Multiplex Personality In Jekyll And Hyde

At the end of the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson published his novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The fin de siècle saw the rise of different thoughts and ideas surrounding science and society. Late-Victorian psychology began to explore deeper into the mind, society grew weary of degeneration, and a new century was upon them which brought its own fears. Stevenson’s story played upon the many changes society was facing during this time. He took the scientific interest and created the character of Dr Jekyll, a scientist who created a potion that would unlock his inner, uninhibited self. These concoctions create a “mad scientist” effect and create an uncertainty around these scientific advancements of the fin de siècle. The evidence of multiplex personalities, or multiple personalities, in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a representation of mental illness. From Mr Hyde’s physical appearance to the transition between Jekyll and Hyde, these attributes explore the new

By describing Hyde as small and pale, Stevenson gives the impression that Hyde is less of a man than other Victorian males. He is inadequate because he is not the standard tall and handsome gentleman. His low and broken voice also implies that he is less of a man because he lacks the confidence normally possessed by men in a patriarchal society. Michael Davis wrote on the physical representations of Mr Hyde. In his article, he stated, ‘Hyde’s pathology, real enough in its effects on others, is nonetheless ghostly rather than material, somehow present yet simultaneously absent, and so beyond the scope of mapping or diagnosis in physical terms.’ Davis is saying that while Hyde is real and has a real effect on those around him, the features that produce such an effect are invisible. Hyde creates such a horror-filled response; however, there is no apparent difference between him and