case is intertwined with the theme of duality. The scene is set with an innocent girl gazing into the moonlit sky, a stereotypical romantic setting, creating strong images in the reader’s mind. Cunningly, these images are accompanied by the more sinister, brutal murder of the “sweet man” Carew. This is clearly a conflict between good and evil.
The addressing of evil is also a major aspect in the book. Duality and evil are linked, as the Id may be considered the evil part of Jekyll. Jekyll even admits to this, “All human beings.... are commingled out of good and evil.” Stevenson has not only portrayed the Id (Hyde) as mentally primitive, but physically too. His evil resonated in every feature, ”there was something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable.” Hyde is always described as deformed, small and shrunken, that leads us to believe that over the many years of being repressed, Hyde has not been given the chance to flourish or strengthen in any way. This primitive nature is supported by a repetitive use of animalistic adjectives and adverbs for Hyde. “Hissing intake of breath.” “Snarled aloud into a savage laugh.” “A mere animal terror.” Utterson exclaims, “I read Satan’s signature upon his face.” Once again placing Hyde akin to Satan. But even with this likeness to animals, Hyde shows a much more sinister streak. Animals kill for the need for food or in protecting themselves; an animal does not feel pleasure in taking lives, whereas Hyde seems to. “With ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot.”
Evil’s manifestation in Hyde is apparent from the first time we meet him, by trampling an innocent little girl we see the true brutality and relentlessness of Hyde. After this crime, Hyde states, “No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene.” This idea of classing Hyde as a gentleman is preposterous. Stevenson is really playing on the remark from Percy Blythe Shelly’s, Peter Bell the Third, which reads, “The devil is a gentleman.” In Chapter 9, a different side of Hyde is seen, where he wants something and acts in a relatively civilized way. The idea then conjured is that Hyde is not pure evil, but has a conscience. When the change takes place, Lanyon describes Jekyll as “a man restored from death.” When the doctor finally dies, it is clear that Dr. Lanyon’s pure good was simply poisoned by Hyde to Jekyll transformation, which of course is playing the role of God and therefore evil.
A religious streak is identifiable in the novella; a significant metaphor with names emphasizes this. Utterson’s full name is John Gabriel Utterson. Gabriel is one of the four archangels, usually given the role of divine messenger. John is shared with several important New Testament figures: John the Baptist, who sent the apostle John to Jesus; John who wrote the three epistles and finally, John who wrote the Revelations. Gabriel and John were both revealers of the truth, which is Utterson’s job in the novella. Hyde’s name suggests that there is a Hyde, hiding within us all. “If he shall be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek”.
Along with these undertones and metaphors, Stevenson uses symbolic gestures in the text to convey his messages. There is a link between wine and evil. When wine is not drunk, “the wine was left untested”, bad happenings are imminent. Which is contradictory to the fact that wine equals evil. Like the potion that Jekyll drinks to transform himself into Hyde, too much wine can turn a gentleman and force him to show his true colours. This may be interpreted as Stevenson’s plea to society to observe the damage that alcohol can inflict.
At the beginning of the novella, Hyde creeps through a cellar door; Doors are traditionally powerful and mysterious. In Genesis 4:7, there is a passage containing, ”sin lieth at the door.” The bars on the once clean windows symbolize something too. The bars imprison Jekyll from Utterson and the world. This is not just a literal statement but also a statement that concludes Jekyll’s feelings; Jekyll feels imprisoned by the rules, regulations and expectations of society. This is why he is driven to partake in his, “scientific balderdash”.
One more symbol is apparent. The key to the laboratory is a symbol of power and authority and in this case, the key holds satanic power, therefore Hyde is the one who has the power to change back into Jekyll. When Utterson and Poole search for the key and fail to find it, they cannot overcome evil. This also means that they do not have access to evil, as they are sinless in the story.
It is clear that Jekyll started with selfish intentions when he strived for a better self, this is why the experiment only stripped Jekyll of the Jekyll veneer, leaving the Hyde interior. And that Jekyll is in fact a host for the constant bombardment of metaphors, especially with hypocrisy as Jekyll represents hypocrisy and the Victorian society itself.
“In Hyde, you have no Jekyll
but in Jekyll, you always have some Hyde”
