Good And Evil In Jekyll And Hyde

Good and evil has been embedded in Human nature since the very beginning. The theme of good and evil has been shown in literature for millenia. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson uses physical descriptions to reflect good and evil in Jekyll and Hyde.

Physical descriptions of Hyde are connected to evil, for instance, Hyde’s house establishes a feeling of evil. Utterson is going through Hyde’s house after Hyde is suspected to have murdered Carew. Utterson thinking “At this moment however, the rooms [bear] every mark of [being] recently and hurriedly ransacked; clothes lay about the floor, with their pockets inside out;”(Stevenson 23). Hyde went through his house leaving the house chaotic. The house being

chaotic shows Hyde’s carelessness for others. Physical descriptions can establish evil, but they can also establish good.
Likewise, physical descriptions of Jekyll are connected to good, for example, Jekyll’s body features establishes a feeling of good. Utterson is at a dinner party with Jekyll at Jekyll’s house. Utterson describing Jekyll as “ a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty”(Stevenson 17). Jekyll having a smooth face shows he has done nothing wrong in his life and he is open. Jekyll is also tall and well-made showing he is the opposite of Hyde, which Hyde is evil.
Stevenson uses physical descriptions to show good in Jekyll and evil in Hyde. Hyde’s house establishes a feeling of evil because of the muddled nature of the house. Jekyll’s body features represent good because of his smooth face showing he has done nothing wrong. Physical descriptions can establish a feeling of good and evil even today. When people look outside they may see broken structures or windowless buildings automatically linking them to evil, but when people see a towering skyscraper with uncountable windows or a doctor’s office they automatically link them to good.