A Discussion of the Final Chapter of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

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A DISCUSSION OF THE FINAL CHAPTER OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

        In the final stages of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, there are many ways in which the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, both explores human nature, and also creates a sense of sympathy on the part of the reader for Dr Henry Jekyll, which could be said to extend to Mr Edward Hyde as well.

        In reference to the author’s exploration of the nature of humanity, the settings of the story itself are very important. Previous to the writing of this story, there had been a firm tradition of horror stories being set exclusively in rural areas, perhaps due to the fact that only a minority of people lived in these areas, and so to those elsewhere it would have seemed far more remote and exotic. Stevenson’s thriller was ground-breaking in that it focussed its plot in an urban setting, by name London, but also with extraordinary resemblance to Stevenson’s home city of Edinburgh.

        

This setting reflects the idea of urban expansion into the countryside, but more importantly the more modern appearance of this particular horror story. Because a large majority of the readers of this book would have been living in the city, it brings the story closer to them, and allows them to become more involved in the events of the plot. Stevenson’s use of the city as the setting for his story also is also representative of early manifestations of writers of this era moving towards using the city as a representation of fear and darkness, rather than its previous role as a deeply romanticized place. In terms of Stevenson’s investigation of human nature, the proximity of Jekyll’s laboratory and his fine house is very significant. The laboratory represents, in my opinion, the hidden, secretive side of his life, involving his work, as well his life as Mr Edward Hyde. The fact that this laboratory is so close to Jekyll’s expensive and upper-class house, representing his professional and social life as a doctor and a well-respected member of society, signifies the proximity of the two parts of his character, in fact their intricate relationship, intertwined and connected in so many different aspects. This idea is also mentioned by Jekyll himself in the final chapter, in his account of events, emphatically saying;

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“It was the curse of mankind that these two incongruous faggots were thus bound together-that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.”

I have decided to quote this sentence because I believe it is very revealing about the “thorough and primitive duality of man” explored in the text. Jekyll talks of “incongruous faggots” being bound together, meaning that the two elements do not combine, but that they are still as one. The phrase “polar twins,” is almost a contradiction in terms, and shows that the two elements of Dr Jekyll’s psyche ...

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