Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Duality Essay

The substantial demilia in the novella, Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, consists of the duality in human nature involving good and evil. The novella separates good and evil within one character supporting the theory, ”Man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Robert Louis Stevenson). The character, Mr.Hyde, consists of the evil embodied in Dr. Jekyll whereas Dr. Jekyll only portrays the goodness of himself. One can infer Dr. Jekyll illustrates a deeply repressed man who has hidden his violent side, not wanting to face any consequences for anything he has done. Although, the novella exhibits an interesting story about a man who turns himself into an evil human being, there are profound psychological implications within the theme of

duality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
First and foremost, Dr.

Jekyll’s character actually confesses he has been fascinated by the duality of his own nature. Specifically, how man being truly two, affects all men. Dr. Jekyll suppressed the evil nature of himself by morphing into Hyde, “A small deformed,disgusting man somewhat younger than Dr.Jekyll”(Robert Louis Stevenson) Dr. Jekyll describes he and Hyde as polar opposites,which reinforces the theory of duality considering they are the same person. Also, in the first chapter the reader learns that Hyde’s home portrays an extremely run down and neglected place which contrasts Dr.Jekyll’s well kept, expensive home. In the end of the story, the reader learns about the mysterious door which holds Hyde’s dwelling and connects to Dr.Jekyll’s home. The door is confirmation that Dr.Jekyll hid his dark secret of Mr. Hyde. ”Both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering” (Dr.Jekyll) One can infer from this quote once Jekyll let Hyde take over, his evil side slowly tried to destroy him and it allowed the dark nature of Jekyll to

emerge.
Furthermore, one may wonder why Dr.Jekyll claims, “man is not truly one, but truly two.” (Robert Louis Stevenson). Although Jekyll may be an unreliable character, his theory relates to the duality of human nature. In Jekyll’s point of view every man contains both good or evil morals, but he makes it clear one is always dominant. Jekyll’s good side is dominant, because he knows what the evil is capable of doing and he does not want his reputation to be ruined. This is when the plan of dividing his two personas comes into play. Unfortunately, when Jekyll does begin to divide the two personalities a human of pure evil is born, known as Hyde. Jekyll allows Hyde to grow stronger because he feels exhilarated when he embraces the pure evil side of himself allowing Hyde to eventually and completely take over. The takeover of Hyde destroys the goodness Jekyll.
All things considered, Dr.Jekyll intended for the potion to make him a better person, getting rid of the evil within him. However, the potion created a darker side exactly opposite of the intended separation and purification. The potion stripped away the civilian side of Mr.Jekyll, exposing the side he hid for so long. Human nature falls into Dr.Jekyll’s character because, humans constantly fight the battle between right and wrong, knowing the consequences could be fatal in the end.The duality between good and evil constantly play a role in life as it does in the novella.
In conclusion, the novella, portrays how Dr.Jekyll intended to create a way of separating evil from himself for the better, but once he felt the taste of evil, the temptation of rebellion seemed too good to be true. Dr.Jekyll became the one thing he tried to always hide, which is something humans fight with constantly. Ultimately the duality between good and evil falls within the hands of the choices one makes.