Appearance and Personality: Duality of Human Nature in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'

Introduction

Stevenson writes about the duality of humankind – the concept that a single human being has good and bad within them. Stevenson explains how everyone's attitude has a positive and negative side, but what is important is how you act and the choices you make. The decisions people make decide whether a person is successful or not. In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dr Jekyll is a well-respected, educated scientist whose personality secretly has a cruel, inhuman characteristic. This side of his personality is not active; but, through his experiments, he decides to trigger it. Through the identity of Mr Hyde - a criminal man who commits brutal acts of violence towards others, this side becomes involved. Stevenson reveals the duality of human nature through this shift of Jekyll's character - the belief that everyone is capable of rational and irrational deeds. Therefore this essay will analyze the depiction of appearance and personality in the novel.

Appearance and Personality in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, duality is expressed throughout the novella in many ways. The setting; the novella is set in London but draws heavily on Stevenson's memory of his hometown, Edinburgh, to create a chilling atmosphere that emphasizes the themes of light and darkness. A fancy townhouse with a tumble-down lab on the back is occupied by Jekyll. The townhouse is recognized as 'fancy,' reflecting the fact that he is a wealthy middle-class and intends to expose his fortune. Similar houses occupy the street on which his house is situated, we are told. His, however, is the only one that has been kept tidy, organized, and intact, and the rest seems to have been mildly disorganized. This is in line with Jekyll's character since we know that he values his reputation and makes himself look tidy and social to other people, which is undoubtedly what his house does. Hyde, on the other hand, is a secret creature who moves in the darkness. The lab door sums up his character accurately. It juts out, the windows are closed and the door has no knocker and has not been cleaned for entry, unlike the main house on an alley street. The private essence of Hyde is emulated by the windows. He does not want people to pry into his business. The unavailability of a knocker confirms he does not want or expect visitors. In the same way, the untidiness of the doorway drives people away from trying to visit. The setting here, in the shape of the house, goes to show Jekyll and Hyde's characters and reinforces the concept of good vs evil.

Furthermore, Stevenson uses language to portray the duality of the two characters. Dr Jekyll is viewed as a scientist who is highly influential, kind, knowledgeable and popular. 'He is the embodiment of 'goodness.' “…every mark of capacity and kindness - you could see by his looks that he cherished for Mr Utterson.” This indicates that Dr Jekyll is compassionate and everybody thinks he is so. The fact that he 'cherishes' Mr Utterson shows us that he loves and cares for his friends so much and cares about other people, he is perceived as an ‘angel.’ Mr Hyde, on the other hand, is an inhuman, ugly, violent man committing insane acts of brutality against innocent persons. He is the embodiment of 'evilness.' “...haunting sense of unexpressed deformity with which the fugitive impressed his beholders.” This shows that the appearance and personality of Hyde frighten everyone, they always remember seeing him. The fact that his presence is 'haunting' illustrates how unsettling he is. Stevenson makes Hyde more enigmatic by simply hinting at his physical appearance - he is smaller than Jekyll. He is portrayed as grotesque, and Stevenson claims that he has Satan's face. His 'nightmarish' presence afflicts anybody Hyde encounters in the novella. 'There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable.” The repetition of 'something' exaggerates how deformed Hyde is, as Enfield cannot quite put his finger on it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the key point of Stevenson to the audience will clearly be that there is no binary opposite of good and evil - things are not that easy. Everyone is capable of acts of good and evil, going against the Victorian mindset that some people are born good or bad.

References

1. Stevenson, R. L. (1886). Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Longmans, Green, and Co.

2. Balfour, G. (1901). The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. New York: Scribner.

3. Moore, G. (2008). A Hypermedia Critical Edition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. University of South Carolina Press.

4. Page, N. (2007). 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde': The Strange Case. Continuum.

5. Maixner, P. (1980). 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson: A Dual Text Edition. Macmillan Education.

6. Kaplan, C. (1995). 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' After One Hundred Years. University of Chicago Press.

7. Doole, J. (2016). Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: York Notes for GCSE (9-1). Pearson.

8. Rosner, V. (1991). 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde': Afterward. Signet.

9. Archer, W. (2009). 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' and Other Tales of Terror. Oxford University Press.

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10. Vasbinder, J. W. (2018). Robert Louis Stevenson: Writer of Boundaries. Bucknell University Press.