Dr. Jekyll demonstrates literally what many people
experience figuratively. The duality of
human nature haunts the entire race. Dr.
Jekyll correctly discerns that every person possesses an inner Good and an
inner Evil. His philosophy breaks down
when he attempts to separate his two sides.
He experiments with his heart and mind, thinking that he can always
repent and negate any seriously immoral progress. Initially, he enjoys the wretched integrity
of being completely evil. The experience
is “more express and single,” he explains “than the imperfect and divided
countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine” (Stevenson 1711). However, Evil is “alert and swift to seize
the occasion,” “kept awake by ambition” (1711).
Jekyll realizes too late that he has gone too far, and stands “aghast
before the acts of Edward Hyde” (1712). Through
Mr. Edward Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll ruins everything he has, is, and could be.
The most fateful and real danger of the struggle between
one’s Good and one’s Evil comes when the boundaries between the two are
blurred. Hyde’s residence, where “buildings
so packed together it’s hard to see where one ends and another begins” (Stevenson
1680) symbolizes this danger. However,
there is also danger in compartmentalizing the two sides too much. One loses his sense of morality and
responsibility when simply passing off wrongdoings as the problem of his “other
self.” “It was Hyde, after all,” Dr.
Jekyll insisted. “and Hyde alone, that
was guilty” (1712-1713). Eventually,
unchecked evil over comes good, and there is nothing the good alone can do
about it. “He [Hyde] does not want my
help” (1691), Jekyll confesses helplessly.
However, the tragedy of Dr. Jekyll’s transformation is not meant to dissuade
one from acknowledging his evil nature. Stevenson
hides a truer meaning in one of his descriptions of Hyde’s grotesque residence
by saying “no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or repair
their ravages” (1678). The passage, and
story as a whole, suggest that while it is good not to nurture one’s evil side,
it is better to dealt with it actively.
In reality, can the inescapable dualities of human nature
live in harmony? Stevenson’s pointed
gothic tale warns against reckless experimentation with one’s soul. A person never believes he will be overcome
by evil—until the evil is upon him.
Practically, this translates into one’s lifestyle. Often, people who intend only temporarily to indulge
their unwholesome appetites find themselves past a point of no return. They have alienated loved ones beyond
reconciliation; they have broken trust beyond repair; they have harmed their
bodies past recovery. While The Strange Tale of Jekyll and Hyde is
only a story, the danger is painfully real.
Duality infects not only the entire human race, but every
facet of life, from cities to virtues to the heart. If even virtues such as loyalty and a thirst
for knowledge can lead to negative consequences, is there anything truly good
in life? With Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson makes the point that everything
is double-sided. The great quest of life
is not to separate and purge the world of evil, but to synthesize both sides of
every element. Temperance is perhaps the
only one-sided virtue. Absolute transparency
leads to rudeness and alienation.
Absolute loyalty deteriorates into blindness and immorality. Absolute pursuit of knowledge leads to destructive
truth. Absolute evil destroys both the
good and itself. However, without pretension,
misguided loyalty, destructive knowledge, and Evil, no one would know the
concepts of openness, difficult integrity, wise ignorance, and Good. There is duality in everything. Stevenson’s tale makes the reader question
whether or not this is a bad thing, and whether trying to isolate either side
might be just as destructive. Without life’s
negative side, the positive would mean nothing.
~Stephanie
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