Similarities Between Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde And The Picture Of Dorian Gray

It is know that the human-self has conflicting counterparts that are hidden from the rest of

the world. Sigmund Freud stated that there are three parts of the human psychic parts, which are

super-ego, ego, and Id (Mitchell, n.d.,). The super-ego is the human counterpart where it is highly

conscious of moral values, and Id is described as the darkest human desires that are kept away,

while ego serves as a mediator between super-ego and Id to balance both parts. Although these

psychological phenomenon are better researched in these modern times, they were not widely

understood in the old days, for example, the 19th century Victorian Era. People back then did not

understood the odd psychological disorders deeply, thus many people

were admitted to a

sanitarium. In the Victorian Era, people had high moral values and were very conscious of their

deeds. In an illustration to this trait, two British writers, Robert Louis Stevenson and Oscar Wilde,

wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray, respectively.

Presenting the concept of the hidden self, the two main characters are somehow similar but they

have different attitudes towards morality. This essay will evaluate both characters' personalities,

starting from Dr. Jekyll then Dorian Gray, and also how these characters are different from each

other.

Firstly, it could be seen that Dr. Jekyll was the ego and Hyde was the projection of Jekyll's

Id. Dr. Jekyll was described as an elderly but handsome man with a high social standing and

everyone was fond of him. In contrast, from Enfield's recount, Hyde was described as a deformed

human being, from the line "It wasn't like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut." (Stevenson

1886, p. 40) He further emphasised the loathing people had for Hyde at first glance by describing a

doctor's reaction in the child trampling incident "Well, sir, he was like the rest of us; every time he

looked at my prisoner, I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with desire to kill him.". This

portrayal of Jekyll and Hyde fits the stereotype where good people are described as beautiful and

graceful creatures, while evil beings are described as hideous and repulsive. Because Hyde was

the

Id of Jekyll, he would naturally be described unpleasantly, even regarding him as non-human where

Enfield called Hyde "it" instead of "he" (Stevenson 1886, p.40). Furthermore, Jekyll said in his

letter that he was fully conscious when he turns to Hyde (Stevenson 1886, p.71). Thus, making him

aware of Hyde's every action. Jekyll also described the fulfilment he felt when Hyde killed Carew,

which goes "With a transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight from every

blow" (Stevenson 1886, p.75). However, Jekyll soon realised the sin he made and quickly regretted

it by saying "and it was not till weariness had begun to succeed, that I was suddenly, in the top fit of

my delirium, struck through the heart by a cold thrill of terror..". By taking a closer look at his

description, it could be seen that Jekyll lashed out on Carew through Hyde as a result of his

repression in society. Therefore, the victorian morality could be suggested as Jekyll's super-ego.

This embedded morality made Jekyll to hesitate in doing things that are viewed as immoral in that

century, making him feel suffocated and repressed. To break free of his oppression, Jekyll was

willing to do anything, to an extent where he would sacrifice his comfortable environment just to be

Hyde and do evil deeds (Stevenson 1886, p.74). Consequently, it could be seen that Dr. Jekyll did

not realise he had these repressed dark urges inside because he upholds the Victorian morality. And

so, when he created the potion, he did not unleash an angelic personality, because he himself was

already considered a good person, and in turn, he unleashed his inner id instead as a consequence of

his unknown repression.

Secondly, in contrast to Dr. Jekyll as an ego, Dorian Gray was described as the id instead

and his painting as the super-ego. Even though he was an id, Dorian had a complexion that was

completely different from Hyde, and his super-ego painting also had a different appearance

compared to Dr. Jekyll. Dorian was described as a rosy, handsome young man that everyone adores,

who possesses a complexion that turns every head to his direction. In this story, Oscar Wilde

attempted to create a character that defies the evil complexion stereotype. This way, Dorian was

able to fool everyone and conceal his vulgar behaviour with his beauty. At first, Dorian seemed like

the stereotype of a "dumb blonde" who was naive and gullible. This could be seen in the line "Yes,

he was certainly wonderfully handsome, with his curved red lips, honest blue eyes and gold

hair" (Wilde 1890, p. 25) when Dorian said he forgot to meet Lord Henry's aunt. However, after

analysing the story, it could be seen that the influence of Lord Henry awoken the dark part of

Dorian. Fuelled by the compliments of his beauty from Basil and Lord Henry, Dorian thought he

should live life to the fullest while he still had his youth. Nevertheless, when he broke off the

engagement with Sibyl, there was a moment of regret that he felt after understanding the changes

that happened to his portrait. This part is similar to Dr. Jekyll's regret after killing Carew. Also, it

emphasises that the portrait serves as a super-ego to Dorian, albeit not very effective for he only had

momentary regrets throughout the novel. From the novel, Dorian was said to indulge in seeing the

hideous changes on his portrait and he was proud of it (Wilde 1890, p.179). This implies that Dorian

actually enjoyed doing his bad deeds and he fully embraced it without hesitation. From his

indulgence, it could also be implied that Dorian was truly condemned as an evil id, because he

indulges in his wealth by wearing his jewels and other luxuries, which is categorised as gluttony,

one of the seven deadly sins. This gluttonous behaviour could be seen from the line "On another

occasion he took up the study of jewels, and appeared at a costume ball as Anne de Joyeuse,

Admiral of France, in a dress covered with five hundred and sixty pearls" (Wilde 1890, p.171).

Furthermore, it could be seen that Dorian was actually ashamed of his corrupted self. He said that

the portrait was his soul when Basil demanded to see it (Wilde 1890, p.198), however, he refused to

show the portrait because he did not want anyone to know the tainted image of his soul. Also, when

Dorian killed Basil, it is very similar to Hyde killing Carew. Both of the characters lashed out their

anger on a target, and in Dorian's case, he was trying to put the blame of his corruption to Basil

even though it was from his own consciousness to do his bad deeds. Thus, Dorian Gray could be

seen as an example where the id is overpowering the super-ego and the super-ego is not very

effective in stopping the id.

Lastly, even though both characters have similarities, they have different characteristics too.

For example, looking at the murder scenes in the novels, both deeds were described as brutal and

bloody. However, the following consciousness of both characters are different from each other. In

Stevenson's novel, Jekyll felt an immense sense of guilt after murdering Carew, and he wished to

stop Hyde. In contrast, when Dorian killed Basil, he stabbed his best friend repeatedly and he did

not feel any remorse or regret afterwards. He even felt that what he had done was not his fault and

he blamed Basil for his own corruption. From these two characters, it could be seen that Jekyll is

still a man who is bound by victorian morals, thus he is more humane than Dorian, while Dorian

had ignored all victorian morality and embraced his ugly side as a human, as shown as the line

"Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil." (Wilde 1890, p.205) and even justifying his evil

deeds as either art or other people's fault.

Also, in terms of self realisation, Dorian Gray is

considered to be more self-accepting than Dr. Jekyll. Even though both characters enjoys doing bad

deeds, compared to Dorian, Jekyll tried to suppress Hyde from taking over his mind. He hated the

idea that Hyde might endanger anyone because he is still and foremost a victorian gentleman. This

hatred of Hyde could be seen from the line "I still hated and feared the thought of the brute that

slept within me, and I had not of course forgotten the appalling dangers of the day

before." (Stevenson 1886, p.77). Different from Jekyll, Dorian unleashed his devil within without

having to hide them from the public. He fully accepted the idea that he is doing nothing wrong at all

and he was merely satisfying his curiosity in life. Nevertheless, he was still unconsciously ashamed

of his tainted soul, thus he hid his portrait. However, both characters also had different impacts

towards society. Dorian's bad deeds had an effect to a number of people in the society, causing

people to sneer and avoid him, while Jekyll was still loved by his friends and all around him.

This

fact emphasises that Dorian was hated because he did not hide his shameful behaviour, thus people

know his true self. People still loved Jekyll because people did not know that Hyde is a part of

Jekyll, thus Jekyll was still considered as a respectable gentleman who is sick.

To sum up, Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll is similar in some ways, however, they have different

attitudes towards morality. Even though both characters enjoy doing bad deeds and they have

vessels of their wrong doings, their personalities are described as two completely different beings,

where Dr. Jekyll is understood as an ego who is still conscious about morality, while Dorian is

described as an id who is totally accepting of his dark side. Both characters' personalities well

illustrates the psychological problems that exists in today's society, thus both novels should be made

an example of the psychological issue, so every member of modern society could have a better

understanding about it.