The character of Jekyll is presented as a well-known and respectable man (doctor and scientist) who many people trust. He has many friends within the community and is known for his good deeds and charitable work, ‘The very good deed of properties, one of your fellows who do what they call good’ as Enfield says to Utterson.
However, as Jekyll presents himself as a respectable and kind hearted man, his experiments lead him to his double life as the ‘ape-like’, ‘displeasing’ and ‘downright detestable’ Mr Hyde.
It seems as though one of Stevenson’s main beliefs is that there is more than one side to a human personality and this links in with Victorian beliefs of a double nature. At the time this story was written the ‘Darwin theory’ had just been brought to the public’s attention and many had been insulted at the thought that they had once evolved from apes. Although this also links in with the theory of the character of Hyde. During the book he is described as ‘ape like’ insinuating that he is not fully formed and this could be also linked with the character’s growth. For example at the beginning of the book he is quite a small man and described as not fully formed or evolved, but as the book progresses and his evil grows, the character grows in height and evilness. Another example of Hyde's evil is in the killing of Sir Danvers Carew. Sir Danvers appears to have been killed for no apparent reason. The of Sir Danvers was seen by a maid who was walking nearby. She states that Hyde met with a man in the street. After the two exchanged words, Mr. Hyde lifted his heavy walking stick and clubbed the old man to death. This tells us the reader that Mr. Hyde has grown in fury. From trampling over a child in the first chapter, he now commits murder. I believe Hyde killed Sir Danvers because Sir Danvers was described as being a peaceful and good man. Hyde represents pure evil, so naturally he would hate good gentlemen. The only reason why Sir Danvers died was because he was a good man. He not only killed Sir Danvers', he had to trample over him. The goodness of Sir Danvers brings out the most intense evil in Hyde.
However, Hyde’s motives were not influenced by individuals such as Deacon Brodie, whose evil side is inspired by the need for greed and personal gain. Hyde’s motives are different, because he commits murders because he wants to and because he can get away with it. ‘His every act and thought centred on self, drinking pleasure from bestial, avity from any degree of torture to another, relentless, like a man of stone’ He doesn’t care about anyone, and therefore feels no guilt for any crimes he’s committed and this behaviour can also be seen when he tramples over the girl. It is clear as the novel progresses that Jekyll is becoming more and more tempted by the lifestyle and freedom of Mr Hyde, to the point he can no longer control the transformation between the two personalities, eventually realising the only way to stop it is to take his own life. As Mr Hyde, Jekyll can be free to commit crimes without conscience or feeling guilty, but as his temptation grows so does the evil of Hyde’s crimes and he eventually reached the point of murder.
Utterson is also seen by his friends and the general public as a respectable and trustworthy lawyer, who we also know has a distant relative, who is also a character in the book, called Enfield. However Utterson’s character also fits in with Stevenson’s view on human nature that humans are complex creatures and that they all have more than one side to them or personality. And Utterson fits in with this as during the story/novel he keeps certain evidence to himself to protect a friend as even though he suspects something, he wouldn’t want to betray a friend, such as Jekyll when he suspects that he knows something or has something to do with Hyde. He also doesn’t delve into other people’s private business. For example ‘the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask’.
There is also Enfield, who is described as a ‘man about town’ which suggests he is well-known, sociable and likes entertainment. However he also has a private and more ‘sinful’ side to his personality as is seen in the novel to keep the details of the trampling to himself and doesn’t divulge Jekyll’s name in order to respect his friendship with Jekyll. And like Utterson, he also doesn’t delve into other people’s business.
There are also minor characters in the book with a double personality such as the police man. He is shown to be respectable, kind-hearted and selfless although he jumps at the chance to be in on the case of the ‘Carew Murder’ as he sees the opportunity for a promotion. There is also the servant (Poole) who is respectable towards Jekyll as he doesn’t call the police when he suspects something’s wrong when he has been locked in his room for days and keeps asking for more and more potion to be delivered, instead he calls Utterson but later he is seen to be rather ‘pleased’, perhaps excited at the thought of his boss being in some sort of trouble.
Through the characters, Stevenson has tried to present his belief that there is more than one side (personality) to everyone, it just depends on how well you cover it up or hide it away (which could also be a double meaning with the name Hyde as he is the side of Jekyll that people don’t see, and the side that he likes to keep hidden away). And in the story he shows this in different ways within each character, but mainly Jekyll and Hyde.
Through the protection of the secrecy of Mr Hyde, Jekyll is able to fool other people, and is generally amused by this and take great delight at being able to deceive people. At the beginning of the story he turns back into Jekyll and Hyde would have no effect upon him ‘Edward Hyde would pass away like the stain of breath on a mirror’ and this is shown after he trampled over the girl, and he later opens up a bank account in the name of Hyde and created another signature to hide his true identity.
In Jekyll’s final letter explaining his life of Hyde, there are times when he takes the responsibility ‘the pleasure which I made haste to seek in disguise were, as I have said, undignified; I would scarce use another term’ and ‘When I came back from these excursions’, however there are also times when he passes the blame onto Hyde, explaining how they are different people ‘It was Hyde after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty’ and also ‘To undo the evil done by Hyde’.
The novel is set in London, where the cities general atmosphere and weather is perfect for the hidden truths and double lives of the novel. There are times in the story, such as the night of the ‘Carew Murder’ where the descriptions of London fit perfectly with the events happening in the book, for example ‘haggard shaft of daylight’, ‘swirling wreaths’ and ‘a great chocolate coloured pall, lowered over heaven’. The different parts of London are used when describing the difference between Jekyll’s house and Hyde’s door on the ‘dingy street’.
The way that Stevenson has used certain words and phrases to describe the weather and setting at different times of the novel, add emphasis to the events happening at that point in the story, like the ‘Carew Murder’. Words such as ‘Blackguardly surroundings’, ‘back-end of evening’ and ‘the wind was continually charging and routing these embattled vapours’. Perhaps one of the most important descriptions is on the night in which Hyde commits his first murder, the weather is described as ‘the first fog of the season’ and sets the perfect atmosphere for danger and mystery, leading to a tragic event.
Overall, I believe that Stevenson’s views of a double nature are true as everyone has more than one personality; it just depends on how well you hide it. And this is why Hyde began as a dwarfish sized man and then as Jekyll found it harder and harder to resist the temptation of transformation, and the evil of Mr Hyde became worse, Hyde grew in size. The main point was that the potion took over his life, and Dr. Jekyll finally realizes he is unable to transform back into his goodness. He attempts to commit suicide, as this is his only way of destroying Mr. Hyde.
