Sigmund Freud’s theory containing the id, ego, and superego play a big role in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sigmund Freud’s theory clarifies the personality traits that were expressed through the main characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The id stands for a character who has no control on his or her impulses. The ego stands for a reconcile personality within a character. Last, the superego is a character who is rational with his or her situations. The id would be Mr. Hyde because Mr. Hyde is publicized as an irrational character within this novella. The superego would symbolize Dr. Jekyll, since Dr. Jekyll is sane, compared to Mr. Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson, using Sigmund Freud’s theory, published The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to develop the two …show more content…
Since he commits crimes throughout the novella, his character defines him as a heartless being. In an attempt in describing the reader the appearance of Mr. Hyde, Saposnik says, “Hyde crouches menacingly-hairy, grimacing, unkempt,” (88). Another character in the book, Mr. Enfield, also describes Mr. Hyde as a person who you’d hate just by looking at his appearance. However, his appearance isn’t as bad as his actions. Stevenson wrote in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, “And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing with his cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman” (60) to give a clear image of how Mr. Hyde reacts randomly. The audience witnessed Mr. Hyde break out into an angry madman, which definitely gives the readers a hint that Mr. Hyde’s personality—along with his actions—is as deadly as a bomb. Since Mr. Hyde is known as the id, it is only fair that he is mentioned as a sinful person because he shows his id by committing crimes. This proves that Dr. Jekyll’s character differs from the character of Mr.
Dr. Jekyll is benevolent and pleasant in his social interactions. He attempts to cover up his darker self by creating a courteous public persona. Everyone has a different persona when they are outside in the eyes of the public and when they are inside. Through Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll reveals his destructive side. Transforming into Mr. Hyde gives Dr. Jekyll a freedom to act and behave without caring about the public’s opinion or about the consequences of his actions. Dr. Jekyll is captured and locked up deep inside, he appears reasonably appropriate on the exterior but his inner reflections drives him towards immorality. As Dr. Jekyll privately turns into Mr. Hyde, not only is his appearance transformed, but also his behavior. This can be a similar caparison on people in today’s society. People with high status or popularity are always being watched with every move they make. If they make one small mistake, then that will look bad on
Hyde’s appearance suggests, his behavior is also vicious. One night he tramples over a child’s body leaving her screaming and a sight “hellish to see” (Stevenson 3). Another night he breaks out in rage and beats a man to death with his cane for no apparent reason. As opposed to Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde has no conscience; he feels no remorse in his actions. Mr. Hyde is the embodiment of pure evil, which is why no one could recognize that this man is actually the other half of Dr. Jekyll.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson uses very rich diction so that his audience can visualize every detail of the setting and characters. In Dr. Lanyon’s letter to Mr. Utterson describing how he came to know of Dr. Jekyll’s deception and secrets, he also describes Mr. Hyde. This was the first time in the novel that Mr. Hyde was descriptively described. The diction Stevenson used influenced not only the visual aesthetics of the reader but several themes and gives the reader foreshadowing. Dr. Lanyon first describes Mr. Hyde’s clothing as “enormously too large”, and goes into further detail by observing that his pants were too long for him and were “rolled up to keep them from the ground” and “the collar sprawl wide upon his shoulders” (Stevenson). Dr. Lanyon’s description also foreshadows the truth behind Dr. Jekyll’s secret because Dr. Jekyll was described as a large man, “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty” (Stevenson). Mr. Hyde’s description also included Dr. Lanyon’s surmise that “there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature” (Stevenson). In the last chapter, the letter from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Utterson, the audience gets a sense of shame and understanding from Dr. Jekyll. Stevenson’s diction strongly influences the reader’s perception of Dr. Jekyll’s letter. His use of words like “morbid sense of shame,” “driven to reflect deeply and inveterately on that hard law of life,” and “shed a strong light on this consciousness of the perennial war among my members” (Stevenson), imply the emotional impact that Dr. Jekyll’s experiments had on
Hyde. He is a dark sinister personality. One that tramples a young child, seriously injuring her, and acts as if it was nothing. Mr. Hyde is totally opposite of Dr. Jekyll in both appearance and public status. Mr. Hyde has a deep desire to push the limits of public acceptance by indulging in activities that would bring negative attention to him and even public scorn and shame. He lack any sense of remorst and could careless if he is not accepted by others.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll’s id is Mr. Hyde. As stated in an outside source, “A study in dualism: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” “Mr. Hyde would seem easily recognizable as the id, seeking instant gratification, having an aggressive instinct, and having no moral or social mores that need be followed,” (Singh and Chakrabarti 13). Mr. Hyde as seen multiple times throughout the novel, expresses one of the components of the id mentioned in the quotation. One example showing how he lives by no morals or values is when he kill Sir Danvers Carew. Hyde beat him to death out of impulse when he passed him late at night on the street. This murder also represents how Mr. Hyde shows aggression. Instant gratification is seen towards the end of the novel. In chapter 10 Jekyll says “My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring,” (Stevenson 92). Hyde could not withhold being repressed anymore and breaks out without Dr. Jekyll’s potion. He does this because he is looking for pleasure. This relates to Freud’s pleasure principle where it is Hyde’s instinct to transform to be
The idea of the superego’s morality vs. the id’s impulses effectively display how one’s decisions are influenced by their emotions. This is evident through Mr. Hyde’s violent impulses, Charles Halloway’s analogy of the unconscious mind and, Dr. Jekyll’s transformation. Mr. Hyde’s violent impulses towards people demonstrate how one’s decisions are a product of one’s emotions. Mr. Hyde says, “Instantly the spirit of hell awoke in me and raged. With a transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight from every blow; and it was not till weariness had begun to succeed, that I was suddenly, in the top fit of my delirium, struck through the heart by a cold thrill of terror. […] my lust of evil gratified and stimulate […].” (Stevenson 116) Mr. Hyde’s violent impulses are a prominent part of Stevenson’s story as they effectively portray an out of control id. It is clear that since Mr. Hyde represents Dr. Jekyll’s pure id, he embodies his aggressive and sexual desires. As a result, Mr. Hyde gains enormous pleasure from satisfying the id’s aggressive emotions by harming people. Thus, Mr. Hyde’s decisions to brutalize people are a product of the id’s aggressive nature. Furthermore, In Something Wicked this Way Comes, Charles Halloway’s description of autumn people portrays the relationship between the superego and the id in people. He says, “‘Such are the autumn people. Beware of them.’ After a pause, both boys exhaled at once. […] ‘Then –‘ Will swallowed – ‘does that
During the story Hyde’s actions compounds our first impressions of him. Stevenson never says exactly what Hyde takes pleasure in on his nightly forays but it is thought to be of things that would ruin Jekyll’s reputation if they ever came out. There is thought to be strong ties to drugs, alcohol addiction and other dangerous dealings; ‘he had once visited her (the maid’s) master and for whom she had conceived a dislike’. In the very first chapter, Mr Enfield tells his friend, Mr Utterson, a story where he witnessed a strange looking man walking along a deserted street, who ‘trampled calmly over (a) child’s body and left her screaming on the ground’ when they collided.
Sigmund Freud, a psychologists, discovered that everybody is born with three different aspects which create our personality: Id, Ego, and Superego. The Id is one aspect in which everyone is born with and uses whatever is necessary to get what they want even if it is wrong. The Superego is what the human mind develops over time in which the person only thinks about themselves and their desires or feelings. Finally, the Ego is what balances out the two different aspects. The Ego is used to know what is right and what is wrong. Mary W. Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, explores these energies that make up one’s personality in her novel. Throughout the story, Victor shows these different aspects of personalities as he struggles emotionally after
Superego is the division of personality that contains the conscience and develops by incorporating the perceived moral standard of society. The superego has idealistic standards that the ego struggles to satisfy. The standard that Shrek thinks Fiona wants is to have a handsome, human, prince to marry and not him who is an Ogre. Especially since that this the standard Fiona’s father forced into his brain. This leads him to take a potion that turns them into humans. Instead of see that Fiona loves Shrek for who he is, he tried to make them both look like what society expects them to be.
however Hyde did not answer all of a sudden he " broke out in a great
There are many different ways that Henrys shows him using the id and superego through out the movie. He goes from using his super ego at the beginning but then completely changing after he gets shot in the brain to mainly using his Id.
Despite saying this Jekyll still succumbs to his Id and Hyde is drawn out again. Jekyll knows of the evil that comes out when he transforms into Hyde. Jekyll says “This, as I take it, was because all human beings, as we meet them are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil”(Stevenson 108). Here Jekyll clearly states that he knows Hyde is evil yet he still cannot overpower his Id and then his Superego is overcome. By turning into Hyde, Jekyll feels free and can do whatever he wants without the slightest hesitation. Following his innate desires Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew and tramples a young girl. These actions are done through the Id and even though Jekyll is civilized law abiding man once the Id has taken over and he transforms into Hyde, his dark side is unleashed. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are but one; one body but two conflicting characters, the good and evil.
One major portion of Sigmund Freud’s perspective on psychology involves the personality structure of the id, ego, and
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson is meant to be interpreted as an allegory. Although the story by itself is immensely entertaining, its symbolism is where the novella truly shines. This is a story of temptation. In Dr. Jekyll’s confession, the doctor declares that after two months without Mr. Hyde, he started to become “tortured with throes and longings” to transform into his counterpart Mr. Hyde (Stevenson 55). Consequently, Dr. Jekyll states that he “fell before the assaults of temptation” because he gave in to his mind’s desires and transformed into Mr. Hyde (Stevenson 57). Another important piece of information that contributes toward Stevenson’s allegory in the novella is the fact that Henry Jekyll
In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it is regarded that these identities are two different persons but this is not the case, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one in the same. There is much confusion when reading this literary work by Robert Louis Stevenson; this piece is regarded as horrific and disturbing in many ways. But the biggest twist is when it is reveled to the reader that these two people are the same and that below the surface of Dr.Jekyll is an evil man who enjoys committing evil acts. Mainly that Dr. Jekyll believes he has no choice but to commit these horrid acts because he has no control over is evil side. I don’t believe this is the case, Hyde isn’t a real person and doesn’t exist, nor is he someone who commits