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Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Duality

Decent Essays

Gothic literature is didactic as it exposes the inner mechanisms of man’s mind and the resulting repression within society. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ explores the duality of man, the nature of mankind and the inner psychology of man’s mind through the protagonist, Dr Jekyll, a man who is hiding a darker side of him, Mr Hyde. Gothic literature, especially Stevenson's novella also examines the dichotomy of society and the social construct within it, through the context of Victorian London.

In his novella, Stevenson uses his protagonist, Dr Jekyll to explore and delve into the duality of man. He presents Dr Jekyll as a doctor, a respected man of science who is the embodiment of a Victorian …show more content…

While there are often figuratively two sides to man, Stevenson has created a literal good and evil side to Jekyll to emphasise man’s duality. Mr Hyde, while essentially is another version of Dr Jekyll, he is the complete opposite of him, in appearance and behaviour. While Dr Jekyll is the embodiment of a Victorian gentleman from the higher classes of society, Mr Hyde behaves very violently and primitively, which underlines the fact that he is from the lowest classes in society. His behaviour can be seen through the juxtaposition of when he “…trampled calmly, over the child’s body…” It emphasises Mr Hyde’s behaviour, and who he is as a person. Mr Hyde also differs significantly in appearance from Dr Jekyll, emphasised through repetition of how the doctor’s clothes were too big for him “He was dressed in clothes far too large for him, clothes of the doctor’s bigness…” This repetition draws attention to the appearance of Mr Hyde compared to Dr Jekyll. By comparing the two characters, who are actually one but differ significantly from each other, we can see how Stevenson has emphasised the duality within man, that there is often two sides, one good and one evil

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