Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Research Paper

The human mind is composed of two separate identities engaged in a constant war for superiority. Good and evil exist in all men, and each man must choose which side overcomes him. In the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll experiences this struggle between good and evil. Dr. Jekyll’s home is a building with two very different components— a dank and decaying laboratory, and an affluent and comfortable main house. Although these two buildings are part of the same whole, they appear to be unconnected. The contrast between these separate but united buildings reflects Dr. Jekyll’s dual nature.
Stevenson’s use of contrasting architecture parallels the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While Dr. Jekyll’s main home is described as having a “a great air of wealth

and comfort… warmed… by a bright, open fire,” (18) his laboratory is described as “a certain sinister block of building … [which] showed no window… and bore in every feature the marks of profound and sordid negligence” (6).

The main house’s respectable and prosperous appearance represents the honorable persona of Dr. Jekyll. In order to keep up appearances and hide his darker self, Dr. Jekyll only lets the world see his social side, reflected by the welcoming atmosphere in his home. Contrary to the amiable façade of Dr. Jekyll’s home, the laboratory’s intense state of decay highlights Hyde’s corrupt and perverse nature. The lack of windows and a knocker emphasize Hyde’s antisocial behavior. Moreover, the relationship between the two buildings corresponds to the relationship between the two personas they represent. Although Jekyll and Hyde’s homes are adjoined, they look out onto two separate streets. Due to the city’s convoluted layout of streets, the people cannot detect that the structures are two parts of a whole, just as they cannot detect that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one in the same. As Dr. Jekyll’s attempts to keep Hyde at bay start

to unravel, the architecture reflects this struggle: “the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below. They saw it but for a glimpse, for the window was instantly thrust down” (38). Initially, Dr. Jekyll is able to keep himself and Hyde as two separate entities, but eventually he loses control and begins to transform. The window acts as a threshold for evil to enter his main home and ultimately his good self. By shutting the window, Dr. Jekyll reveals his fear and vulnerability of being discovered by the outside world .