Stevenson said in his book that he was writing about ‘that damned old business of the war in the members’. Because of the strict religion and morality in the Victorian age men and woman had to hide their secret feelings and only reveal them at night. Stevenson shows the concern that if belief of Christianity declines, what is going to be used to stop people doing evil things. Stevenson also shows the struggle of people with their good and evil inside them. This compares back to the novel and the struggle between Jekyll and Hyde.
Locked doors in the house and secret rooms stressed the idea that his beast in man not only kept down but locked up. The ‘locked doors’ is a metaphor for the use of prison for people who are evil. In the 19th century evil people was started to be put in prison. Prison is a temporarily solution for evil.
In the Victorian times good manners and respectability towards each other were important behind this face of morality there may be a beast waiting to get out. Did Stevenson’s book reflect contemporary thinking?
The Victorian days saw ‘Jack the Ripper’ murder several woman and member of the Upper Class even thought that Stevenson was putting ideas into Victorians heads. The Victorian era was rich and powerful it held sway over the poor and helpless. This we see reflected in the novel of the time. Darwin’s theory ‘the survival of the fittest’ was very disturbing towards the Victorian upper class that they were no longer the superior power and also due to illness the poor were becoming stronger.
The main character of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde’ was Jekyll, who is a chemist. His friend Utterson is worried about Jekyll’s connections with Hyde. In this will, Jekyll left the money to Hyde. Utterson is suspicious of Jekyll’s experiment. Enfield (Utterson’s friend), has seen a girl trampled by Hyde and the money given from Jekyll’s account. Hyde is then seen to murder Carew and the murder weapons are found. These two dreadful; events were typical of lack of morality and respectability. Jekyll hides and loses touch with his friends. There is fear that Jekyll is murdered, probably by Mr. Hyde. Jekyll gives drugs to Hyde and Hyde mixes the potion to turn back into Jekyll. In the end Hyde seems to be in complete control. Jekyll, by using drugs, was trying to separate good and evil of life as he was concerned about the morality and respectability. When Hyde took over the character of Jekyll the evil side gradually begins to gain in strength until one day, he transforms into Hyde involuntarily.
The novel is told through the eyes of Utterson, Lanyon and finally Jekyll himself. This allows us to see more clearly into their characters and relationships. Firstly the story is told by Utterson, who the audience believe as he is polite, strong willed Victorian gentleman. Secondly, the story is told by Lanyon who has a different point of view from both Utterson and Jekyll. Dr. Lanyon told some bits of the story which Utterson would not have said. Then finally, Jekyll who has nearly all the answers of the transformation and other important facts which neither Lanyon nor Utterson would not have known. By using multiple perspectives, Stevenson also heightens the mystery and suspense of the story. The reader is not informed of the facts until the end of the story.
In ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ there are many important characters. Firstly, there is Mr. Utterson who is “lean, long, dusty and dreary” but somehow still ‘lovable’. Utterson is polite, strong willed and a ‘model’ Victorian gentleman. A middle-age lawyer, he is someone that all the characters confide in throughout the novel. As an old friend of Jekyll, he recognizes the changes and the strange occurrences that centre on both Jekyll and Hyde. Mr. Utterson is probably the most circumspect, respected and rational character in the book and in society. Even though Utterson is a respectable Victorian gentleman, he was however, beneath his caring side, a drinker, “he was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintage”. This shows his double side of his personality just like Jekyll. Due to Utterson’s respectability in society he hid his bad intentions and habits meaning he was still respectable man.
Dr. Lanyon is a former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll, along with Mr. Utterson. We first encounter Dr. Lanyon when he dismisses Jekyll’s experiments, referring to them as ‘unscientific balderdash’. His scientific theory renders him, as an expression of rationalism and materialist explanations. As Lanyon was the first person to see Jekyll enact his transformation, Lanyon cannot deal with the world that Jekyll’s experiment has revealed. “But Lanyon’s face changed, and he held up a trembling hand. ‘I wish to see or hear no more of Dr. Jekyll,’ he said, in a loud, unsteady voice. ‘I am quite done with that person; and I beg that you will spare any allusion to one whom I regarded as dead’”. This was his reaction to Jekyll after witnessing Hyde transform into Jekyll. Deep inside him, Lanyon prefers to die rather than live in a universe, from his point of view, has been turned upside down and this is his worst nightmare.
Dr. Jekyll is the main character in the story novel. He was a prominent middle-age doctor, who has great knowledge in chemistry. Throughout the novel he is described as a tall and handsome character. “To this rule Dr. Jekyll as no exception; and as he now sat on the opposite side of the fire-a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capcity and kindness”. From all we know of him he was a well respected character in the Victorian society, this however is not necessarily true, as throughout the novel we subtly witness his hypocritical behaviour. Jekyll came up with the theory that all humans have two personalities- ‘good’ and ‘evil’. This leads him to the experiments to separate both. Jekyll, without knowing the consequences of the result of the experiment changes into Hyde, he eventually loses control of Hyde as Hyde becomes stronger. Hyde has become too powerful to Jekyll to handle and Jekyll eventually loses control. In the end Jekyll preferred himself as he found out the rotten things Hyde did and he could not contain his guilt so Jekyll killed himself in the end to save his reputation in society. From a very early age Jekyll felt that he was going to struggle in life between good and evil. ‘I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life’. This means that Jekyll is standing committed of two lines one private and one public. This shows problems with morality and respectability.
Mr.Hyde was created by Jekyll so that he can get with things that he would not have got away as himself. Hyde is precisely the evil side of Jekyll. Hyde has no morals or respectability towards anyone. He was small, strange, deformed man. Throughout the novel he was described as an ugly deformed creature. Hyde is described as so small because Hyde is Jekyll’s private side. Hyde was ‘a Victorian nightmare’ due to his appearance and personality. “….he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky whispering and somewhat broken voice: all these were points against him; but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing, and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him”. Jekyll’s friends showed disgust of the possibility of a person being two characters. As in Victorian society, where many believed in the science of physiognomy, they identify a criminal by physical appearance. Victorians were scared of ‘rise of the working class’. Stevenson uses ‘degeneration’ to make the book “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” more terrifying so that’s why Hype is described like an animal. The theory of degeneration included the increase the immorality and less respectability. The theory of degeneration is perhaps shown in the ‘Murder of Carew’. Murder of Carew is a good example of immorality reflecting real life murders in the end of the 19th century. In the ‘Murder of Carew’ we also see Hyde’s complete lack of control and at these points in the novel things go from bad to worse. We see more horrific events to follow in this picture of degeneration. Regarding immorality which seems to pervade the novel, Hyde at times is a picture of immorality in his behaviour; there are examples of animalistic imagery in the book which is not normal way of behaving. Jekyll describes his dual personality as ‘the animal within me licking the chops of memory’.
Jekyll’s house and the laboratory are essential in connecting the story. The Jekyll’s house has two entrances where both characters enter and exit. This shows the similarity between Jekyll and Hyde, as both characters are linked or connected with each other as the houses and the laboratory shows us this. This also helps not only to create an atmosphere of gloom but also links with the themes of secrecy and hypocrisy which exists in a city where the secret vices of respectable men are hidden from the public eye.
Throughout the novel Stevenson shows us that there is struggle between good and evil and between morality and evil. All the characters were touched by this problem which tears between good and evil mostly Jekyll. Stevenson succeeds in this novel that all have a problem and need to struggle against.