In Victorian times, being respectable was a big aspect of life. If you did one unrespectable thing, you would be seen as fully unrespectable and you would be shunned from society. This novella would have more impact on the Victorians life than ours because this applied more to their lives than ours, as we do not worry as much about respectability as they did. In the Victorian times, when Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written, there were a lot of questions about science, religion and the supernatural. A lot of people thought that they had to make a choice between them. People also believed that science had become dangerous and was playing with matters which they did not have control of, which is what happens n the novella.
Dr. Jekyll believed he had a split personality, one half of him a good, respectable man, the other half of him indecent, secretly urging him to do inappropriate things. In Dr. Jekyll's full statement, he says, “The public has only seen a veneer of my real self.” Stevenson uses the word “veneer” because this tells us that Dr. Jekyll's bad personality is covered up by a layer of his good personality, which he shows to the public.
The reason Dr. Jekyll wanted to make the potion was because he wanted to separate the two sides of himself. Dr. Jekyll says “What I hoped to do eventually was to separate these two sides of a persons character.” Dr. Jekyll wanted to be able to indulge in inappropriate actions, but being a classic Victorian gentleman, he could not ct on his impulses. By taking the potion, he thought he could separate the two halves of himself. At first, this is the reason why Jekyll wants to make the potion, but after a while he becomes addicted to the evil character of Hyde.
Jekyll hesitates before he takes the potion. Jekyll was scared to take “Any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of my identity.” I think Jekyll uses the word “fortress” because it makes me as a reader think that Jekyll sees his personality as something he should keep locked away.
When Jekyll takes the potion, strange things happen to his body. Jekyll says “A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched the table... staring with injected eyes... his features seemed to melt and alter.” This explores the duality of human nature because we see that Jekyll has turned into Hyde, his darker half, so this is suggesting that man really does have two halves.
While doing his scientific experiments, Jekyll claims “Man is not truly one, but truly two.” In Jekyll's opinion, everybody has two halves, one side being strong than the other. In the novella Jekyll was originally stronger, but he knew he had some evil in him, as he had urges to do wicked things. By taking the potion he thinks he can separate these two halves of himself, but he does not realize that the two halves are both a part of him, therefore cannot be separated, as one half cannot survive without the other.
No matter how terrible the acts Hyde commits, Jekyll doesn’t feel a slight bit of guilt when taking the potion to become Hyde. In fact, he makes excuses for his actions as Hyde. “Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde,” Jekyll writes, trying to justify himself, “It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty.” Jekyll cannot blame everything on Hyde, as it was him who repeatedly brought Hyde into the world, so what ever crimes Hyde commits, Jekyll is responsible for them all.
Although Jekyll and Hyde turn out to be the same person, during the novella they are described completely oppositely. Hyde is described in animalistic terms, short, hairy and like a troglodyte with a horrific face. A troglodyte is the term for a primitive creature or a brutal character. I think Hyde is described as a “troglodyte” because during the novella we see how brutal Hyde can be, randomly attacking innocent people. I also think Hyde may be the primitive version of Jekyll, who has been locked away so had no chance to grow. This may be why Hyde is shorter than Jekyll. But we see that as soon has he has been released there’s no going back, so eventually he has to take over Jekyll.
On the other hand, Jekyll is described in gentleman like terms, tall, refined, polite, honourable and a handsome face. I think the contrasting descriptions of these two characters is used to make Stevenson’s point, which is that no matter how nice someone may seem, there are always opposite forces present within them. The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde is described as a doppelganger. A doppelganger is an individual split into two or more contrasting personalities.
Hyde is not someone you would forget after meeting him face to face. When trying to describe Jekyll, Utterson says “It is not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.” Hyde seems to be so shocking that his image imprints in people’s minds and stays there, but they cannot describe him.
Hyde is discusses a lot by other characters in the novella, yet no one can explain exactly what is wrong with his appearance. While tying to describe him, Enfield says “He gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation.” Utterson also says “I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.” It seems like when trying to describe a man as evil as Hyde, they are lost for words. But Utterson could pick up the “sense of evil coming from him.” And knew something was wrong, but he could not “specify the point.”
Certain details of this horror story are left untold. In Dr. Jekyll's confession, he refuses to explain in detail any of the crimes he had committed. Dr. Jekyll writes “The pleasures which I made haste to seek in my disguise were, as I said, undignified.” I think Jekyll, being a respectable man, could not bring himself to explain these “pleasures”, as they are so horrific he refuses to say any more. I also think that Stevenson did not want him to explain these actions as he wanted to keep a bit of mystery in the book and make us think for ourselves.
Another character who explores duality in the novella is Utterson. When Utterson receives the letter from Dr. Lanyon “not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll,” Utterson admits that he was tempted “to disregard this prohibition.” Stevenson is exploring duality by this because he his showing that there is a presence of evil and defiance in every character, including Utterson too, who is supposedly the ‘good guy’ in this novella.
The structure of this novella is strange compared to most: It has Utterson telling the story for the majority of the book, chapters 1-8, but in chapter 9 it is written in Dr. Lanyon’s perspective, a letter about his encounter with Hyde, who turns into Dr. Jekyll. The final chapter, chapter 10, is written in Dr. Jekyll's perspective of the whole story, which sums up all unanswered questions. This explores duality because it shows two different endings in one, the first leaving Utterson on his way home to study the documents and the second ending with Dr. Jekyll's perspective of the full story.
I think Stevenson’s lasting message is about good vs. evil. I think Stevenson is trying to say that when it comes to good vs. evil, evil is stronger as seen in the novella. Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll's evil side, eventually overpowers him and takes over his body. I also think Stevenson wants us to think about our own lives. In a way, aren’t we all just like Dr. Jekyll, showing the decent, respectable side of our personalities to each other, but secretly hiding our own darker halves?
I don’t think we will ever truly know the whole truth about the duality of man and the universe, but I think that some things are better left unsaid and not tampered with.