Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde

Introduction

The novelette “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was written by the Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. It is a Gothic mystery and was a quite famous writing style at the time. It is set in Victorian society that was considered to be at the apex of civilization. It is a story of a man who had a split personality. It was Dr. Jekyll and his alter-ego Mr. Hyde who was no other man but himself (Book review at Book Review Circle.com).

The story goes that Dr. Jekyll in his will bequeaths all his wealth to a man known as Mr. Hyde. This deeply perplexes his long-time friend and lawyer Mr. Utterson who finds it absolutely strange as the beneficiary is a complete stranger to Dr. Hyde. The story goes that Mr. Edward Hyde tramples a little girl. The prosecutor Mr. Gabriel J. Utterson takes the case as the crowd tells Mr. Hyde for penitence. He is even more intrigued as the check that Mr. Hyde gives the little girl is signed by Dr. Henry Jekyll.

The solicitor tries to interrogate the situation from Dr. Jekyll as he finds it improper of a respectable and urbane doctor to assist a person as Mr. Hyde. However, Dr. Jekyll gives no response. One year past the incident, a member of the British Parliament is killed. The maid pinpoints to the man of Mr. Hyde as the murderer.

Utterson discusses the case with Dr. Jekyll who shows him a letter from Mr. Hyde in which he claims that he is going to disappear forever (from the face of the Earth). At some point, Utterson smells a rat and breaks open into Dr. Jekyll's house where they find the corpse of Mr. Hyde who has ended his life by taking deadly poison (Book review by Seattle Pi.Com).

Duality of the Strange Case

This classic English novelette brings to forth the duality of a person's character. It shows how the good and the evil coexist in a person. While a person may have a tendency for good, at the same time he might also be inclined toward evil and fiendish misgivings. Especially a person with a split personality like Dr. Hyde in the mystery novel may be given to evil, even criminal tendencies.

While there is the good, honest, respectable Dr. Jekyll, he is also due to his duality of personality given to another miserable, grotesque, and ignoble character as Mr. Hyde who is also immodest, mean, given to purposeless violence, and depraved to the bone. Mr. Hyde is indistinguishable from Dr. Jekyll as he is the manifestation of his black heart and an incarnation of the beast within him (Book review at Word Press.Com).

It is not Dr. Jekyll who he wants to be rather Dr. Jekyll aspires to be Mr. Hyde who is free of all norms, values and moral conduct and is above all law and morality. Dr. Jekyll is the wannabe and ...