The duality of human nature is arguably the main theme and occurs within nearly everything. Despite Stevenson’s indication of this theme we understand it fully exists when Jekyll guzzles down a potion that changes him, becoming the groundwork for the mysterious and dangerous, Mr. Hyde. Even London consists of good and bad parts; hence at night Stevenson describes it worse. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are both the same person. Additionally throughout the story we are informed of the contrast of the kind and gentle Dr. Jekyll and the violent Mr. Hyde who is described as: ‘…displeasing, something downright detestable…he gives a strong feeling of deformity…he’s an extraordinary-looking man’. The fact that Mr. Hyde ‘trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground’ without even an apology or helping her up proves that he is ‘detestable’. However Dr. Jekyll is described as: ‘…the usual cut-and-dry apothecary, of no particular age and colour, with a strong Edinburgh accent’. We also know that he is Mr. Enfield’s friend and he is a doctor. This indicates that he is a well respectable middle class gentleman. Moreover due to him possessing the title of ‘Doctor’ means that he is someone who helps people; this contrasts with his supposed dark half of himself who does the completely opposite and causes many things which should be kept as fantasies to become real life scenes. Dr. Jekyll also sounds like a French name as the ‘je’ means ‘I’ and the ‘kyll’ clearly indicates that he kills. Hyde’s name alone shows us that he hides in the shadows. They are both described as: ‘a mixture of good and bad’… and ‘man is not truly one, but truly two’. Accompanying this quote, in chapter 10 Jekyll’s letter to Utterson states: ‘It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both’. This quote represents Jekyll’s version of human nature and the fact that by taking the potion allowed him to consist of being: half criminal, half virtuous, half moral and half amoral. While Jekyll succeeds in dissecting his evil side from himself (Hyde), he still consists of good and evil. The fact that his evil half completely takes over him once set free shows that Hyde was generally much stronger than Jekyll. Theorists have argued that man is not only a dual being but also someone tamed by the laws of nature and society.
Another theme is violence, this is the very first task that gives us an indication of how bad Mr. Hyde actually is; the culprit was always Mr. Hyde and the victim was an innocent person. For example much like he trampled over the little girl in chapter 1, he also murdered Sir Danvers Carew, ‘broke out of all bounds and clubbed him to the earth…was trampling his victim under foot’. This not only shows us a part of Hyde’s evil side but also indicates the way children and certain men who were socially higher than others were treated in the Victorian society. In the conclusion we find out that committing such violence gave him a sense of excitement and exhilaration as he stated, ‘…when I slept or the virtue of the medicine wore off, I would leap almost without transition (for the pangs of transformation…’ The fact that he knowingly names a potion that turns him into Hyde, a ‘medicine’ shows his lust and how he feels that drinking the potion affects him in a good way.
However when Hyde commits suicide, his final victims are himself, (Hyde and Henry Jekyll); as despite them being guilty of many crimes it was Jekyll who created Hyde and let him roam around London causing havoc. This links to the duality of human nature and the fact that one person has a good half and a bad half inside of them. Stevenson wanted us to learn that those who allow and assist violence to occur, punishment will soon arrive at their doorstep.
Rational vs. supernatural is another key theme and Stevenson uses concepts such as the transformation from a human into a monster at moonlight much like the man turns into a werewolf at moonlight, but only in fantasies. The fact that there are rational characters and characters who seem to be highly supernatural which causes the plot to be more powerful due to the Jekyll and Hyde’s bidding. Mr. Utterson, Mr. Enfield and Dr. Lanyon are all average respectable, middle class men who are logical thinkers. Dr. Lanyon in particular was so astounded as Jekyll made the transformation to Hyde right in front of him, he later died of shock hence; ‘he was shocked at the change…he had his death warrant written legibly upon his face’. The fact that Stevenson uses language such as ‘death warrant’, which is a logical and official form, something that isn’t supernatural at all shows a rational part of the story. An example of Hyde changing into a beast is before the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, the woman who reported it stated, ‘brilliantly lit by the full moon’. This is why Stevenson uses the word ‘animalistic’ and the phrase ‘like a mad man’; because when a human turns into a werewolf he receives animalistic features and becomes a mad man. When Utterson thinks that Jekyll is being blackmailed he consults with the others but in all respectability decide not to discuss this, as being a lawyer this is not a logical way of finding the correct information by so called pure judgment.
This goes to show that both rationalism and supernatural things cannot co-exist as Utterson worked extremely hard to keep his friend Henry Jekyll out of the affairs with Mr. Hyde yet he was left picking up with pieces.
Lastly the female aspect of the thriller contributes to the play to a reasonably large extent. This and a certain fraction of Henry Jekyll’s personality represent the so-called ‘good’ aspect of the story. The first female we hear is the little girl who was trampled over by Hyde whilst running to find a doctor at three o’clock in the morning. The Victorian era in particular was extremely controversial over homosexuality thus Steinbeck not including many references to females in the story. However in this case the girl is portrayed as helpless and pitiful. Next we meet the maid who reported Sir Danvers Carew’s murder. She is described passively and watches helplessly as Carew receives a beating from Hyde. She loses all sensibility thus fainting away. This again is a weak move from the maid showing that she cannot handle certain parts of life, many of which can’t be avoided. The last female appearance is one of Jekyll’s main servants; this represents the social and political hierarchy in the Victorian Era and the fact that most women were provided with the low pay jobs. She bursts out into tears jeopardizing Utterson’s and Poole’s mission of finding out if there assumption of that Hyde has taken Jekyll hostage is true. The little girl and servant maids included in the plot are all portrayed as helpless and feeble people who seem to have no enjoyment whatsoever, while the men, Utterson, Enfield, Lanyon and Jekyll all seem to be bachelors who receive enjoyment through socializing with peers and academic and rational stimulation.
The themes play a major part in the aspects of good and evil despite that Stevenson mainly incorporates the ‘evil’ aspect more than the ‘good’ aspect. The fact that London is the urban underworld that creates a dark and imaginative scene for Hyde to do his bidding. The duality of human nature represents the type of people during the Victorian era representing the social hierarchy and people whom you may consider well respectable gentlemen are not always as they seem and that there’s always a part of them that consists of evil which is bottled up inside and just hasn’t been let loose yet due to possessing superior control over their conscience. Violence represents the outrage and anger of what is bottled up in ones conscience but some people may or may not let it out; and that those who allow or assist in violence will end up being punished. The rational vs. supernatural theme compares logical reasoning to the unexpected and the fact that some people only hear what they want to hear. The female aspect proves that females in the Victorian era were pictured weak, pitiful and feeble who were socially and politically inferior to men. Overall without Steinbeck incorporating the themes and issues he did, this piece of literature wouldn’t have become the same great novella it is today.
