Introduction :-
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is one of the most famous pieces of English literature, and is considered to be a defining book of the gothic horror genre. The novella has also had a sizable impact on popular culture, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" being used in vernacular to refer to people with an outwardly good but sometimes shockingly evil nature.
About the Writer :-
Robert Louis Stevenson (born 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses.Stevenson's critical reputation has fluctuated since his death, though today his works are held in general acclaim. In 2018, he was ranked, just behind Charles Dickens, as the 26th-most-translated author in the world.
Summary of the Novel :-
Every Sunday, Mr. Utterson, a prominent London lawyer, and his distant kinsman, Mr. Richard Enfield, take a stroll through the city of London. Even though to a stranger's eyes, these two gentlemen seem to be complete opposites, both look forward to, and enjoy, their weekly stroll with one another.
One Sunday, they pass a certain house with a door unlike those in the rest of the neighborhood. The door reminds Mr. Enfield of a previous incident in which he witnessed an extremely unpleasant man trampling upon a small, screaming girl while the strange man was in flight from something, or to somewhere. The screams from the small girl brought a large crowd, and various bystanders became incensed with the indifference of the stranger, whose name they discovered to be Mr. Edward Hyde. Enfield can recall the man only with extreme distaste and utter revulsion. The crowd forced the man to make retribution in the form of money, and they were all surprised when he returned from inside the "strange door" with ten pounds in gold and a check for ninety pounds. They held him until the banks opened to make certain that the check was valid because it was signed by the well-known Dr. Henry Jekyll, and they suspected that it was a forgery. To their amazement, the check was valid.
That evening, in his apartment, Mr. Utterson has further reason to be interested in Mr. Hyde because Dr. Jekyll's will has an unusual clause that stipulates that Edward Hyde is to be the sole beneficiary of all of Jekyll's wealth and property. Utterson goes, therefore, to visit an old friend, Dr. Lanyon, who tells him that some ten years ago, he and Dr. Jekyll became estranged because of a professional matter. Utterson decides to seek out Hyde, and he posts himself as a sentinel outside the mysterious door previously mentioned by Enfield. After some time, Utterson encounters the man Hyde entering the door, and he initiates a conversation with him. Hyde suddenly becomes highly suspicious of Utterson's interest in him and quickly retreats inside the door. Utterson walks around the block and knocks at the front door of Dr. Jekyll's house. Upon questioning the butler, Poole, Utterson discovers that Edward Hyde has complete access to Jekyll's house.
About a fortnight later, Utterson is invited to one of Jekyll's dinner parties and remains after the other guests have left so that he can question Jekyll about his will and about his beneficiary, Edward Hyde. Jekyll is unhappy discussing Edward Hyde and insists that his wishes — that Mr. Hyde be the recipient of his property — be honored.
About a year later, an upstairs maid witnesses the vicious murder of a kindly and distinguished old gentleman, the prominent Sir Danvers Carew, M.P. (Member of Parliament). But the assailant escapes before he can be apprehended. The maid, however, is able to positively identify the murderer as Edward Hyde. Mr. Utterson and the police go to Hyde's apartment, but the housekeeper informs them that he is gone. When Utterson confronts Jekyll about the whereabouts of Hyde, Jekyll shows the lawyer a letter which Hyde wrote saying that he was disappearing forever. Jekyll maintains that he himself is completely through with him.
After the disappearance of Hyde, Jekyll comes out of his seclusion and begins a new life, for a time. But at about the same time, Utterson is dining with his friend, Dr. Lanyon, and he notes that Dr. Lanyon seems to be on the verge of a complete physical collapse; Lanyon dies three weeks later. Among his papers is an envelope addressed to Utterson, and inside is an inner envelope, sealed with instructions that this envelope should not be opened until after Jekyll's death or disappearance. Utterson strongly feels that the contents of the envelope contain information about Edward Hyde.
On another Sunday walk, Utterson and Enfield pass along the street where Enfield saw Hyde trampling on the young girl. They step around the corner into the courtyard and see Dr. Jekyll in an upstairs window. Utterson invites Jekyll to accompany them on a walk, but suddenly Jekyll's face is covered with abject terror and, after a grimace of horrible pain, he suddenly closes the window and disappears. Utterson and Enfield are horrified by what they have seen.
Some time later, Utterson receives a visit from Poole, Dr. Jekyll's man servant. Poole suspects that foul play is associated with his employer; Dr. Jekyll, he says, has confined himself to his laboratory for over a week, has ordered all of his meals to be sent in, and has sent Poole on frantic searches to various chemists for a mysterious drug. Poole is now convinced that his employer has been murdered and that the murderer is still hiding in Jekyll's laboratory.
Utterson is sufficiently convinced that he returns to Jekyll's house, where he and Poole break into the laboratory. There, they discover that the mysterious figure in the laboratory has just committed suicide by drinking a vial of poison. The body is that of Edward Hyde. They search the entire building for signs of Jekyll and can find nothing, except a note addressed to Utterson.
The note informs Utterson that he should go home and read, first, the letter from Dr. Lanyon and then the enclosed document, which is the "confession" of Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Dr. Lanyon's narrative reveals that Dr. Jekyll had written to him, in the name of their old friendship, and had requested him to follow precise instructions: go to Jekyll's laboratory, secure certain items, bring them back to his house, and at twelve o'clock that night, a person whom Lanyon would not recognize would call for these things. Lanyon writes that he followed the instructions precisely and at exactly twelve o'clock, a horribly disagreeable, misbegotten "creature" appeared at the laboratory to claim the items for Dr. Jekyll. Before leaving, he asked for a "graduated glass," proceeded to mix the powders and liquids, and then drank the potion. To Dr. Lanyon's horror, the figure transformed before his eyes into that of Dr. Henry Jekyll. Lanyon closes his letter by pointing out that the man who stepped into the house that night to claim Jekyll's items was the man known as Edward Hyde.
The final Chapter gives a fully detailed narration of Dr. Jekyll's double life. Jekyll had been born wealthy and had grown up handsome, honorable, and distinguished, and yet, he committed secret acts of which he was thoroughly ashamed; intellectually, he evaluated the differences between his private life and his public life and, ultimately, he became obsessed with the idea that at least two different entities, or perhaps even more, occupy a person's body. His reflections and his scientific knowledge led him to contemplate the possibility of scientifically isolating these two separate components. With this in mind, he began to experiment with various chemical combinations. Having ultimately compounded a certain mixture, he then drank it, and his body, under great pain, was transformed into an ugly, repugnant, repulsive "being," representing the "pure evil" that existed within him. Afterward, by drinking the same potion, he could then be transformed back into his original self.
His evil self became Edward Hyde, and in this disguise, he was able to practice whatever shameful depravities he wished, without feeling the shame that Dr. Jekyll would feel. Recognizing his two "selves," Jekyll felt the need of providing for, and protecting, Edward Hyde. Therefore, he furnished a house in Soho, hired a discreet and unscrupulous housekeeper, and announced to his servants that Mr. Hyde was to have full access and liberty of Jekyll's residence and, finally, he drew up a will leaving all of his inheritance to Edward Hyde. Thus, this double life continued until the murder of Sir Danvers Carew by Edward Hyde.
This horrible revelation caused Jekyll to make a serious attempt to cast off his evil side — that is, Edward Hyde — and for some time, he sought out the companionship of his old friends. However, the Edward Hyde side of his nature kept struggling to be recognized, and one sunny day while sitting in Regent's Park, he was suddenly transformed into Edward Hyde. It was at this time that he sought the help of his friend Dr. Lanyon. He hid in a hotel and wrote a letter asking Dr. Lanyon to go to the laboratory in his house and fetch certain drugs to Lanyon's house. There, Hyde drank the potion described in Lanyon's letter. The drug caused him to change to Dr. Jekyll, while Dr. Lanyon watched the transformation in utter horror.
After awhile, Edward Hyde almost totally occupied Jekyll's nature, and the original drug was no longer effective to return Hyde to Jekyll. After having Poole search throughout London for the necessary "powder," Jekyll realized that his original compound must have possessed some impurity which cannot now be duplicated. In despair at being forced to live the rest of his life as Hyde, he commits suicide at the moment that Utterson and Poole are breaking down the laboratory door.
Themes of the Novel :-
The Duality of Human Nature
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centres upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but forces us to ponder the properties of this duality and to consider each of the novel’s episodes as we weigh various theories.
Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “fiend,” each struggling for mastery. But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being—Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half fiend, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel.
Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According to this theory, the potion simply strips away the civilised veneer, exposing man’s essential nature. Certainly, the novel goes out of its way to paint Hyde as animalistic—he is hairy and ugly; he conducts himself according to instinct rather than reason; Utterson describes him as a “troglodyte,” or primitive creature.
Yet if Hyde were just an animal, we would not expect him to take such delight in crime. Indeed, he seems to commit violent acts against innocents for no reason except the joy of it—something that no animal would do. He appears deliberately and happily immoral rather than amoral; he knows the moral law and basks in his breach of it. For an animalistic creature, furthermore, Hyde seems oddly at home in the urban landscape. All of these observations imply that perhaps civilization, too, has its dark side.
Ultimately, while Stevenson clearly asserts human nature as possessing two aspects, he leaves open the question of what these aspects constitute. Perhaps they consist of evil and virtue; perhaps they represent one’s inner animal and the veneer that civilization has imposed. Stevenson enhances the richness of the novel by leaving us to look within ourselves to find the answers.
The Temptation of Curiosity
Throughout the course of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, many characters face the choice to either adhere to the socially-approved constructs of dignity and reason or succumb to the temptation of curiosity. The “curiosities” featured in the novella range from an interest in mysticism and the supernatural to unexplored behaviours, both of which present a direct challenge to the Victorian ethics that serve as the narrative’s backdrop. This rigid moral code, which emphasises the importance of a respectable public identity, personal repression, and preserving order, heightens the degree of temptation that an exploration of the unknown can invite. The notion of temptation itself even goes against Victorian sensibilities as it involves giving in to some form of internal desire. As a result, the temptation of curiosity poses a significant threat to the stability of the novella’s world.
The most obvious example of this theme is Jekyll’s desire and ability to create Hyde. In this scenario, Jekyll succumbs to two different temptations, one being a longing to act on his suppressed, morally-questionable thoughts and the other being his scientific curiosity. Both of these interests lead to his creation of Hyde, and although this development satisfies him for a time, Hyde ultimately becomes Jekyll’s fatal flaw. This outcome seems to suggest that while there are possibilities beyond the limited world-view that Victorian London embraces, pursuing those possibilities can be dangerous and destructive. The horrific outcome of Jekyll’s experiments reflects the era’s anxieties about the emergence of new forms of science and new ways of thinking.
Although their close adherence to Victorian values influences their behaviour, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon also face the temptations of curiosity, and Stevenson’s primary focus on their perspectives creates a similar experience for the reader as well. Mr. Utterson continually attempts to offer to others logical explanations for the strange circumstances surrounding Jekyll, but privately, he allows his imagination to take over. He has nightmares, for example, about what Hyde might do after Mr. Enfield tells him the story of Hyde and the little girl. Similarly, Dr. Lanyon strictly adheres to known, material sciences but lets his curiosity get the best of him when he stays to watch Hyde transform back into Jekyll, a choice which leads to his death. These private submissions to the temptation of curiosity reveal that even those who appear to uphold Victorian ethics cannot fully resist the draw of the unknown. This concept is one that Stevenson ultimately creates for the reader as they make their way through the text. Telling the story from a third person limited point of view works to build suspense and intrigue, the reader’s curiosity finally satisfied when they reach the novella’s end. Stevenson ultimately seems to invite questions regarding the value of curiosity.
The Importance of Reputation
For the characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, preserving one’s reputation emerges as all important. The prevalence of this value system is evident in the way that upright men such as Utterson and Enfield avoid gossip at all costs; they see gossip as a great destroyer of reputation. Similarly, when Utterson suspects Jekyll first of being blackmailed and then of sheltering Hyde from the police, he does not make his suspicions known; part of being Jekyll’s good friend is a willingness to keep his secrets and not ruin his respectability. The importance of reputation in the novel also reflects the importance of appearances, facades, and surfaces, which often hide a sordid underside. In many instances in the novel, Utterson, true to his Victorian society, adamantly wishes not only to preserve Jekyll’s reputation but also to preserve the appearance of order and decorum, even as he senses a vile truth lurking underneath.
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