Character Analysis on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Jean Paul Richter defines doppelgängers as “people who see themselves.” One would think that such would be the case for the two main characters in the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, but it is quite the opposite (until the end of the novel when the reader finds out that the two main characters are in fact one). Dr. Jekyll creates Mr. Hyde in the hopes of expelling evilness and temptation from himself, but is blind to the fact that he cannot truly separate himself from his original sin. Throughout the novel, Stevenson uses Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to embody the archetypes of good and evil. It is not until the end of the story that Dr. Jekyll “sees
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Through Dr. Jekyll’s temptation of not only freeing the evil part of himself but also of discovering something scientifically groundbreaking, is how Edward Hyde comes to fruition.
Although Dr. Jekyll can be seen as a composite character still struggling with the good and evil inside him, Mr. Hyde is pure evil. Time and time again, characters in the book are disgusted by even the mere sight or presence of Mr. Hyde. According to Calder, this is because “it is when [evil] takes on human aspect that it becomes terrifying” (10). Dr. Jekyll is described as being about middle-aged, large and handsome. Mr. Hyde, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. He is a much younger man, shorter in stature and with a deformity about him that no one could quite place. Dr. Jekyll himself credits this to the fact that the evil side of him was much less developed and thus Mr. Hyde is also less developed than his normal self (Dr. Jekyll). As the story continues and Mr. Hyde begins to exercise his evilness more and more, his body also gets bigger and stronger. According to Judith Halberstam, “the monster functions as [a] monster… when it is able to condense as many fear-producing traits as possible into one body” (131), which is precisely what Stevenson did here with Mr. Hyde. Many of the descriptors of him and his actions even make comparisons to him as an animal, such as when he shrinks back “with a hissing intake of breath” (Stevenson 9) or when he hits Danvers Carew “with ape-like
Imagine having two people living in one body. One might be more powerful than the other. For Dr. Jekyll, he is a well-respected man around town, but wants a change in his life. Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s other half that does many crimes throughout the story. There is a mystery the entire time until the end. In the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson; Dr. Jekyll changes into Mr. Hyde by drinking a potion that he has made himself. Mr. Hyde has many traits that differ from Dr. Jekyll, including being ugly, wicked, and ape-like.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll represents good and Hyde represents evil, Jekyll is tall, handsome, kind, and friendly while Hyde is mean, dwarfish, ugly, and devilish this being because Jekyll has been good for so long, his evil is weak and small. Robert Louis Stevenson uses archetypes and word choice to create a dark, mysterious, silent, and empty mood. There are many things we do in the real world that are similar to the things done in the book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we can look at people and think, “that person looks friendly” or “that person looks doesn't look safe” just like in the book, we can use looks, feelings, and colors in the real world to create an impression of that person. There are many physical descriptions used in the book to describe the characters, Jekyll is described tall, handsome, nice, and friendly while Hyde is described as ugly, short, mean, devilish, and scary. This we can all conclude from the descriptions, colors, and how the character acts in the book, just as we do in real
If Hyde has been described as Hyde "savage, uncivilized, and given to passion…poorly evolved" (Shubh), then perhaps he represents the true, original nature of man, repressed by society, norms, and conscience. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde suggests that this restrained, amoral side of human nature, once given a chance to escape, cannot be controlled. Even in this 'height of western civilization', Victorian England, this tempting evil can overcome even the most virtuous of men. Jekyll is neither good nor bad, but a man whose deeply repressed urges motivated him to separate, but not remove, the evil parts of his nature. There is a misinterpretation that Hyde is an unwanted byproduct of trying to create pure good, that Jekyll is not in control as Hyde, and that Jekyll doesn't enjoy being Hyde. In fact, Jekyll loves being Hyde, he revels in the freedom that he brings him (Stevenson 54), but the problems with his dual personality starts when he has to face the consequences of his actions. Jekyll has a difficult time balancing Hyde's debaucheries and Jekyll's rational, refined side. However, Jekyll realizes too late that he has indulged in Hyde too much and has let him grow out of control. At the beginning of the novel, Hyde was the “smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll” (Stevenson 57). His more youthful appearance represents how young and free Jekyll feels as Hyde, but also symbolizes how little his personality was seen before Jekyll drank his potion. Early in the novel, Hyde is easily controlled, Jekyll can use his potion to limit how often he transforms into Hyde (Stevenson 56). However, as he starts to morph back and forth, it starts to take more and more potion to control the switches until
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one long social commentary. One of its main themes is breaking down the façade of perfection created by the upper class, and examining what lies underneath. In fact, the whole story is about a man in high society, whose private life is rather an opposite of his public one. In Dr. Jekyll’s letter, Stevenson writes, “I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold slave to my original evil… I was suddenly aware that I had lost in stature,” (Stevenson page 2273). The idea of a “loss in stature” holds a double meaning. Stature, meaning size, can allude to Hyde’s height which is understood to be much less than Jekyll’s own. Yet, stature, meaning stance in society, can also imply that Jekyll, when transformed, no longer hold’s his prominence in his culture. This speaks to the Victorian society’s habit of only portraying the high society as impeccable which Stevenson battles throughout this mysterious case. Another parallel of appearance is described by Nabokov as he states, “The relations of the two are typified by Jekyll’s house, which is half Jeykyll and half Hyde,” (Nabokov 186). The side facing the street filled with others in the upper class is neat, tidy, and welcoming; this is Jekyll’s half. The side facing a dimmer and more dangerous street is dark, looming, and mysterious; similar to Hyde’s
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hyde becomes Jekyll's demonic, monstrous alter ego. Certainly Stevenson presents him immediately as this from the outset. Hissing as he speaks, Hyde has "a kind of black sneering coolness . . . like Satan". He also strikes those who witness him as being "pale and dwarfish" and simian like. The Strange Case unfolds with the search by the men to uncover the secret of Hyde. As the narrator, Utterson, says, "If he be
“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” Robert Louis Stevenson was no fool when it came to understanding the duality of human nature evident within mankind. In his novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson is able to explore his interests concerning the dark, hidden desires that all human beings are guilty of possessing. In his story, a well-respected professional by the name of Dr. Jekyll experiments with the idea of contrasting personalities and successfully undergoes a physical separation of such identities—one which would soon wreak havoc upon his very existence. As a result of his success, Edward Hyde is born. Hyde, characterized as a miniscule and terrifying, apelike figure from the start,
and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil” (Stevenson, pg.77). But this is a false statement; it actually proves Dr. Jekyll to be the evil one. Because it was through his experiment that Mr. Hyde and the evil in him came forward in Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll could have controlled Mr. Hyde’s actions and turned them into good, but he was too consumed with the scientific experiment. The
Stevenson makes Hyde seem a monster/animal/supernatural evil in the way that he is described. Hyde clearly represents “the beast in man” and is described in a number of animalistic images. When Utterson confronts him, he is described as “hissing” like a cornered snake; Poole describes him as a “thing” which cries out “like a rat”; he moves “like a monkey” and screams in “mere animal terror.” He is described as “A Juggernaut”, “Like Satan”, “Deformed”, “Dwarfish”, “Hardly human”,
First, it is obvious that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an example of duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Throughout the novel, the two characters are introduced as two different people. Dr. Jekyll is handsome and “good” in the eyes of society, and Hyde is ugly and “evil” through society’s eyes. Stevenson describes Dr. Jekyll as “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty” (19), and Mr. Hyde as “pale, dwarfish” (17) and not human like. The description of these characters is showing us the two sides of one man. Stevenson is trying to tell us that everybody has a good and evil side, and they also have a curiosity about their darker side. He believed that people know they have a bad side, but they refuse to accept the truth, as the ‘dark side’ is so unpleasant. The duality of good and evil associates with the modern-day reader because we see that an individual, even
In the story of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), the character Dr Henry Jekyll develops an alter ego called Mr Edward Hyde while trying to separate the two consciences he believes everyone has inside of them. This Mr Hyde ego is the evil half of Dr Jekyll and performs horrendous acts like murder feeling no guilt, but when Dr Jekyll regains control of the body they share he is overcome with regret. This wonder about multiple consciences was popular at the time of the story’s writing with double personality being “one of the most widely discussed clinical disorders” (Armstrong 189). This essay will discuss the ‘reverse transformation’ found in the novel and how
The society expects him to be perfect, yet he still possesses a side that society would never approve of. He knows that he cannot fulfill his desires as Dr. Henry Jekyll, the esteemed gentleman, or else he would suffer great consequences. He avoids spiteful measures by creating a drug that would allow him to transform. Through transformation he turns into Edward Hyde. Hyde is Jekyll’s bridge to freedom. As a result of society’s repression, Jekyll fulfills his wild desires through transforming into his doppelganger, Hyde.
Being a respected doctor, Jekyll is tied of chains by his social status in the society, for instance if a child is restricted to do something, by his parents. He will eventually find a secretive way to fulfill his needs. In the same manner Jekyll finds Hyde as a solution to satisfy his simple need like drinking. “His every act and thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another” ().As the quote demonstrates Hyde enjoys drinking, which he cannot do as Dr. Jekyll, living in an oppressed Victorian society. The small and harmful temptation like drinking leads to more serious offences. As this boosts, Jekyll’s confidence, he ends up indulging into violent acts, “With ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows” (). The simile in this quote delineates Jekyll’s unexpressed desire that erupts through Hyde. His small desires manifests into bigger crimes. Stevenson uses this theory to showcase temptation the evil cause of problems in mankind.
In the spooky mysterious novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson we start our journey with the main character, Mr. Utterson, and his companion, Dr. Lanyon. The two men talk about their colleague Dr. Jekyll and this mysterious figure named Mr. Hyde. In doing this Stevenson introduces the four characters that prove to be pillars in the investigation and resolution of the book. Throughout the book we experience plenty of conflict between these four characters and society. Stevenson sets up the theme through the conflicts that arise between the characters in the book. In the end the author wraps it all up by the use of his unique point of view and ends the confusion by allowing the us to finally solve “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Stevenson examines the motif of the doppelganger through his novel with the creation of his two famous characters, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and Mr. Edward Hyde. They are one and the same person, except that Hyde represents the evil side of Jekyll that he managed to separate into its own entity. When someone pushes all his evil
Hyde. In this way, Jekyll becomes monstrous himself as he wishes to pass on his evil parts into another person. Jekyll’s concoction is a threat to cultural morals and values as it enables someone to set evil free. Consequently, there is no obligation and interest in adhering to any moral standards. In the end, he is a split person, one-half is represented by Jekyll and the other one by Hyde. Stevenson used the different standpoints in the story to create the feeling that Jekyll and Hyde are two different individuals: “‘The Master Hyde, if he were studied,’ thought he [Utterson],’must have secrets of his own; black secrets, by the look of him; secrets compared to which poor Jekyll’s worst would be like sunshine.” (Stevenson 22). Thus, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story where the line blurs. As Hyde and Jekyll are one and the same person, the reader realises that they together are both moral and immoral and both good and