Moreover a contrast is created to suggest how people react to evil in society. In the novella we come across several accounts of Mr. Hyde- all of which express a hateful and sadistic attitude towards his presence. We assume Stevenson wanted to express reactions towards evil in society in order to relate to the readers. In fact due to Victorian times, readers were probably very religious and were especially awed and driven by the fearful and threatening accounts of Mr. Hyde.
Lastly, Stevenson may have created a contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in order to infer a moral. We assume that one’s reputation may be manipulated by one controlling their behaviour of good and evil; by keeping one hidden (as in Mr. Hyde). However we find out that concealing one’s rage may lead to more dangerous consequences, once expressed (in a sudden outburst or unusual way).
A moral often makes a story more fulfilling and satisfying for the reader, therefore the story is more likely to be effective with a moral than without.
Next, Robert Louis Stevenson created the characters and particularly the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a number of ways.
First of all, in the novella Dr. Jekyll is perceived as a kind and sincere man and he is described as “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a stylish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness…” this suggests that Dr. Jekyll is a healthy fifty year old man, who is very loving and caring; thereby a good-hearted man. In complete opposition to this, Mr. Hyde is shown as an evil and mysterious man. In fact he is described as “a kind of black sneering coolness- frightened too…but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan.” This reveals Mr. Hyde to be dark and sneaky as well as villainous; unlike Dr. Jekyll.
Furthermore, a contrast is created through the characters’ actions. For instance Dr. Jekyll did many good deeds and was known to be sociable. This is shown by “renewed relations with his friends…he had always been known for his charities” from this I can tell that Dr. Jekyll was a very friendly and likeable man who was also very generous. However Mr. Hyde appears to be someone sadistic and spiteful. This is shown by the account, “with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows”, this shows him to be much inconsiderate towards others as well as inhumane and rather monstrous. This is very different to Dr. Jekyll as we know his character is much more civilized, considering he has a very good reputation.
The language that Stevenson used for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are very different from each other- this creates an evident contrast between the two characters.
Firstly, Dr. Jekyll speaks in a very polite and gentle manner, which can be seen from when he says, “My good Utterson” and then continues to say “this is very good of you, this is downright good of you, and I cannot find words to thank you in.”
This style of speech is very compassionate and friendly, and it also implies a very gracious tone. Conversely, Mr. Hyde speaks little and in a mocking yet straight forward fashion. For instance he says such things as “Whose description?” and “Common friends!” these appear to be very direct and contemptuous ways of communication, which suggests Mr. Hyde is insensitive and rude to quite a high extent.
Robert Louis Stevenson also quite thoughtfully, through the settings, used the dissimilarity of the appearances of the two sides of the house to infer the significant difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For example Dr. Jekyll’s house is described as “a square of ancient, handsome houses…the door of this, which wore a great air of wealth and comfort…” from this, one can imagine the house to be very grand and appealing. However Mr. Hyde’s home appears to be one rather cheap and neglected, this is shown by “…blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence.” These descriptions reflect on the characters and hence their contrasting personalities as one high-class and the other inelegant.
By reading this novella, a reader learns a lot about Victorian society, roles and attitudes.
Firstly, the novella shows in many ways how religious the Victorian society was, as it often refers to certain matters in a religious context. For example Mr. Hyde is often associated with the ideas of hell, evil and devilry. The novella also suggests that in Victorian times, reputation was very important and highly considered. This is once shown by Mr. Enfield when he says “…is knocked on the head in his own back garden, and the family have to change their name.” this highlights the importance of one’s reputation and the consequences of what rumours may have on them.
The moral issues faced in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella are still in fact discussed in today’s society; and so in this way the story can offer a lot to a modern reader. This is because in today’s society there is much controversy surrounding illegal drugs and their addictiveness. Moreover, one of the main reasons why drugs are illegal is that in effect they change one’s behaviour, which is largely considered anti-social. In the novella, this is reflected by Dr. Jekyll taking the drug and thereby transforming into the evil Mr. Hyde.
Generally, both at present and in Victorian times, drugs are known to contain chemicals that can unpredictably harm a person’s health in the long term. As we found near the end of the novella Mr. Hyde was unable to transform back to Dr. Jekyll due to the resistance shown to the drug, which was as a result of Dr. Jekyll’s continuous use previously. At the end of the novella we discover Dr. Jekyll (and presumably Mr. Hyde), die because of an overdose.
Ethics are a set of standards by which groups of people agree to regulate their behaviour to distinguish between an acceptable to an unacceptable. The book suggests to a modern reader that indeed, ethics are vital, and by Dr. Jekyll’s short consideration to it, the changing of personality by the use of drugs proved to be dangerous and unethical. In such way a reader might also gather that some curiosities are best left to rest.
By reading the book, one may also perceive city life in Victorian times to be quite troublesome; considering the drugs, deaths and various conflicts. Hence a modern reader can relate to the novella because, in fact in today’s world, urban areas are recognised in a similar way.
Since 1885, this story has been retold in different settings with slightly different details but overall, the same title is used which proves it as an expression in modern language. As a result, modern readers associate the title with the duplicity within a human and the good and evil qualities exposed by them.
On the whole, I believe that Robert Louis Stevenson created a contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to build up a mystery; to explore the idea of good and evil within a person; and to suggest how people react to evil in society; as well as to give a moral.
Moreover, I believe he achieved these by the appearance of the characters; their actions; and what’s more their language. I also believe that the two sides of the house of Dr. Jekyll was another way of creating contrast between the characters.
Finally, I believe that a modern reader learns of Victorian society, roles and attitudes and can also relate to issues faced in the story as well as the moral they are represented with. In fact the title of the novella is now used as an expression in modern society.
