Duality In The Sandman By E. T. Hyde

‘The uncanny,’ as explored by Sigmund Freud, is a theory that can often be found in works of literature intended to scare and unsettle the reader (Freud, 1919). “The uncanny has to do with making things uncertain… the sense that things are not as they have come to appear through habit and familiarity…” (Bennett and Royle, p36). ‘The uncanny’ in 19th century gothic literature creates feelings of unease, particularly among the repressive society at the time. To coincide with this, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Stevenson during that era, makes use of the unhomeliness to highlight truths about ourselves that often stay hidden, such as our dual natures and the propensity for evil (Masse, 230).. “The Sandman” by E. T. A. Hoffman

Two personalities—opposite and antagonistic—mesh within one body. Jekyll is increasingly unable to control his alter ego; his identity becomes fragmented into Jekyll and Hyde, and then the Hyde persona begins to manifest itself unexpectedly. The ending of the story, in which it turns out the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are one man, stirs up a strong feeling of the uncanny and forces all to reconcile this turn of events with their belief in the rationality of the real world. Hyde’s effect is that of a mirror to the repressed side of individuals in civilised society, and that the uncanniness in the text stems from readers being forced to consider the possibility of the existence of a Hyde-like figure within themselves and those around them. In many ways, Jekyll can be seen as an extension of self and is used as a preservation against extinction (9). This explanation heavily coincides with the novella as Hyde is a part of Dr Jekyll that he has repressed and repressed so long that it has taken a physical manifestations. In this interpretation an important role is played by the idea of ‘the uncanny’, creating a disturbing and disorientating effect for readers in the moments of uncertainties, fears and doubts that Jekyll experiences as a consequence of the projection of his unconscious desires and fears on the people and the environment around, as Freud (1856-1939)

The one side where Dr Jekyll, Mr Utterson and their contemporaries live and work is represented as smart, wealthy and educated area, identified as such in Utterson 's referral to Cavendish square - the home of Dr Lanyon - as 'that citadel of medicine. ' In contrast, the other side of London is represented by the district of Soho, a slum area of the city that symbolises an atavistic playground, where immoral behaviour is expected and therefore much less noticeable. Mr Hyde has a house in this district, assumedly so his detestable appearance and violent behaviour go unquestioned and unnoticed. Dr Jekyll 's home also represents the Gothic in its double aspects with the house providing a