Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
“Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a short story about a man with two separate personalities, written by Robert. At first sight, unity of Jekyll and Hyde, which are two personalities of one man, can be hardly noticed. Nevertheless, closer to the end the reader finds out more about these two characters, and the story becomes more mysterious. There could be seen a few stages of coexistence of Jekyll and Hyde: initial stage, the period after Hyde hurts little girl, the period after he kills Mr. Carew and the final period prior to Dr. Jekyll’s suicide. Relationship between Jekyll and Hyde change accordingly.
Beginning of the Story
At the beginning of the story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde coexist peacefully. Jekyll’s experiments are successful as he controls the situation. However, his passion to be somebody else gradually wins and doctor yields to the forbidden wishes. Dr. Jekyll, who is a well-known and highly respected doctor, and his opposite personality Mr. Hyde, a brutal and cruel man-beast, are two sides of one person. With the help of Hyde, the doctor could hide his evil nature for a long time. The writer explores the relationship of these characters with good and evil, separating their beings into two destinies, which are, however, combined in one. Contrast of the white and black sides gradually decreased and Dr. Jekyll had no more opportunity to back his identity of the respectable man. Robert Stevenson emphasizes the duality of human nature: the doctor lost his control of Mr. Hyde when his desires were not satisfied completely. Thus, he awoke real evil, which lived inside of him. It cannot be said that these two heroes were friends. Rather, they were partners until the time when Jekyll permitted his dark side to take control over him.
Hyde Hurt Little Girl
The episode when Hyde hurt little girl is the start of evil’s growth. It happened that one small man with the repulsive appearance coolly stepped on the fallen girl and did not even pay attention to her loud moans. When Enfield and relatives of the girl demanded compensation from the scoundrel, he led them to the door of the house where he lived and came in. When he returned, he passed with the required check for a large sum, signed by the hand of the other man, who was well-known for his good deeds. Using this contrast of good and evil, the author makes the reader wait until the end and inspires a sense of inexplicable horror. Therefore, even more horrible thing is that Mr. Hyde enjoyed his violent actions and was full of the excitement and satisfaction while he did the violence. By the example of Hyde’s conduct, the writer expressed the true viciousness and overall evil of the man-beast.
Brutal Killing of Sir Danvers Carew
The other episode of Hyde’s cruelty is his brutal killing of Sir Danvers Carew. In both cases his victims are innocent; they are guiltless people, who suffered from Mr. Hyde’s rage. In such a way the author shows society’s cruelty and injustice, and fury or the human mind. This character is a complete description of something disgusting within the novel. Even his appearance strengthens enormity of the whole situation: disproportioned, rough, and brutal man with the mental disorder. Mr. Hyde is a murderer, who seems to have no relationship with the Dr. Jekyll’s nice appearance, complexion and respect of the society. The doctor clearly understands that his own mind is able to create a monster, and at the same time he cannot do anything to prevent this creation. After Mr. Hyde kills Carew, he becomes a symbol of the pure uncontrolled evil, which the doctor could not stop.
Dr. Jekyll found the solution of the situation. The consequences of his experiments led to the horrible things and even to death. The doctor understood that he is not the man he used to be any more. Hyde took the whole control of his body and his great agreement with the mind failed. Thus, Jekyll have no choice but to kill his creation, and eo ipso himself. The struggle with the mind ended sadly with the death of the doctor. Dr. Jekyll found that the human form was determined by his or her spiritual essence, and corporeal membrane of the human was completely dependent on the combination of moral elements. His decision was ruthless, but the doctor wanted to break ties with the evil power. Jekyll’s life turned to hell. After one morning, when the doctor awoke as his partner Hyde, he concluded that sorrows of such transformations would torture him the whole life. So, he realized that retribution and the death of either Dr. Jekyll or both of them was inevitable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the experiment, conducted by Dr. Jekyll on his personality revealed that human nature is inclined to evil and it is inherent in all of the people. Moreover, in a state of total freedom, man is more inclined to evil than good. Taking into consideration only the voice of his instincts, Dr. Jekyll left aside the most difficult moral questions. The doctor desired carnal pleasures and did not want to pay for them or to live in a state of abstinence. For every wrong act he could blame Mr. Hyde, who was his inseparable part. Dr. Jekyll had to find other solution of the problem, but unbridled passion led to the tragic death of the both sides.
