Literature fills a need. For some it may be to discover deeper meaning in the world around them yet for others is may be pure escapism into a fantasy world. A mystery serves as a brainteaser. A game for the reader to try to win by deducing the outcome before it is ultimately revealed. Poe and Stevenson both use this device in their stories. Mr. Utterson is a lawyer that is suspicious of the relationship between his long time friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and a violent man named Mr. Edward Hyde. Utterson�s interest in Hyde is raised after learning that Jekyll is leaving his estate to Hyde in the event of death. He meets Hyde and confirms that he is an evil and dangerous man so he decides to ask Dr. Jekyll about all of this. Jekyll refuses to answer and wants the matter dropped. This adds to the suspense and makes the reader begin to wonder. The fact that Jekyll and Hyde is the same person is not revealed to the very end of the book. The story is so famous that almost everyone knows the ending even if they never read the story. When it was first released the reader had the fun of trying to figure out what was going on. In The Murder in the Rue Morgue Dupin is almost challenging the reader directly to try to figure out the mystery. In that story a mother and daughter are murdered. Their bodies have been brutally beaten and sliced. The younger of the two is shoved up a fireplace and the mother is found on the ground outside. Evidence and clues are presented while Dupin explains that you need imagination as well as analytical skills to solve the case. This draws people in and compels them to want to discover the truth. Both authors "cheat" in this regard to different degrees of success. Stevenson uses pseudo-science bordering on the supernatural to explain that Dr. Jekyll has concocted a potion in his laboratory that changes him physically and mentally into the evil Mr. Hyde. Edgar Allen Poe's explanation of the Rue Morgue murders is that an escaped Orangutan climbed in a window with a straight razor in hand wanting to play as a barber with the mother and daughter. After their screams frightened the ape it became enraged. Its violent outburst resulted in the mutilations of his victims. While both stories use improbable explanations Dr. Jekyll's potions actually serve to make a better ending because it does not attempt to convince the reader that this is reality in any way. Poe tries to base his story on logic and reality and tries to convince his readers that Dupin is some sort of genius. The reader expects a sound, logical explanation at its end after all the discussions of different types of thinking. The idea that an ape did all of this is so implausible that it is just comes across as ludicrous and illogical. Poe may have been trying to make a point about thinking outside the box but the story falls flat when the mystery's conclusion is so far-fetched.
The idea of duality exists in both stories. The most obvious is that of Dr. Jekyll and the creature built from his own evil instincts, Mr. Hyde. The story presents the theory that �man is not truly one, but truly two.� There exists an "angel" and "fiend" within every human that are at constant war with each other. Robert Louis Stevenson continues the themes of duality well beyond his title characters. Fires keep away the terrors that lurk in the night while with the dark and fog hides Jekyll's alter-ego. Dr. Jekyll lives in a clean well-maintained home while Mr. Hyde dwells in dismal quarter of Soho that Mr. Utterson describes as "a district of some city in a nightmare." The rich aristocratic society of Victorian England makes the servants and poor stand out more starkly. The reserved manner of �modern� society also contrasts with the animalistic nature of Mr. Hyde who is described as primitive and a troglodyte. The backlash to the growing use of technology and the industrial revolution is also reflected within the novella's pages and is a further result of the historical timeframe in which the story was written. Dr. Jekyll's potion represents uncontrolled science and is in direct opposition to themes of adhering to religion. In addition there is the concept of hiding behind masks versus what is shown to others, the opening and closing of windows and doors to keep someone in or to keep others out, the city of London versus nature, etc. The more you delve into the story the more sets of opposing forces can be found. The Murders in the Rue Morgue contains its own brand of duality. The main theme that is repeated throughout the story is that people with the ability to use imagination to decipher evidence are superior to those who have purely analytical minds. The story also shows the difference between letting feelings skew your view and being emotionless in assessing a situation. Dupin believes that the police missed clues because they were so horrified at the brutality of the murders. The leads to yet another set of opposing ideas in that the viciousness of the attacks were so great that they were bestial yet it is the cool logic and orderly presentation of clues that leads to the truth.
Religion governs the aspects of evil portrayed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and may give a clearer explanation to the story's tragic ending when thought of in these terms. God, angels, fiends, and sins are common descriptors used by Stevenson throughout the tale. Mr. Hyde represents pure evil. He is the "fiend" that commits murder and, although only two of his evil deeds are specifically spelled out, the text mentions that he has indulged in a great many other sins. Not only does her perform these immoral acts but he takes pleasure from them. The impact this has on Dr. Jekyll can be seen as a warning of the effects sinning has on a person�s sanity. Hyde takes this to the ultimate conclusion. A clear and quick path to Hell is to take your own life and it is the corpse of Mr. Hyde that is discovered at the story's ending. Though you could look deeper and imagine a variety of scenarios of how Dr. Jekyll's last act was one of sacrifice to stop the evil he unleashed before being completely possessed by his evil alter ego it seems more likely that it was Mr. Hyde himself that committed suicide after consuming Dr. Jekyll in order to buy a one way ticket to Hell. The Rue Morgue story does not have these religious undertones and is more of a lesson in thinking differently. By making the murderer something other than human Poe completely avoids judgment on the creature as evil and there is no justice for the deceased. Instead Dupin finishes up by making one last case for the difference between calculating and analytical men by mocking the Prefect of Police for not being a cunning thinker.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue created a new genre that continues to thrive in its various forms. This tale was not only a mystery but a �detective story� that presents a challenge for the reader. There is debate on whether the ending to the story was meant to be humorous or was an exaggeration of the points Poe was making but the story had endured. Auguste Dupin went on to use his intellect in other Poe stories and over time a great legacy of detective stories were born from his analytical and imaginative abilities. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a "shilling shocker" that rose above the masses to bring literary fame to its author. The story can be interpreted on various levels. On the surface it encompasses the concepts of good and evil. Looking deeper one finds an analysis of society's double standards, theories of the psychological structure of the human personality akin to Sigmund Freud, and the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin. The story touches on something that everyone can recognize within themselves and is the most likely reason for its longevity in the world's culture. In the end both stories close with the "whodunit" revealed, the case all wrapped up, and their place in literary history secured.
References:
Boles, P. F. (Ed.) (2011). Introduction to literature: Pearson custom library. Boston: Pearson.
Prose Narrative Criticism Essay: 1
by
darksong (student)
