Jekyll And Hyde And Duality Essay

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Duality is a recurring theme in literature; both modern and classic works reference in numerous ways. It is the idea that everything, no matter what, is two sided, hence it being called duality. There are two works of literature that are considered the best to represent what duality is and what it can stand for: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. These two discuss the effects of duality and the duality of the human nature. Good vs. evil; one of the most popular storylines to do. None ever quite capture how dual man is. Human are one of the most complex beings on Earth; and Jekyll and Hyde captures that. The fascination and obsession one can feel towards their
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.”(Jekyll and Hyde chap 10, last paragraph). This quote shows how Jekyll was willing to give up his life, which at that time was profoundly frowned upon, to let Hyde live; even though he knew Hyde wouldn’t last long at all. This human corruption and good vs evil theme also shows up in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. “Within the infant rind of this small flower/ Poison hath residence and medicine power/ In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will;/ And where the worser is predominant, /Full soon the canker death eats up that plant”(II iii 23-30). Friar Lawrence makes the connection in this quote with plants; that there are good and evil parts, and that if evil has more power than the good: the plant will die. As Shakespeare said that the evil will overpower the good, Stevenson does the same with the personalities of Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll started out stronger than Hyde, but the longer he stayed Hyde, the more he enjoyed what he was doing as Hyde; this shows how humans will indulge in sins even if it meant eternal damnation. Another novel from around the same time as Jekyll and Hyde that shows the duality of man in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. At a glance

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