PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Belhadj Bouchaib University Centre - Ain Temouchent
Institute of Letters and Languages
Department of English

Human Nature Duality in Victorian Literature

The Case of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Novella: “The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

An Extended Essay Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for a

Master’s Degree in Literature and Civilisation

Submitted by : Supervised by :
Mohamed CHEGUELOUFA Dr. Azzedine BOUHASSOUN

Board of Examiners
- President : Ms. Fatima YAHIA University Centre of Ain Temouchent
- Supervisor : Dr. Azzedine BOUHASSOUN University Centre of Ain Temouchent
- Examiner : Mr. Mohamed Ali TALHA University Centre of Ain Temouchent

Academic Year: 2017/2018

Dedication

I dedicate this modest work to my family especially to my beloved mother and father for their

unlimited love, faith and support, I would not achieve all of this without you.

I also dedicate this work to the dearest and closest friends that I have been fortunate enough to

be blessed with. Having true friends is a gift from God, a Priceless Gift that cannot be bought or

sold. From my deep heart to Moustapha ZAOUI and Oussama KHELIFI, no one could have had

your noble motives.

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Acknowledgement

First and foremost, the greatest gratitude goes ahead to the generous Allah, who best owed

upon me the strength to accomplish this study.

Then, the unique recognition and the deepest respect should go to my supervisor Mr. Azzeddine

BOUHASSOUN, thanks to him, this dissertation would have never been accomplished without

his considerable help, sage advice, insightful criticisms, patience, encouragement and guidance,

for that I indebt my gratefulness to him.

I would like also to express my sincere thanks to all teachers for their pieces of advice and their

total devotion in teaching us who never hesitated to give help whenever needed. I should thank the

members of jury for proof reading and examining this paper and also the stuff of English

Department for their help.

Finally, I extend my warm appreciation to all of my friends and classmates for their help and

support and also for just being there.

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Abstract

One of the most significant current discussions in literature is human nature duality. Several

literary works used duality of man to express the social anxieties and the double lives individuals

have in which these works are written. The present study is an attempt to investigate human nature

duality in British society during the Victorian period through the literary study of Robert Louis

Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a case study. The fundamental

aim of this study is to analyze the aspects of duality in the novella through the investigation of the

historical and intellectual background in the Victorian Era. The method followed in this study is

the analytical approach to explore the use of the dualistic features in the novella. The overall

structure of the study takes the form of three chapters: The first chapter provides a brief overview

of Victorian literature, then it draws logical relation between the novelist’s real life and duality of

man. The second chapter examines the novella’s intellectual and philosophical foundations such

are morality, Darwinian theory and Freudian psychology. The final chapter draws upon the entire

thesis, tying up the various theoretical and empirical strands used in the previous chapters in order

to explore the facets of duality in Stevenson’s novella. On the whole, this research work offers an

insight into human nature duality and the consequences of double lives and irrationality.

Keywords: Morality, Evolution, Duality of human nature, Victorian literature, Double lives

Psychology, Chaos, Irrationality.

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Table of Contents

❖ Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………......i

❖ Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….............ii

❖ Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………....iii

❖ Table of Contents……………………………………………………………….………….....iv

General Introduction…………………………………………………………………………......1

Chapter One: A General Review of Victorian Literature……………………………………......5

1.1.Victorian Novel During the Nineteenth Century …………………………………………......6

1.2.The Victorian Gothic Novel………………………………………………………………….11

1.3.Robert Louis Stevenson as a Dualistic Writer……………………………………………….15

Chapter Two: The Intellectual and Philosophical Foundations in the Novella……………....22

2.1. Morality in the Victorian Society…………………………………………………………...23

2.2. Darwinian Theory…………………………………………………………………………...28

2.3. Freudian Psychology………………………………………………………………………...33

Chapter Three: The Investigation of Human Duality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…………...38

3.1. Duality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Novella………………………………………………...39

3.2. The Exploration of Duality through the use of Allusion…………………………………....45

3.3. The Dominance of the Dark Side and the Chaos of Irrationality…………………………...49

General Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..54

Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………….I

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………….IV

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General Introduction
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It is generally agreed that literature is considered as the authentic report of all ages. The literary

works reflect and tackle in artistic way every change in the conventional aspects of the social,

cultural and intellectual fields. The Victorian age is considered as one of the most significant

periods in the English history, it witnessed an extensive psychological and ideological advance

which led to a huge production in literature and a variety in the literary genres. Therefore, the era

established a solid philosophical foundation for Gothic literature to develop in the second half of

18th century.

One of the most significant controversial topics throughout history is human nature duality.

Each period provided an enormous intellectual and scientific research to find out how human

psyche works through the investigation of duality of mankind. However, the Victorian Era more

than any other period is credited as the first period that duality was dealt with and received a

considerable critical attention, it shaped the very beginning of duality as a scientific and

psychological research as well as a literary device.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) novella by the Scottish writer Robert Louis

Stevenson (1850-1894) is one of the Victorian remarkable Gothic works that used duality of

mankind as a main literary theme. Stevenson’s realistic fictional novella became a masterpiece

due to its great influence on the way people think and act in the Victorian age. The plot of the story

revolves around Dr. Jekyll’s mysterious medical potion that separates the two identities of human

being through creating his evil double, Mr. Hyde. The latter represents Jekyll’s evil hidden desires,

he breaks down the religious and social norms to satisfy his devilish impulses without a single

feeling of remorse or guilt. The conflict between Jekyll’s good and evil sides creates most of the

novella’s events.
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The aim of this study is to shed a new light on human nature duality through the examination

of Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Furthermore, to determine

the extent in which the duality of mankind was heightened as an important literary device in the

Victorian Period, by providing a conceptual theoretical framework based on the historical, social,

cultural and ideological context of the era.

The chief question to be investigated in this research is:

➢ How was the Gothic human nature duality element portrayed in Robert Louis Stevenson’s

novella The Stranger Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

This research will also seek to address the following questions:

➢ What was the philosophical foundations that led to the rise of Victorian Doppelganger?

➢ What was the main aspects that made duality of mankind as a significant literary theme in

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Stranger Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

➢ What are the consequences behind splitting the good and evil side of human nature?

To carry out this research, it is supposed that the significance of human nature duality is mainly

due to the intellectual and philosophical foundations in the Victorian period such as: morality

theories, Freudian Psychology and Darwinian evolutionary theory. In addition, the duality element

is a prevalent theme and a key dualistic device in Stevenson’s novella including the characters,

setting and the language. Finally, the dominance of the dark side and the chaos of irrationality are

the main consequences behind indulging the impulsive desires.

In the attempt to answer the former questions that constitute the focus of our study, the

framework of this extended essay will be divided into three chapters:

In order to understand human nature duality, it is crucial to be familiar with the social and

intellectual context in which the theory was developed. Thus, the first chapter offers a general and
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a critical review about Britain in nineteenth century, this will eventually explain the factors that

made the gothic novel as the dominating literary form in Victorian Era. Then, the chapter

introduces Robert Louis Stevenson as one of the leading Victorian novelist who used duality of

mankind as a main literary theme.

The second chapter will dig in the historical background of nineteenth century to find out the

intellectual and philosophical foundations in the novella. It will investigate the theories that guided

Victorian morality, then the influence of Darwinian theory that changed the conventional way of

thinking about the origins of man, it will also study the common aspects of Freudian theory about

personality structure in Stevenson’s novella.

The last chapter will investigate the aspects of human nature duality throughout the novella. It

offers a detailed preview about duality in the characters such as Jekyll and Hyde, Mr. Utterson,

Hyde’s maiden and the setting. Then, it will explore duality of man through the use of allusion.

Lastly, it examines the dominance of man’s dark side and the chaos of irrationality.

The methodological approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology by employing both

the qualitative and quantitative methods to provide analytical and exploratory research. This work

is also an analytical study endeavoring to depict cues in the novel that constitute the theme of

duality. The convention followed in this research is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of

Research Papers, seventh edition.

In a nutshell, returning to the posted questions and the hypotheses that will be discussed through

this study, it will be possible to provide an important opportunity to advance our understanding of

human nature duality. However, this analysis seems to offer new areas to be explored in order to

understand man in society.

Chapter One:
A General Review of Victorian Literature
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Introduction

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature about human nature duality.

The Victorian age more than any other era is credited to be the first period that clearly and precisely

discussed human nature duality. The period witnessed the production of a considerable amount of

literary works that provided an authentic account of man’s duality in philosophy, science and even

in fiction. Writers such as Mary Shelley (1797-1851), Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and Robert Louis

Stevenson (1850-1894) used duality as a literary device in their works to describe the identity split

in human mind. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Stevenson is considered

to be the first trailblazing fictional work that dealt with duality as a main literary theme. The

purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of Victorian literature, then the reasons

behind emergence of human nature duality during nineteenth century and finally Stevenson’s

dualistic novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

1.1.The Victorian Novel during the Nineteenth Century

Strictly speaking, most of literary works are inspired and influenced by the period in which they

are produced. The literary movements, themes, the characters, the plot as well as the story’s setting

of any work reflect the situation of a certain period of time. It is, therefore significant to introduce

the historical context in which The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written.

The Victorian age took its name from the last British monarch in the house of Hanover queen

Alexandrina Victoria. Generally speaking, the Victorian era began when queen Victoria took the

throne in 1837 and continued till her death in 1901; however, the period can be extended to include

the years both before and after these dates, precisely from the Napoleonic Wars 1799 – 1815 until

the beginning World War I in 1914.

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In the nineteenth century, the Victorian Era witnessed a great economic prosperity, political

stability and also a huge technological advance. According to David McDowall in his book An

Illustrated History of Britain, “Britain in the nineteenth century was at its most powerful and self-

confident. After the industrial revolution, nineteenth-century Britain was the "workshop" of the

world. Until the last quarter of the century British factories were producing more than any other

country in the world.” (131). Thanks to the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution, Britain

for the first time in its history reachs the highest peak of its power. The modernized machinery

system fastened the industry and provided considerable number of products in a short time.

Moreover, along with the Empire’s colonies, steam powered engines facilitated the transportation

of the British goods to promote and sell them in local and overseas markets.

In A Tale of Two Cities, the representative writer of Victorian era Charles dickens (1812-1870)

describes the era in a great detail:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of

foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,

it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had

everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all

going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of

its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative

degree of comparison only. (3)

Dickens points out that life in Britain during the nineteenth century was commonly known as the

age of contradictions. Due to various economic and social factors, Victorians encountered

dichotomic way of life: On the one hand, with the advent of Industrial Revolution in second half

of the eighteenth century, scientific innovations and technological advances improved the
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Victorians traditional lifestyle. Economy boomed dramatically which mechanized factories and

resulted in better and faster production. The standard of living for many people was raised, some

people became very wealthy with higher incomes which led to the rise of the new middle class.

Life became easier and comfortable than it was before, people spend much of their time seeking

for entertainments such as going to the theatre, travelling, vacationing as well as writing and

reading. On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution brought serious social problems and political

unrest. The marginalized segment of the poor and working class faced several social problems and

continued to be filled with more challenges. Poverty, bad living and working conditions,

overpopulated and polluted cities, exploitation of children and women in factories, criminality,

prostitution and a high rate of illiteracy because of lack of proper education.

Consequently, the deterioration of the economic, moral and social situation in the fin de siècle

influenced and inspired writers to document that in their works. Thus, life in the nineteenth century

contributed on a large scale in major growth in literature which paved the way for the development

of the Victorian novel.

One of the most seminal epochs in the literary history of Britain is Victorian Literature. Notable

Victorian writers produced a considerable amount of literature in prose, poetry, fiction, history and

even criticism. However, among this literary richness, the novel flourished to be the dominating

literary form in the Victorian Era.

Traditionally speaking, the novel is a long narrative written realistic prose fiction that mainly

appeared in the eighteenth century. Clement Shorter, the writer of Victorian Literature. Sixty Years

of Books and Bookmen, argues that the origins of the novel can be traced back to the eighteenth

century:
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The great epoch of English fiction began with Goldsmith and Richardson and ended with Sir

Walter Scott [Eighteenth century]. It was an epoch which gave us “The Vicar of Wakefield,”

“Clarissa,” “Tom Jones,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Humphrey Clinker,” and “Tristram Shandy”.

That fiction had a naturalness and spontaneity to which the novels of the Victorian Era can lay

no claim. (41)

As cited above, the novel has been in development since the eighteenth century with the writers

mentioned before but it got much popularity and more acceptance only in the nineteenth century.

Writers such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen (1775-1817), Bronte sisters, George Eliot (1819-

1880) and Stevenson contributed in the improvement of the structural and stylistic parts of the

novel in terms of the plot and characters. Such writers left a lasting legacy that made an enormous

impact on society and a great wealth in the history of literature.

Throughout most of the nineteenth century in Britain, a large volume of recognizable novels

has been published. The economic, political and social factors facilitated the growth of the novel

in a massive way. These factors established a solid ground for the novel to stand as the dominant

literary form. For instance, as a result of the population growth, the high rate of literacy and leisure

time, the reading public expanded in a large number which made reading as a preferable pursuit

for all individuals. The expansion of cities and the growth of population was mainly because most

of rural communities in the United Kingdom moved to the industrialized cities seeking for a better

life and more job opportunities, these new urban societies led to a dramatic growth of population

which eventually helped to increase the readership rate. Additionally, the new technology of

printing, transportation web, travel ease, local and worldwide markets made books available

everywhere to satisfy the readers increasing demand for books. Furthermore, most of novelists

published their works in instalments, which provided serialized novels that were common in the
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book markets of the Victorian Era. These magazines were affordable for readers for all of the

different classes because they offered a reasonable price and also gave the writers the chance to

evaluate and edit their works in case they were not accepted by readers.

The novel mainly succeeded to dominate over other literary forms is perhaps due to its realistic

depiction of Victorian human life experiences. In order to attract reader’s attention and improve

the reading public, writers put extra stress on Realism.

Realism is the attempt to illustrate life’s actualities without using elaborate imagery, romantic

subjectivity or idealization. Ian Watt, a literary critic and a professor of English at Stanford

University, stats that, “the novelist's primary task is to convey the impression of fidelity to human

experience” (9). In other words, the realistic depiction of the society is the essence of novel writing.

Thus, the Victorian novel has objectively concerned itself with the contemporary life of the

common men and women coming from the lower and middle classes.

The realistic portrayal of middle and working classes’ daily life attracts the readers’ attention

more than any other literary movement. In the realistic fiction, the characters personify the same

people who are reading the novel with ordinary names and surnames. The plot retells the same

events of simple readers in their everyday life. The setting is mainly that of the same real places

where readers live. As a result, the novel became more interesting and easier to be perceived by

all members of the society.

The novel is usually considered as a means to unveil the ideas of the era in which it is written.

Thus, the Victorian novel functions as the authentic account of nineteenth century complexities.

During the Victorian Era, writers used fiction as the battleground for the ideological and ethical

controversies. For instance, the hierarchal social class is harshly criticized and condemned for its

social inequality and discrimination. Minority groups and individuals were in constant search for
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their position among society. Strict moral codes and gender roles as means to maintain the social

order through discussing male and female duties and roles. These complexities were sharply

discussed and emphasized by novelists in different themes as realistic fiction, this brought new

genres in novel writing such as Gothic novel.

1.2.The Victorian Gothic Novel

The Gothic novel is a type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th century in

England. Historically speaking, the term “Gothic” originates with the ornate architecture created

by the Goths. They are a group of people that are commonly known as Germanic tribes, who settled

in central Europe mostly between the third and fifth centuries AD.

In A Study Guide for "Gothic Literature by the educational and research group Gale Cengage,

Gothic is defined as, “a movement that focused on ruin, decay, death, terror, and chaos. It

privileged irrationality and passion over rationality and reason, grew in response to the historical,

sociological, psychological, and political contexts of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth

centuries.” (1) Within this context, Gothic literature includes all of the fictional works that

primarily focuses on the dark side of human nature and its psychological influence on man’s

behaviour. The emergence of Gothic is primarily as a reaction to the sharp influences of rationality

and reason brought by the Enlightenment of eighteenth-century. Since gothic tends to solve man’s

complexed anxieties, it strongly argues that human behaviour can be understood only through

provoking the feelings of terror and horror. Therefore, it employs supernatural happenings, and

mysterious atmosphere in dark medieval settings to create a sense of fear, confusion and

irrationality.
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In 1757, Edmund Burke (1729-1797) wrote a book entitled A Philosophical Enquiry into the

Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. This philosophical treatise deeply influences

the ideologies of gothic movement in a great deal:

Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is

in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to

terror, is a source of the sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the

mind is capable of feeling .... When danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving

any delight, and [yet] with certain modifications, they may be, and they are delightful, as we

every day experience. (45)

The quote introduces the sublime as a new philosophical Gothic term. According to Edmund, the

sublime is the characteristic in which feelings are provoked by external forces that leads to

gratifying delight, utmost pleasure and admiration even though it is dangerous, painful and

threatens man’s life. He also adds that the sublime is the state of being one feels when he rejects

something but still admire it in a way that is combined by both fascination and the fear of it.

Therefore, the “truest test of the sublime” can be reached only through “delightful horror” (Burke

99). Edmund’s enquiry truly explores the limits of feelings and thought and provides a rational

explanation of readers’ intriguing attraction for Gothic novels even though they provoke the

feelings of terror and horror.

The origin of Gothic fiction can be traced back to the second half of eighteenth century. The

Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole is credited as the first novel in Britain that embraced

together all of the Gothic literary features. Soon after, Victorian writers adopted this new literary

mode in their works such as, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe, The Monk (1796)
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Matthew Lewis, Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley, and Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange

Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).

Most of Gothic novelists used common characteristics in their writings which later established

Gothic literature as unique literary movement. First, the Gothic novel is set in dark backgrounds

of medieval ruins, such as haunted castles, monasteries, country manors and even areas far away

from civilization as wilderness and caves. Secondly, Gothic settings are surrounded by mysterious

environment that reflects a bleak or foreboding atmosphere, mostly in dark forests, imposing

mountains and stormy weathers. Furthermore, the Gothic characters are often physically or

emotionally isolated from others whether self-imposed or obliged by a tyrant which makes them

intensely emotional and passionate. Therefore, writers use sentimental language and intense

feelings combined with panic in order to create wild and uncontrollable atmosphere. The use of

such characteristics is meant to convey a hidden message behind the text such as addressing the

Victorian reader of the threat and evils of breaking the social and moral norms by presenting them

in Gothic fiction in its most dangerous and darkest form. It is also meant to replace eighteenth

century rationality with chaos and irrationality which ultimately led to a rich variety of ideologies

that Gothic literature embraced such as the duality of human nature.

In the late Victorian period, writers such as Stevenson developed human nature duality in his

gothic novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as one of the baffling issues in Victorian

Era. Hence, the duality of men was introduced for the first time to Victorian readers.

Mankind has been always in constant search attempting to understand the complexity of human

nature. With the development of psychology, medicines and science in the second half of

nineteenth century, the human mind became a fascinating subject for all branches of knowledge.

The duality of human nature explores the hidden motives behind man’s intricate behaviour through
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binary personality within the human mind. In other words, man’s daily actions are a combination

of good and evil forces which make the human psyche function as the battleground for the daily

conflict between angel and fiend to take complete control of the self. Thus, late Victorian writers

used duality as an important literary device to explore the psychological, moral and social issues.

There are many historical stories of how the ideology of human nature duality came into

existence. Just as all branches of knowledge, some studies show that duality dates back to the

Greek philosophy. It is traditionally said that duality begun in the ancient Greek mythology. The

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his book the Birth of Tragedy (1871) points out that:

Art owes its continuous evolution to the Apollonian-Dionysian duality…. The two creative

tendencies developed alongside one another, usually in fierce opposition, each by its taunts

forcing the other to more energetic production, both perpetuating in a discordant concord the

agony which the term art but feebly denominates. (Nietzsche)

Nietzsche suggests that duality of man is predominantly developed from the Greek Apollonian and

Dionysian dichotomy. In the Greek mythology, Zeus the god of universe has two sons whom own

opposite powers. Apollo is the god of the sun, light, reason and harmony, Dionysus is the god of

Drunkenness and ecstatic emotions. In this regard, the Apollonian philosophy symbolizes

reasoning, rationality, order and self-control. On the opposite, the Dionysian philosophy

symbolizes irrationality, chaos, madness and instinctive drifts. These opposite powers are not

existed in separated and independent forms, but they are joint together and combined in one

complementary form, they are used to generalize opposite and complementary components such

as good and evil, left and right, day and night, water and fire, male and female, inside and outside.

Therefore, the human nature duality is largely inspired by the rivalry and opposition of the Greek

dichotomy.
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In the nineteenth century, Human nature duality was developed in the British society under the

influence of the social, religious and moral ideals of behaviour. Thus, novelists used duality as an

important theme in Gothic novels as a fictional exploration of the Victorian social concerns.

In the light of the this, the literary scholar Irvine Saposnik indicates in The Anatomy of Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that, “Victorian man was haunted constantly by an inescapable sense of

division. As rational and sensual being, as public and private man, as civilized and bestial creature,

he found himself necessarily an actor, playing only that part of himself suitable to the occasion.”

(716). As can be concluded from this quote, the Victorians are confused between abiding by the

values of morality or submitting to the vices of immorality. The fear to ruin their fine reputation

makes them have a double life to avoid the social judgment, this creates a sense of duality and

hypocrisy in the Victorian society. It is usually considered as a two-faced society, a hypocrite

society that is wild and savage in the core but tamed by the social norms. Stevenson is aware of

this division within the lives of Victorians, he becomes fascinated by the idea of duality to make

him among the finest writers who used duality in Victorian literature.

1.3. Robert Louis Stevenson as a Dualistic Writer

One of the leading Victorian literary figures that made a great impact on literature is Robert

Louis Stevenson. His concern with the late Victorian social and cultural anxieties served as a main

inspiration for his outstanding Gothic novels. Duality in Victorian literature is predominantly

associated with Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde novella, his fascination with the binary personality

is reflected in all aspects of his life as well as in his works. Therefore, he used duality as main

literary device in his novella to explain man’s split of personality and to give a fictional illustration

of the consequences once the hidden desires are released.

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Robert Balfour Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, essayist, and poet. One of the most popular

British writers during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was born on November 13,

1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The only son of Thomas Stevenson (1818-1887), his father is a

lighthouse designer and engineer, the young Stevenson accompanied his father in his working trips

which pushed him to have more passion for the sea and a great love for adventures.

During his early young life, Stevenson had a sickly childhood. A chronic health problem that

kept him constantly into bed, he had weak lungs because he was infected by Tuberculosis, which

is a respiratory disease that was rampant in the Victorian period. He was nursed by Allison

Cunningham, she used to read for him aloud for long hours during his sickness which made him

have a strong inclination towards literature.

In 1861, Stevenson was sent to Edinburgh Academy to be prepared for Engineering studies at

the University of Edinburgh. Meanwhile, he engrossed himself in reading widely for prominent

writers such as Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, Walter Scott and other literary

works such as The Arabian Nights.

By the age of 17, Stevenson enrolled to Edinburgh Engineering University, to follow his

father’s footsteps; however, due to his great passion of literature, he wanted to be a writer. His

father strongly opposed this but as a compromise he studied law in order to have an alternative job

in case he failed as a writer.

Soon after, he spent most of his life travelling to different places in the world to find a climate

that suits his sickly state and also in search for new adventures. It was then he met his future wife

Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne (1840-1914) in France, 1876. Four years later they got married and

spent their honeymoon in the mountains of north of San Francisco in Napa Valley. Since then,
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Stevenson succeeded to obtain the fame as an acknowledged writer by publishing his first works

that were mainly inspired from his travel diaries.

During much of Stevenson’s life, the journeys he had while travelling widely contributed in the

success of his literary career. Having unstable health forced him to move regularly from a region

to another to find a suitable place that his bad health condition can cope with. Consequently, most

of his literary works were regarded as an account of his trips.

In Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes novel (1879), Stevenson expresses his lifelong passion

for travelling, he says, “For my part I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's

sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come

down off this feather-bed of civilization and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with

cutting flints” (75). Stevenson always had that interest in travelling since his childhood, he was

always seeking to experience a new life out of his hometown. Thus, he spent most of his life

travelling from a country to another to explore more places that he could not reach before and to

meet new people. Consequently, he got married with an American wife and get himself surrounded

with friends from different places in the world. Most of Stevenson’s literary works recount the

stories he had during his long journeys that captured the memories and the adventures throughout

most of those trips.

In 1878, Stevenson appeared as a writer with his first volume work “An Inland Voyage”. It is

considered as travel diary that he had during a canoe trip with his family on Belgium and France’s

canals. Stevenson’s biggest literary success is achieved between 1880 – 1887. In this period, he

moved constantly between the United states, Scotland, England, Switzerland and finally to the

South Sea Islands, where he bought an estate in Upolu, Samoa and settled there with his family till

he died in 1894.
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Among the very first popular books that constituted Stevenson’s fame as a remarkable Victorian

writer were in 1880s. Treasure Island (1883) a serialized adventure novel in children’s magazine,

kidnapped (1886) a historical fiction novel in Scotland during 18th century and the gothic dualistic

novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) which is Stevenson’s best Gothic

novel that brought revolutionary ideas in the conservative Victorian era.

Among Stevenson’s prominent literary works that perfectly presented the gothic duality

element is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is considered as the best novella that

discussed duality in a great detail. He said about the book, “I had long been trying to write a story

on this subject, to find a body, a vehicle, for that strong sense of man’s double being which must

at times come in upon and overwhelm the mind of every thinking creature” (104). As can be

concluded from this excerpt, Stevenson was interested in the idea of duality but he could not find

the right way to promote for this revolutionary idea till he realized it in Jekyll and Hyde novella.

In 1880, six years before the first publication of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he wrote a play based

on a real story called Deacon Brodie, or the Double Life. The play is about the Scottish gentleman

William Brodie (1741-1788), in daylight he is a well-respected cabinet maker and one of

Edinburgh city councillors. Meanwhile, at night, he maintains a secret life as gambler, thief and a

burglar with two mistresses. While being covered by his dignified reputation, Brodie enjoys

another dark life without being judged. Deacon Brodie play was not a successful one; however,

Stevenson kept his fascination of Brodie’s double life till he successfully altered it to Dr. Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde novella that is one of the prominent works which explored the duality of mankind

as a literary theme.

In another incident that shows Stevenson’s fascination of dualism is when he had a nightmare

that inspired him to write the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He dreamed about a random
19

man in a cabinet drinking mysterious potion that changed him physically into another person. This

nightmare visualized the main idea of his novella, it is through this dream he found out the missing

link for what he has been looking for so long. Soon after, he started writing Jekyll and Hyde novella

in a more way developed way than his dream.

Moreover, the Victorian cities Edinburg and London exemplified duality in its physical and

psychological image which greatly inspired Stevenson to use the two cities as the setting in his

dualistic gothic novella. In the late nineteenth century, Edinburg and London were modernized

urban cities. Manners and appearances were important more than anything else, there were highly

strict moral standards about how people should behave and look to be accepted among Victorian

society. People were supposed to be highly educated, well respected and show religious

commitment. Any violation of the conventional moral and religious codes will lead to social

rebuke. However, the era is also known by many contradictions. Criminality, prostitution and

brothels were prevalent in the cities. Sexuality and Homosexuality were publicly manifested

without restrains. Women, elderly and children were exploited in factories and mines, working for

long hours with harsh treatment, low wages and no insurance. This contradictory way of life of

Edinburg and London with the double lives left great impression and created a great fascination of

duality for Stevenson to write Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novella.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of Stevenson’s most popular works.

Directly after its first publication in 1886, it has received immediate success to be one of the

prominent works during the Victorian era.

The novella is a fictional exploration of moral and social Victorian anxieties. Stevenson

employs duality as the main theme in the novella to illustrate the psychological split of personality

in the human mind. The story takes place in the late nineteenth century London because the time
20

best represents Victorian society. It offers an intriguing plot which reflects the good and evil

antithesis with vivid characters to make the work more realistic. The plot of the story revolves

around the well respected and intellectual Dr. Jekyll’s mysterious experiment carried out in his

laboratory at the back of his house. He developed a strange medical potion that separates the two

identities of human being, which led to unleashing his other double Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll described

him as the “evil side of my nature” and “alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil” (78). The

plot progresses with Hyde’s wild life which presents the dark side of the respected gentlemen Dr.

Jekyll.

The novella’s events are narrated through ten chapters by different narrators. The narrative

structure is built on three distinctive parts which make it a nonlinear multiple narrative novel. The

first eight chapters from the point of view Dr. Jekyll’s friend Mr. Gabriel John Utterson, it starts

as a detective story, solving the mystery only in the very end. The ninth chapter from the point of

view Dr. Lanyon an old friend of Jekyll and Utterson. The tenth chapter is from the point of view

Dr. Jekyll himself, a full testament written by him where he reveals the secret of his experiment

that revealed duality of man.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be perceived in different ways of

understanding. As a fictional story, the novella illustrates the potential coexistence of man’s good

and evil intentions. In another way, as a critical social work on the hypocrisy and dual lives people

had in the Victorian society. Moreover, the novella decodes the psyche of the author by inferring

to the characters behaviour which reflects Stevenson’s own life. Finally, it can be also seen as a

fictional and psychological study of the human consciousness and unconsciousness and the split

of personality.
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Conclusion

In a nutshell, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a book of its time. Stevenson

used psychological, moral and social Victorian aspects to unveil the ideas of late nineteenth

century. The Victorian period is marked by an increasing interest in science, psychology, human

mind studies and also with conventional rules and moral values. These new changes and

developments resulted in the emergence of new ideologies and anxieties which influenced the

literature of the period. Gothic literature used Human nature duality as a literary device to represent

Victorian anxieties such as the double lives. Therefore, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novella gave

complete representation of Victorian society through the use of good and evil duality in every man

as a main theme.
Chapter Two:
The Intellectual and Philosophical Foundations in
the Novella
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Introduction

During the fin de siècle, several new branches of science emerged that brought new

revolutionary theories concerning morality, origin of humanity and human nature. During this

turbulent time, literature served as a medium to discuss publicly without fears the new Victorian

way of thinking that was highly influenced by prominent thinkers such as John Stuart Mill, Charles

Darwin and Sigmund Freud. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson governed

Victorian morality, Darwin’s evolutionary theory and Freud’s personality structure to introduce

dualism as one common aspect of the human nature.

2.1. Morality in the Victorian society

Throughout history, morality took an important position in the development of nations. Actions

are defined to be moral or immoral according to the preconceived notions of the organized religion,

philosophy or by the social norms. Particularly in the Victorian era. Morality developed in all

facets of life which became a fundamental concern for individuals to obligatory adhere to the moral

codes to be accepted among the society. Under the influence of Victorian morality, Stevenson

projects the strong attachment to these moral issues in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde. The novella reflects the Victorian values that were mainly conducted by the Evangelical and

Utilitarian philosophies, creating moral philosophical foundation throughout most of the novella’s

characters.

In order to maintain order in the era of great change of nineteenth century England, Victorians

established a set of behaviour codes that covered all aspects of individual’s lives, commonly

known as Victorian values.

Respectability was regulated by the social rules in all of the smallest aspects of everyday life.

To be a respected member within the Victorian society, men and women are obliged to have
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distinctive personal duties, behaviour, appearances and even language use. In addition, sexuality

and sexual connotations are prohibited in all of its forms, sex is strictly forbidden to talk about

publicly whether in educational, religious or even in medical fields. Furthermore, masculinity and

femininity are manifested separately in both the public and private spheres. Men use over refined

language and shows less emotions, they have full authority concerning the household which

eventually creates patriarchal families. Women are concerned more with the domestic sphere

rather than private one, the ideal portrayal of femininity in that period is that women should be

angels is their house.

Victorian literature discusses the issue of morality through raising ethical concerns in several

different ways. Among the ideologies that governs Victorian morality is Utilitarianism and

Evangelicalism. They are considered as the most powerful and persuasive approaches in the

history of morality in Britain during the nineteenth century. Stevenson perfectly reflects the impact

of these ideologies on the way the characters think and behave in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novella.

Utilitarianism is one of the most influential philosophical theories in the history of Victorian

morality. It was first founded as a normative ethical approach by the English philosopher, jurist,

and social reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748 -1832). In his An Introduction to the Principles of

Morals and Legislation (1789) he formulates the principle of utility:

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.

It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.

On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects,

are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every

effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm it. In
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words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will remain subject to it all

the while. (1)

Bentham’s utilitarian theory is shaped by the philosophical and ethical hedonism. Since happiness

is the utmost pursuit of human mind then utility should be the standard in which actions are

approved or disapproved. Instinctively, all men’s drives of actions are steered by the desire to

attain pleasure and to avoid pain. Therefore, Bentham sees that the moral codes should be guided

by the utilitarian principle, which is the ideology that determines what is good action and what is

bad one according to the principle of utility that emphasizes pleasure over pain.

Another classic utilitarian philosopher that contributed in the popularization of the ethical

philosophy of utilitarianism is John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873). He is one of the most influential

British thinkers that made a significant impact on the Victorian morality with the utilitarian

ideology. Like Bentham, Mill holds that “happiness is the sole end of human action, and the

promotion of it the test by which to judge of all human conduct” (Utilitarianism 58). Thus, “the

Greatest-Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote

happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended

pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure.” (Mill 10).

The essence of Victorian utilitarianism is that rightness and wrongness are measured by the

greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. Also, Human’s actions are manipulated by

pain and pleasure drives which are used to justify individual’s behaviour. Hence, there is not

ethical or unethical action; there is only utile or not utile.

The Organized religious denominations played such an essential role in the Victorian life that

it is crucial to reference to it in order to understand this era. When Victoria took the throne in the

early nineteenth century, the evangelical practices and beliefs were considered as the high-water
26

mark in nineteenth century as it was deeply rooted in all fields throughout the Victorian life. It

controlled the systems of educational institutions and occupied high ranking positions in the House

of Lords.

Evangelicalism, a Greek religious term that means pertaining to the gospel. It is one of the basic

expressions of Christianity in the church of England during the eighteenth century. It was

popularized into mainstream society as we know it today when it was first employed in the

eighteenth century to illustrate the evangelical ideology that was based on the methodist teachings

of one of the central figures that influenced Victorian evangelical moral codes, John Wesley (1703-

1791).

In a paper written by the well-known author for his clear exposition of the scripture, Stephen

B. Dawes, illustrates Wesley’s evangelical belief as “A journey from new birth to spiritual

maturity, from sinfulness to perfection, from ‘original sin’ through ‘justification by faith’ to ‘entire

sanctification”. (1). Wesley adds that humanity could be saved from corruption and deterioration

only through the Old and New Testaments, the bible is the primary source of authority to conduct

Victorian morality. Moreover, salvation by faith through the love of God which is fundamentally

linked to the love of family members, neighbours, charity and a great concern for justice. This

creates a dualistic path for believer’s life ‘sin and faith’, sinner Christians will be rewarded by

spiritual perfection through salvation that can be attained only through total faith in God.

Therefore, Evangelicals showed a rigid code of conduct in order to get forgiveness of their sins by

engaging in social humanitarian reforms in early nineteenth century. Eventually, there was an

emphasis on sharpening the behaviour of Christian believers to achieve sinless perfection that is

brought from the moral codes contained in the bible. On the course of time, preaching the Gospel

to all people became an obligation to guide Victorian Moral codes.

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In Jekyll and Hyde novella, the two forces, utilitarianism and evangelicalism, work as the

mechanisms that drives morality in the British Victorian society during the nineteenth century.

The American scholar in literature Richard D. Altick explains the influence of these ideologies,

saying “together they were responsible for much that was unappealing to some Victorians as to us

in the age's thought and manners .... Both left their ineradicable imprint upon the whole of the

Victorian period.” (114). Stevenson portrays the destructive impact of utilitarianism and

evangelicalism on Victorian moral codes. Therefore, moral and immoral, good and bad, ethical

and unethical actions are determined by the rules and principles of utilitarian and evangelical

tenets.

To elaborate this point, Bentham and Mill’s hedonist utilitarianism considers that avoiding pain

and seeking pleasure is the key source for utmost happiness and also self-satisfaction should be

one’s main concern. In this sense, Stevenson displays this utilitarian stand point in Hyde’s

character. Hyde is the representation of all Jekyll’s innate darker desires; Jekyll’s happiness can

be manifested only through pleasure and pain avoidance “every act and thought centered on self;

drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another; relentless like a man

of stone.” (Stevenson 81). Once Hyde is finally free, Jekyll then reaches complete self-satisfaction.

He is no more restricted by the social norms, he finally can taste pure pleasure in satisfying his

repressed impulses and avoiding pain that tortured him when his evil urges were seeking for a

satisfaction.

Evangelicalism concerned itself with the strict codes of morality to receive forgiveness for the

sins and to be tolerated for the social evils. This can be clearly seen in Dr. Jekyll’s friend the lawyer

Gabriel John Utterson. Stevenson describes him as “dry, cold, scanty and embarrassed in

discourse,” and “dusty, dreary,” with a face that was “never lighted by a smile.” His fellows “liked
28

to sit a while in his unobtrusive company, practicing for solitude, sobering their minds in the man's

rich silence after the expense and strain of gaiety.” (Stevenson 23). Utterson's refined behaviour

and his friends' admiration of it reflect the evangelical rigid code of conduct that influenced most

of Victorians. Jekyll also shows a strong tendency toward the evangelical ideology. He is “inclined

by nature to industry, fond of the respect of the wise and good among my fellowmen, and thus, as

might have been supposed, with every guarantee of an honourable and distinguished future.”

(Stevenson 73). Once he is out of the laboratory, he gets himself busy with humanitarian activities

such as charity and he also spend much of his time in making parties to enjoy with his friends.

Evangelical and utilitarian ethical philosophies deeply impacted the Victorian morality to

include all segments of society. This governed individuals in one organized and collective ethical

regulation. Thus, Stevenson used these philosophies as ethical foundation in Jekyll and Hyde

novella to express the Victorian anxieties behind the moral barrier.

2.2. Darwinian Theory

In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin put forward the revolutionary theory of evolution

that was the most influential milestone in the Victorian era and also in the history of mankind.

Darwinism sparked a dramatic debate in scientific and religious fields to be also reflected in the

literature of the Victorian era. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not considered only as

commentary on Victorian double morality, but also as an ideal reflection of the Darwinian

evolution and degeneration.

Darwin’s books On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871) present new

revolutionary ideas that opposed the accepted religious and scientific views of all times:

Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are

capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is
29

grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few

forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of

gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have

been, and are being, evolved. (Darwin 425)

The evolution theory contradicts the religious conventional belief that God created individually

all living creatures in their present form as they are now. It argues that all living creatures are lineal

descendants of past species that did not exist by a single separate act of creation. Moreover, the

idea that shocked the world is that all organisms including man were evolved from primitive forms

“We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped” which it was “probably

derived from an ancient marsupial animal” (Darwin, The Descent of Man 389). Darwin explains

that evolution occurred through a slow continuous process called natural selection; therefore,

natural selection is the mechanism that provides a rational explanation of how these new species

are formed in the course of time.

The Darwinian theory was introduced to the public in a time where religion was considered as

the divine doctrine that governed man’s though, behaviour and way of life. Hence, it created a

crisis in Victorian’s religious belief. A huge wave of sharp criticism from contemporary theologists

was taken on Charles Darwin due to the direct attack on religion. The theory is backed up with

strictly logical and scientific evidence that can never be shaken or disputed, for to the close

resemblance between man and lower animals in numerous points of similarity that are proven by

comparative embryology, comparative anatomy as well as fossil record. This resulted in a powerful

intellectual wave of thought that left a profound impact on the religious, scientific, cultural and

societal fields.
30

However, the main fear that evolution creates was the idea of devolution. In The Descent of

Man, Darwin affirms that:

We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, with

sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other

men but to the humblest living creature, with his god-like intellect which has penetrated into

the movements and constitution of the solar system with all these exalted powers man still bears

in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin. (405)

Within this context, Darwin reveals his fear that even though humans evolved from primitive lower

forms and reached higher faculties to be perfectly distinguished from lowly organized forms, there

is the potential to devolve or to revert back to a barbaric monster like creature. So, the dynamic

world of progress is probably on the brink of declining to less organized and savage world. With

that being said, Darwin’s backward evolution theory can be highly observed in man’s everyday

struggle and eventually can be proven in the case of the Victorian issues of degeneration in

morality.

The degeneration idea exceeds the scientific sphere to pervade all kinds of fiction, from

fantasies to realistic novels. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novella and Darwin’s On the

Origin of Species, show a strong relation in providing a clear illustration of man’s duality in terms

of evolution and morality. Mr. Hyde perfectly reflects the devolution to reveal the primitive

background of the well respected and cultured Dr. Jekyll.

Stevenson’s description of Jekyll and Hyde reflects the Darwinian degeneration in a fictional

form. He exposes the hidden primitive double that is covered by man’s civilized side. Jekyll is the

well intellectual respected man with gentlemanly behaviour, Hyde seems to fit perfectly the
31

primitive and animal like being that has no understanding of morals and driven only by his

impulsive primary desires.

The degeneration element is prevalent throughout all of the story events, starting from the minor

to the major characters. When Mr. Hyde appears for the first time publicly, he encounters Mr.

Enfield, a distant relative of Dr. Jekyll’s friend Mr. Utterson, Enfield notices that, “There is

something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I

never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he

gives a strong feeling of deformity” (Stevenson 10). Enfield’s description shows that Hyde’s

appearance is not like any other regular human. He is unable to formulate a recognizable image of

Hyde because the latter’s deformity and ugliness cannot be easily identified, which gives an

impression full of intensive hate and revulsion, yet without any specific reason. These beastly

features are clearly observed in Hyde that ordinary people do not have.

The first malignant aggression of Hyde shows up in the very beginning of the novel. While Mr.

Enfield and Mr. Utterson having their usual walk in London streets, Enfield recounts the scene of

Hyde’s barbaric behaviour. Hyde and the young girl ran into one another once they were crossing

the road “…and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the

child’s body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to

see. It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.” (Stevenson 06). It seems that Hyde

cannot easily restrain his primal desire to manifest the violent behaviour in him, he completely

succumbs to the aggressive instinct in him toward the innocent girl without even being provoked.

This incident makes him look like more a beast than a man, which confirms the degenerated

animalistic element in Hyde for the instinctive need for aggression.

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Shortly thereafter, the devolution of Hyde appears in a clearer image with Utterson’s meeting

with Hyde in hopes to have a conversation with Hyde to know him better. Stevenson presents

Hyde as an animal within him through the conversation Hyde had with Utterson. This can be seen

exactly in the moment when Utterson touched Hyde’s shoulder to get his attention, “Mr. Hyde

shrank back with a hissing intake of the breath.” Soon after in the conversation, Hyde “…snarled

aloud into a savage laugh” (Stevenson 19). This sounds as though Hyde is a snake with the hissing

sound he makes, the snake represents the evil in Hyde’s inner self. His laughter is not as what a

normal being would do because he snarls instead of laughing. In this short meeting Mr. Utterson

recognizes the degenerated features in Hyde, he is “pale and dwarfish… he has a displeasing smile”

and “the man seams hardly human! Something troglodytic” (Stevenson 19). This description could

be seen as a reference to Hyde’s primitive origin that is clearly shown to Utterson during this

meeting.

In another incident, Hyde’s primitive being is clearly seen in killing the popular Member of

Parliament Sir Danvers Carew. The eyewitness account of a maid who witnessed from her house’s

window Hyde murder of Carew in the street at night, reported that Hyde “broke out of all bounds

and clubbed [Carew] to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his

victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly

shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway” (Stevenson 27). This moment in the novel truly

portrays the image of Hyde’s animalistic savagery in killing the well respected and innocent Sir

Danvers Carew through the eyes of the maid. She uses expressive beastly words and phrases to

describe the animalistic horrible scene that she saw helplessly. Hyde is instinctively driven by the

impulses of aggression that takes absolute control of him.

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Stevenson suggests through Jekyll and Hyde novella the idea that man is a well sharpened and

a reduced version of the primitive being. Man over time learned to suppress his animalistic urges

to conform to religious and societal norms even though he is originally primitive at the core.

Therefore, he can only restrain the animal within him but he cannot completely eliminate it.

2.3. Freudian Psychology

For a long period of time, people have been fascinated as well as perplexed by the human mind

and how it functions. Although Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde novella was published a few years

before Freudian theories of the mind but it perfectly bears a close resemblance to Feud

psychoanalytic theory. In order to understand the duality of good and evil in the human mind of

Jekyll and Hyde, critics usually use Freud’s approach to give an explanation of the novella because

both of them share one common aspect; which is dualism.

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), a famous Austrian neurologist that contributed in the

development of the modern psychoanalytic field. He is regarded as one of the most influential

thinkers that made a great impact on the way people think and behave.

Freud’s early researches on the human mind theorized the different levels of awareness “conscious

and unconscious”. He argues that, “The division of mental life in which is conscious and what is

unconscious is the fundamental premise on which psycho-analysis is based; and this division alone

makes it possible for it to understand pathological mental processes, which are as common as they

are important and to co-ordinate them scientifically” (9). These two entities exist in the mind, the

conscious is the entity in which the mind comminute with the outside world that consists of all

what man is aware of which are performed rationally such as memories, thoughts, feelings and

wishes. The unconscious contains the latent past memories, experiences, habits and repressed

urges. According to Freud the unconscious is below the level of awareness holding the largest part
34

of the mind and irrationally determines most of man’s behaviour. Just like an iceberg, the biggest

part of the mind is the one that man cannot see. It is from these two entities, the complexity of the

human psyche can be finally decoded in a reasonable and comprehensive way, which makes the

individuals aware of a large part of their everyday behaviour.

Along with Freud’s theories of the conscious and unconscious, he created the three divisions

within the psyche which he calls the mental apparatus: id, ego and superego. (20). They work as

hypothetical conceptualizations in the mind to arrange different mental functions. These

conflicting psychological drives operate within the conscious and unconscious to ultimately shape

man’s personality, all of them keep each other in check and control our thoughts, behaviours and

feelings from the moment man sees light till death. This certainly contributes in the representation

of Jekyll and Hyde psychic conflict which reflects the dual multiple personalities within the

character.

In Freud’s book The Ego and the Id, he holds that, “It can hardly be doubted that the pleasure

principle serves the id as a compass in its struggle …the force that introduces disturbances into the

process of life” (66). The id is the disorganized unconscious psychic component of personality that

is instinctively guided by the pleasure principle. It functions as the system that offers an immediate

gratification to the biological and psychological drives through seeking for pleasure and avoiding

pain. The id is the only part of personality that is inherited and present from birth, comprising of a

mass of bodily needs, impulses, desires, and more apparently the aggressive and sexual forces.

In contrast to this, the superego is the organized moral psychic component of personality. Freud

maintains that it is “the representative of our relation to our parents. When we were little children

we knew these higher natures, we admired them and feared them; and later we took them into

ourselves.” (Freud 47). The superego is a set of moral standards and values that are typically
35

formed within the first five years of life under the influence of parents, religion and society

teachings. Any violation of the regulated norms will lead to a continues mental punishment in

man’s conscience by putting a strong sense of guilt. The superego is more connected with the

unconsciousness rather than the conscious, its main function is to suppress the id’s instinctive

urges to be an appropriate member of society.

In between this psychological dilemma of the id and the superego, Freud comes up with the ego

as the psychic mediator to reconcile the both. According to Freud the ego functions “Like the

dweller in a borderline that is, the ego tries to mediate between the world and the id, to make the

id comply with the world’s demands and, by means of muscular activity, to accommodate the

world to the id’s desires.” (83). As the quote indicates, the ego works as the mechanism that

gratifies the id’s impulsive desires in a way that respects the moral norms which are set by the

superego. It takes reasonable and executive functions to avoid negative consequences on man’s

daily life. As opposed to the id, the ego acts according to the reality principle by pleasing the id’s

drives in a realistic and morally appropriate manner based on common sense.

Stevenson uses Mr. Edward Hyde as the symbolic portrayal of the Freudian id in Jekyll and

Hyde. In Henry Jekyll’s full testament of the case, he notes that “Edward Hyde alone in the ranks

of mankind, was pure evil” (Stevenson 78). Mr. Hyde is the kind of man that does not differentiate

between goodness and evilness, he ignorantly submits to his innate instincts without having any

regards to the consequences. Succumbing to his id’s impulses, Hyde tramples over the young girl

in the beginning of the story, then soon after, he murders Sir Danvers Carew without the slightest

feeling of remorse. Moreover, Hyde inclinations show that he is a pleasure seeker even in being

aggressive, he kills Carew with “tasting delight from every blow” (Stevenson 87). Which indicates
36

that he takes joy in each aggressive act he operates. This malignant uncontrollable character

perfectly goes along with the disorganized structure of personality, the id.

The superego in the story is represented by the implicit moral codes in London during the

Victorian Era. There were strict ethical regulations placed on each member of society which is

reflected in Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde characters. Mr. Gabriel Utterson is the typical character

that shows excessive high moral conduct, he "approved tolerance for others" (Stevenson 03)and

“he was liked well” (Stevenson 23). He is known for his well-respected manners that reflects a

good impression about him in the eyes of the readers. Stevenson puts extra stress on this

gentlemanly behaviour to contrast and compare the good and evil sides of how a man should

behave to be accepted in a society that gives more attention to reputation that determines one’s

position among the social class.

The ego in the novella can be obviously seen in the main character Dr. Jekyll. Just as the ego,

Jekyll is the decision maker in between maintaining his reputation to be accepted among his

fellows or by pleasing the id’s desires. Jekyll clarifies that by saying, “I for my part, and the nature

of my life, advanced infallibly in one direction and in one direction only. It was on the moral side,

and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man”

(Stevenson 74). Jekyll has total control of himself to choose between drinking the concoction or

not that is mainly for unleashing his dark side, thereby he can pursue his inner side in a safe way.

Once he turns back into Dr. Jekyll he dedicates most of his time for decent deeds such as inviting

his friends over parties and contributing in charity. Jekyll is aware about the immoral disposition

he will put himself into if he does not hold back his urges in the strict Victorian society. Therefore,

Jekyll is the ideal presentation of the id, he tends to satisfy both the id and the superego in a realistic

way to keep balance and order in his life.

37

In order to avoid the social judgements, Jekyll strives hard to keep his inner desires hidden from

public. He acknowledges that, “I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of

reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I

stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.” (Stevenson 73). The more he represses

his social forbidden pleasures, the more he becomes accepted by the society and gained better

reputation. However, the repression prevents him from satisfying his id’s desires which is against

man’s natural expression. Eventually, this will create a sense of psychological torment that would

constantly haunt him till his dark side is finally unleashed by drinking the potion and transforming

into Hyde. Therefore, Jekyll justifies the duality of man by repression, Hyde’s aggressive drives

were a result of years of keeping in check the id’s impulses.

Stevenson’s works are considered among one of the most controversial literary works during

the nineteenth century due to its psychological complexity. Thus, literary scholars used Freudian

theories of the mind to decode the characters behaviour motivation in Jekyll and Hyde novella.

With that being said, the novella’s characters perfectly bear a close resemblance to Freud’s psychic

apparatus.

Conclusion

In short, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be read as a fictional illustration of

the late-Victorian new philosophical and intellectual branches. The moral issues, human mind

complexity and man’s origin reflected the Victorian anxieties concerning human nature duality.

They also played a significant role in Stevenson’s dualistic novella to portray the crucial impact

of the controversial ideas within the conventional and conservative society.

Chapter Three:

The Investigation of Human Duality in Dr. Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde
39

Introduction

In Jekyll and Hyde novella, Stevenson incorporates the element of duality as an undisputable

theme throughout the story including the main and minor characters as well as the setting. He also

uses allusion to explore duality through referring to different stories that recount the same dualistic

context of the novella. In the end of the novella, he illustrates the consequences after indulging

one’s dark side on the expense of his reputation and also his physical and mental state. On this

respect, this chapter will investigate the aspects of duality in the characters and also the setting, it

will also examine the use of allusive language to provide multiple stories that are similar to Jekyll

and Hyde.

3.1. Duality Aspects in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Novella

In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson incorporates human nature duality

theory as the prevalent key theme in the process of narrating the novella’s events. In order to create

mysterious gothic atmosphere, Stevenson reveals the idea of duality only in the last chapter,

solving the puzzle of the weird relationship that appears to have contradictory sides between the

well-respected Dr. Jekyll and the heinous Mr. Hyde, Then, he also exposes the real motives behind

Hyde’s aggressive acts. The novella explores the theme of duality through various ways, this

includes the characters such as Henry Jekyll, Utterson, Hyde’s maiden and the setting.

Although Stevenson uses the dual element in most of the events of the novella but duality as an

undisputable pattern is clearly apparent in Jekyll’s character. Stevenson describes Jekyll as a man

who is born with a large fortune, he is well known person for his intellect and dignified reputation

and also as a respected Victorian gentleman. However, living in a society that regulates a strict

code of morality, Jekyll constantly obliges himself to conceal his inner pleasures which cannot be

satisfied publicly due the intolerable social norms.

40

With this mental dilemma, Jekyll finds out that he is profoundly immersed in dual life. Even

though he is a respected man, but he still hide his dark side, he concludes that “With every day,

and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer

to the truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that

man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Stevenson 74). Jekyll is totally aware of the fact that he has

double-sided personality. Thus, Having the righteous personality which the good side implies,

makes man accepted among his other fellow respected gentlemen. Carrying the immoral character

of the bad side will lead to social rebuke and rejection. As a result of this, since the inner dark

desires are driven instinctively, the repression of it will cause psychological and physical danger

to its holder. Therefore, Jekyll engrosses himself in his laboratory to find a final solution for the

inner conflict of both the bad and good forces within him by detaching the opposite side from his

personality once and for all. He ultimately creates a potion that unleashes the dark side of him

embodied in a different person but the same body, Mr. Hyde.

Mr. Hyde is the dual embodiment of Jekyll’s lifelong repressed dark urges. With each devilish

behaviour he commits, he represents the total opposite of Jekyll’s good personality. On the one

hand, Jekyll is well admired person with dignified reputation among his friends, he is good looking

doctor that his job requires to save lives. On the other hand, Hyde is intensively hateful with bad

impression he gives to the others, most of his actions are derived from his irrational desires, he

tends to hurt and kill others without any apparent reason. He is pale, dwarfish and has bent posture

like an animal with deformed face that he hides most of the time, this animalistic description in

the novella relates back Stevenson’s influence by the Darwinian devolution. Therefore, Jekyll and

Hyde symbolize the finest dual character of its both good and evil sides.
41

Stevenson introduces Mr. Gabriel John Utterson as the first dual character in the very beginning

of the chapter. Utterson represents a highly moral lawyer and upright friend of Dr. Jekyll, whose

role in the story takes a crucial position in narrating first eight chapters of the novella, in which

readers see most of the events of the story from the eyes of Mr. Utterson. As a lawyer and one of

Jekyll’s companions, he investigates the mysterious relationship between the moral Jekyll and the

immoral Hyde till the revelation of the case with the confession of Lanyon and Jekyll which he

found in their final letters before the die.

Mr. Utterson’s type of duality is clearly apparent throughout his description by Stevenson. As

has been referred before, Utterson seems to be the perfect epitome of Victorian gentleman.

However:

[T]he ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace: punishment coming ….

[Utterson] scared by the thought, brooded a while on his own past, groping in all the corners of

memory…. His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less

apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up

again into a sober and fearful gratitude by the many that he had come so near to doing, yet

avoided. (Stevenson 21)

As can be concluded from this excerpt, Utterson in previous years indulged himself in sins that

are recorded as a stigma and as a mark of disgrace in his past. The recollection of the sinful

memories of his past keeps taunting him through memories and implies severe mental torment to

be feed. In order to maintain his proper stature in the Victorian society that emphasizes morality

more than anything else, he does not allow his sins to be shown for public. So, even though

Utterson has a good reputation but he could not completely eliminate his innate impulses, his evil

urges are constantly seeking for gratification but he keeps avoiding them through repression. In
42

another part of the story, Stevenson shows the hidden double life of Utterson, he reports that “He

[Utterson] was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages;

and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had

an approved tolerance for others”(Stevenson 03). Even though he is self-repressed character but

he satisfies his inner pleasures when he is alone such as drinking gin. Stevenson’s use of “mortify”

indicates that Utterson feels extremely embarrassed and ashamed while drinking gin, that is the

reason why he drinks alone to avoid exposing his sin and be judged. This contradictory description

of Utterson illustrates the dualistic nature of Utterson in the novella.

Another character where Stevenson uses duality to show the contradiction between one’s

behaviour and the impression given by the outward appearance is in Hyde’s maiden. After the

death of Sir Danvers Carew, Utterson suspects Hyde as the murderer, he accompanies the officer

to Hyde’s house seeking for clues related to the murdering case. Once they approached Hyde’s

maid at the house entry, Utterson at first sight prejudges her saying: “An ivory-faced and silvery-

haired old woman opened the door. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy; but her manners

were excellent.” (Stevenson 30). The moment she greets them, Utterson concludes from the maid’s

physical appearance, a stereotyped and preconceived image as an evaluation of her inner character.

Even though she addresses them politely with being kind but her appearance and facial features

do not reflect her attitude. According to the last, Stevenson illustrates that duality can also be seen

in between one’s appearance and his personality. In other words, the outward appearance may

reflect the total opposite of one’s inner personality which is the conventional way that Victorians

used to judge with the others real hidden character, it implies that the true reality of people’s

personality can be assumed only from the outward form. Therefore, Victorian society gave more
43

attention to the appearances, the way one looks like determines his character and eventually his

position within the Victorian social order.

Stevenson explores Victorian duality of good and evil not only in the characters’ personality

but also in the setting of the city of London and the houses of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The story

is set in Victorian London around 1880s. He provides a dual image to describe the combination of

two distinct places, both of them reflect different atmospheres which they represent the Victorians

parallel personality in their physical form.

The houses of Jekyll and Hyde are located in London where both houses emulate their owners’

dual nature of good and evil. While Utterson having his walk in London, he gets delighted by the

pleasant atmosphere nearby Jekyll’s house, he describes the scene, saying: “The fog still slept on

the wing above the drowned city, where the lamps glimmered like carbuncles” (Stevenson 35).

The fog and the well-lighted streets create a peaceful place and give a joyful feeling, the region

seems to attract only well-respected people that is why Jekyll chose it as his dwelling. In Utterson’s

visit to Jekyll’s house, he gets overwhelmed by “[the] large, low-roofed, comfortable hall, paved

with flags, warmed (after the fashion of a country house) by a bright, open fire, and furnished with

costly cabinets of oak.” (Stevenson 20). Having a house with such qualities reflects Jekyll’s

hospitability and friendliness which make him always ready to welcome any guest at any time.

While waiting for Jekyll, Utterson acknowledges that the living room is “the pleasantest room in

London”. (Stevenson 20)

On the contrary, Hyde’s mysterious dwelling is situated in the other part of London, Soho.

Stevenson observes that “[t]he dismal quarter of Soho seen under these changing glimpses, with

its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps, which had never been extinguished or

had been kindled afresh to combat this mournful re-invasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer’s
44

eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare.” (Stevenson 29). Hyde is a man with repulsive

characteristics, Soho provides the perfect place where he can stay at without being bothered; thus,

Soho is a place where respected people avoid going to and attracts only slatternly passengers. Less

lighten places function as camouflage for Hyde’s heinous habits, he uses the dark places to hide

and avoid passenger from spotting him as it successfully helped him to escape after killing Carew

without being caught.

In the beginning of the story, Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson were having their usual walk in the

streets of Soho till Hyde’s house caught their eyes:

a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street. It was two stories high;

showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower story and a blind forehead of discoloured

wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. The

door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. (Stevenson

05)

These characteristics of the house perfectly suit Hyde’s dark personality. He lives in a two stages

house without windows, it looks like neglected and unfinished block of building. Having such a

house without door knocker means that its owner is not hospitable and does not expect any visitors.

Later on, in the end of the story, Stevenson shows that the two opposite houses of Jekyll and

Hyde are actually one dual building that are located in between two different neighborhoods.

Hyde’s sinister house is the back door of Jekyll’s elegant respected house. Both of the opposite

places are simply one house that allows Jekyll and Hyde to have their own space and also have a

house that suits their different personalities.

In Brief, Stevenson’s contradictory description of the characters and setting serve as a fictional

illustration of man’s duality in all of its forms. Within the novella’s events lays the potential of
45

good and evil in everything. Ones dark side can be strictly repressed to put up with the social

norms or publicly manifested to satisfy one’s inner self.

3.2. The Exploration of Duality through the use of Allusion

In the process of narrating the events of Jekyll and Hyde novella, Stevenson employs Allusion

as a literary device to give a deeper meaning of duality of man by referring to Promethean

transgression, Cain’s Heresy as well as Damon and Pythias. By using Allusion, duality can be

understood in a better way through drawing similarities and connections between the different

stories.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered as one of the finest examples of

the Promethean transgression. The story itself is an allusion to the Greek titan Prometheus. Dr.

Jekyll symbolizes the archetypal character that defies the laws of nature through the scientific

experiment he takes on himself. He deliberately violates the divine order of the universe in an

attempt to separate the evil within him which makes him perfectly bear a close resemblance to

Prometheus story in the way they both transgressed the taboos of their own time.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, the son of the titan gods Iapetus and Clymene, is known as

one of the great benefactors and as a champion of mankind due to his intelligence and trickery to

help humans. He is credited with the creation of man out of clay and water, and also with the

greatest transgression in the history of universe that gave birth to enlightenment and civilization.

The myth recounts Prometheus theft of fire from the gods to bestow upon the primitive mortals a

great gift to strengthen them after they were vulnerable to the dangers of earth. Zeus, the king of

Olympian gods as well as the universe, considered this act as form of blasphemy because

Prometheus defies Zeus system of ruling and stole fire from him to gift it to humans. So, Zeus

punished him for being the benefactor of mankind, he harshly punished the rebellious titan to
46

eternal torment for his transgression. He chained the immortal Prometheus to a rock in a mountain

peak in the Greek mythological city, Caucasus. During the day, Prometheus hopelessly watches

his liver eaten by an eagle, at night it grows back to be eaten again in the next day.

In this regard, any literary work that bears a transgressive act is considered as a transgressive

literature which make it a popular subject in all forms of literature. In the nineteenth century,

science became the absolute truth in understanding world’s complexity, it was used to explain the

unexplainable and to imagine the imaginable. However, progress was associated with fear and

horror because science empowers man to challenge the godly predetermined way of life and goes

beyond the conventional limits of religion, nature and ethics.

Stevenson employs imagery and symbolism to explore duality from different sides, his Jekyll

and Hyde story ideologically exemplifies Prometheus transgression. In the novella Jekyll plays the

role of a god in order to fulfill his evil desires through the creation of Hyde. He reveals his

promethean urges when he explains the secret motives behind his scientific experiment. He asserts

that “If each, [good and evil side] … could but be housed in separate identities, life would be

relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust delivered from the aspirations might go his way, and

remorse of his more upright twin” (Stevenson 75). Instead of holding back his dark desires, Jekyll

choses to defy the divine nature in unleashing the evil within him and eventually satisfying each

part on its own way, Jekyll’s selfishness contributes in transgressing the natural laws of God

through the creation of the evil double, Hyde.

Jekyll and Hyde classical novella is considered as the ideal allusive work that embodies

Promethean transgression though Jekyll’s overreaching scientific knowledge. The novel’s allusion

to Prometheus is also a reference for the moral transgression in Victorian period and the threat of

the scientific and technological progress.

47

Stevenson expands the allusion of Promethean transgression in Jekyll and Hyde to include

Cain’s Heresy allusion as a means to explore duality and to reference to Dr. Jekyll’s duplicity.

Cain and Abel story is similar to Jekyll and Hyde one, the closeness between the two stories shows

the eternal conflict of good and evil since the beginning of man.

After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, they gave birth to their first sons,

Cain and Abel, Cain is the elder son and Abel is the younger one. They were both asked by God

to offer a sacrifice to prove their faith and belief in God. The sacrifice of Abel was accepted due

to his true faith and righteous nature but Cain’s sacrifice was instantly rejected. The wicked

impulses of Cain that is driven by the jealousy from his sibling, pushes him to kill Abel to satisfy

his devilish side. This incident is considered as the earliest example of a murder case taking place

upon earth. The heresy is in Cain’s transgression in disobeying the established laws of morality in

killing his brother and letting the instinctive impulses of jealousy, greed and envy take control of

him. It also presents Cain as the originator of evil since he is the first human being that commits

the greatest sin of murdering another man only because of the jealousy that his brother is more

righteous than him. Thus, Cain and Abel story symbolizes the duality of man through the continues

struggle between good and evil.

In Jekyll and Hyde first chapter “Story of the Door”, Stevenson refers to Cain’s heresy when

Utterson says that “I incline to, Cain’s heresy.” (Stevenson 03). The above quote shows that

Stevenson implies duality in the very beginning of the novel through referencing to Cain and Abel

story before Jekyll’s duality is revealed in the last chapter. The interpretation of Can’s heresy

allusion in here foreshadows the mysterious relation between Jekyll and Hyde and raises the

suspicion that Jekyll has a hand in Hyde’s criminal acts regarding Jekyll’s good reputation
48

throughout most of the novella, as well as the eventual death of Jekyll by his double just as Abel

is killed by his sibling.

Stevenson’s use of Cain’s heresy shows that the provocative temptations of man’s demonic

nature always tend to eliminate the angelic one. Even though Cain and Abel are brothers, born and

raised together in one family as well as having a strong relation built on brotherhood and fraternity,

yet in a moment of jealousy and anger Cain kills Abel to satisfy his dark side.

Another historic allusion Stevenson uses from old Greek legends to contribute in a better

understanding of the Gothic double is the story of Damon and Pythias. The story is considered as

a symbol that reflects the true friendship, that is built on trust, honesty and loyalty.

According to the myth, while Damon and Pythias were in a visit to the historic city of Syracuse

in Greek, Damon is accused of treason by setting a plot against the tyrant king Dionysius and he

gets sentenced to death. Pythias appeals the king to allow him see his family for the last time and

settle his affairs before being executed, his request was accepted stipulate that his friend Damon

stays as a hostage, so that if Pythias does not come back, Damon would be killed instead. Because

of the sincere trust, Damon agrees and Pythias is released to see his family. On the passage back

to face the execution, Pythias rencounters a group of pirates whom pitilessly throw him overboard.

In order to arrive in time before Damon is executed, he swims to the shore then runs towards the

king’s palace to realize his firm promise to his friend. Dionysius is stunned by Damon and Pythias

faithful friendship; thus, he sets them both free. From that day on, the story of the inspirable friends

of Damon and Pythias is used as the best example to refer to the love and intimacy shared by

friends.
49

The allusion of Damon and Pythias in Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde appears in the conversation

that Jekyll’s closest friends, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon were having, they were discussing the

reasons behind Jekyll’s mysterious self-imposed isolation. Lanyon explicitly declares that:

[I]t is more than ten years since Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong,

wrong in mind; and though of course I continue to take an interest in him for old sake’s sake,

as they say, I see and I have seen devilish little of the man. Such unscientific balderdash,’ added

the doctor, flushing suddenly purple, ‘would have estranged Damon and Pythias’.(Stevenson

14)

Dr. Lanyon’s use of Damon and Pythias story is to convey the total opposite friendship of Jekyll

and Lanyon. Due to the weird experiment Jekyll takes on himself, Jekyll’s oldest friendship with

Dr. Lanyon is all in the past even though they were as close as Damon and Pythias. However,

Damon puts his life on the line to show trust and commitment to his friend which Lanyon did not

do for Jekyll.

The textual variation of Allusion in Jekyll and Hyde contributes in richening the novella so that

duality is explored through different stories. Thus, Promethean transgression, Cain’s heresy as and

Damon and Pythias indicate a broader meaning of duality.

3.3. The Dominance of Human Nature Dark Side

In order for Jekyll to gratify his inner dark desires without ruining his polished reputation as a

respected doctor, he breaks through the natural law of mankind by physically transforming to Hyde

through consuming the concoction he constantly develops in his laboratory. However, after a

number of transformations, Jekyll involuntarily transforms to Hyde without even taking the potion:

And at the very moment of that vain-glorious thought, a qualm came over me, a horrid nausea

and the most deadly shuddering. These passed away, and left me faint; and then as in its turn
50

the faintness subsided, I began to be aware of a change in the temper of my thoughts, a greater

boldness, a contempt of danger, a solution of the bonds of obligation. I looked down; my clothes

hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy. I

was once more Edward Hyde. (Stevenson 89)

In the beginning of the story, Jekyll used to take the concoction to transform into Hyde.

Consequently, Hyde slowly starts to dominate, he goes to bed as Jekyll then he wakes up as Hyde.

The more Jekyll transforms, the more Hyde becomes a tyrannical force that cannot be contained

easily without the potion. Thus, Jekyll creates an antidote to switch back to his true form once he

is degenerated into Hyde. The spontaneous transformation convinces Jekyll that Hyde is growing

stronger within him and he can no longer restrain the latent dark force once unleashed, now he is

aware of the risk of indulging his darker desires. When Jekyll is degenerated to Hyde, he cannot

revert back without the help of the potion, “[t]he powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the

sickliness of Jekyll.” (Stevenson 93). The horrifying strong nature of Hyde makes Jekyll gradually

disappear, as Hyde grows stronger, Jekyll grows weaker. This is evidenced when Jekyll seizes

taking the potion, after few months, he spontaneously transforms into Hyde while asleep one night.

Then he wakes up to be more savage and wild than ever, it was this time Hyde takes full control

of Jekyll and ultimately beats Carew till death with his cane.

In this respect, Stevenson suggests that the more man indulges himself in sins, the more he

enjoys the dark life and cannot easily balance his dual good and evil personality as before. Once

the moral norms are broken, it becomes impossible to re-establish them and restore the regular life

just as Hyde permanently replaces Hyde. He also indicates that the human nature inclines for its

dark side more than the good one; however, one should not immerse himself in sins or would
51

devastate the righteous person in him. Thus, man should repress his inner desires or gratify them

in a proper manner according to the religious, social and cultural norms.

Changing spontaneously and constantly into Hyde alters Jekyll’s life to a chaotic and turbulent

one. After giving up life to Hyde, Jekyll expresses the desperate struggle he encounters in his

everyday life:

At all hours of the day and night, I would be taken with the premonitory shudder; above all, if

I slept, or even dozed for a moment in my chair, it was always as Hyde that I awakened. Under

the strain of this continually impending doom and by the sleeplessness to which I now

condemned myself, ay, even beyond what I had thought possible to man, I became, in my own

person, a creature eaten up and emptied by fever, languidly weak both in body and mind, and

solely occupied by one thought: the horror of my other self. (Stevenson 93)

In this passage, Jekyll describes the intolerable levels of hardship he goes through because of the

of involuntary transformation into Hyde. The respected, wealthy, happy and beloved Jekyll is now

a known murderer, haunted by feelings of remorse, guilt as well as gripped by pain and horror

from the potential threat to be consumed by his dark side, Hyde. Now he is getting tortured

physically and mentally, the bangs of transformation into Hyde are tearing Jekyll’s body and he

has to sustain the feeling of guilt about the massive sins he commits as Hyde.

Having decided to free the inner dark desires after repressing them for so long, Jekyll now

encounters the fear to finish what remains of him in another body. He admits that, “I have brought

on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name. If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief

of sufferers also. I could not think that this earth contained a place for sufferings and terrors so

unmanning; and you can do but one thing,” (Stevenson 41). Jekyll pays the full price after choosing

his dark way, he is no more restricted by the social norms and his life is driven only by the dark
52

side of him. Consequently, he is obliged to endure a lifelong punishment beyond his endurance.

Describing himself as a creature, shows how badly it is he put himself into, he feels that he is now

deprived from his humanity, basically, he feels less than a human.

By the very end of the novella, Jekyll starts counting his last desperate hours. Jekyll seems to

possess less power than he originally thought which makes the respected doctor no longer exist

throughout the last events of the novella, only the heinous Mr. Hyde appears most frequently in

the body of Dr. Jekyll. In his last moments, he realises that the potion no longer helps in deterring

Hyde from spontaneous transformation and the latter seems to remain permanently. The thoughts

of horror that Jekyll will live the rest of his life as Hyde are constantly haunting him; thus, he

wanted to end his life for good to save what left of his good reputation and also protect the society

from the threat Hyde gives.

Dr. Jekyll uses the last amount of the potion to prevent the spontaneous transformation so he

can write his final letter. In his last words, he stats that, “There comes an end to all things; the most

capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to evil finally destroyed the balance

of my soul.” (Stevenson 89). Within this context, Jekyll declares that his fascination of the double

lives and the dissolution of good and evil entities has finally came to an end. However, even though

he reaches complete satisfaction of his broad curiosity that he compares as capacious measure and

he also pleased his inner desires in a proper way without losing his dual fine character, but the

creation of Hyde defeats Jekyll and alters his dignified life to vicious one.

Conclusion

Stevenson suggests that man is not wholly good or wholly evil, even though he is subject to

temptations but he is gifted with rational sense and conscience to guide himself. He also suggests

that the dark side of man always remains stronger to overcome anyone who dares to unleash it.
53

Thus, one should not deny his instincts or overthrow one side on another, but he should find a

compromising way so both the opposing good and evil tendencies serve each other to a common

end.
General Conclusion
55

On the whole, the chief focus of the present study is to give an overall survey and an analytical

insight about human nature duality. In the attempt to do so, this investigation aims at laying

attention on the age of anxieties and controversies, Victorian Era. Stevenson’s The Strange Case

of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered as the finest example that best represents duality of man

through the exploration of the moral and social concerns of Victorian period.

The historical context of nineteenth century in Britain contributes on a great scale in

Stevenson’s fascination of duality. Therefore, this paper tackles and examines the most prominent

theories that led to the development of duality.

In the Victorian Era, people showed a strict commitment to the ethical theories that constituted

morality codes; however, they were divided by a sense of hypocrisy which pushed them to adopt

dual lives. Darwin’s revolutionary theory and Freud’s personality structure changed the

conventional way of understanding the complexity of human behavior, they illustrate in a

comprehensive way the apparent and hidden motives that guide human experience.

From this stand point, Jekyll and Hyde novella is a psychological exploration of man’s dual

life. It presents in a fictional way of the daily struggle of one’s inner conflict to shape his

personality. It also seeks to decode and uncover the reasons behind man’s irrationality and the

consequences of indulging the evil side on the bad one or vice versa.

All in all, the novella suggests that one cannot be wholly good or wholly evil. Man is gifted

with conscience to evaluate and choose what would be best for his benefit. Irrationality can be a

threat to the self and to the society; however, one should not deny his instincts so as not to be

vulnerable to emotional and physical danger, these instincts should be sharpened and tamed

according to the religious and social norms.

56

Eventually, I hope the outcomes of this study may realize some accuracy and be helpful to

students of English literature and civilization who will benefit from and also contributes in

enriching the university’s library.

Appendix
Plot Summary

The story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novella begins with a prominent

London lawyer named Mr. Gabriel Utterson taking a stroll through the city of London with his

friend Mr. Richard Enfield. On their walk they pass by a certain house with a door unlike those in

the rest of the neighbourhood somewhere in London. This door prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a

gruesome incident of assault he saw before: a brute of a man whose name he discovered to be Mr.

Edward Hyde, trampling upon a little girl only because they ran into each other while they were

passing the street. An angry crowd gathered around Mr. Hyde including the girl’s family asking

for a retribution for the panic he has done upon the little girl, as a compensation, Mr. Hyde pays a

check signed by the well-respected doctor Dr. Henry Jekyll, an old friend of Mr. Utterson and one

of his clients.

Mr. Utterson was puzzled by the mysterious relation between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Thus,

he visits Jekyll’s colleague and mutual friend Dr. Lanyon to find out more information. Lanyon

declares that he and Jekyll became estranged and no longer see each other because of a dispute

they had over Jekyll’s research, which he “unscientific balderdash.”. Soon afterward, Lanyon falls

sick and leaves a letter to Utterson telling him not to open it only in Jekyll’s death or disappearance.

Nearly a year later, a servant woman witnesses Hyde beating to death a respected gentleman

and a prominent member of parliament named Sir Danvers Carew. Mr Utterson and the police

headed to Hyde’s house to arrest him, when they arrived the murdered has already vanished and

no clue found to catch him. Utterson confronts Jekyll about suspecting Hyde as the murdered,

Jekyll claims that no longer sees much of him and that Hyde left a letter apologizing for the trouble

he has done and that he is leaving for good. Later on, Utterson finds out that Hyde’s letter is written

by Jekyll himself, he concludes that Jekyll has a hand in Hyde’s aggressive actions.

II
Shortly thereafter, Jekyll’s butler, Mr. Poole, visits Mr. Utterson asking for help. He is worried

about his master, Jekyll confined himself in his laboratory for over a week and kept asking Pool

to bring him various chemical ingredients for his mysterious concoction. Few days later, Pool

started taking orders from a strange voice that does not seem as Jekyll’s voice which convinces

Pool that Jekyll has been killed and the murderer is still hiding in the laboratory. This pushes

Utterson to break in the door, he finds the dead body of Hyde wearing the clothes of Jekyll and a

letter addressed to Utterson that holds Jekyll’s confession about the case.

While Utterson was reading Lanyon’s letter, he discovers that Lanyon’s sickness and then his

death are caused by the shock of seeing Hyde transforming into Jekyll after drinking the potion.

Jekyll’s letter is a full testament and a detailed story in which he explains Jekyll’s double life.

Jekyll describes his fascination of duality and how he seeks to find a way to separate the good and

evil sides in him. He ultimately composes a potion that changes him into Hyde so he can satisfy

his darker impulses without ruining Jekyll’s good reputation. However, Jekyll encounters

spontaneous transformations to Hyde without taking the potion, this convinces him that he will be

soon Hyde permanently; thus, he suicides to protect the society from the devil he made from

himself.

III
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