Jekyll And Hyde: Good And Bad
In the mind of Robert Louis Stevenson lived the idea that the human being had a dual nature. According to him, we all have a good and a bad version. Both coexist in us and the bad would be repressed by society. The result of these thoughts led to the famous work The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
It is one of the first works to bring a character to life with a complex disorder, personality disorder and its worst aftermath. Stevenson challenged the science of the time, as well as religion, by inventing a terrifying and vivid story. The popularity of this novel has therefore given rise to an infinite number of adaptations to theater, cinema, television, etc.
The work puts forward an extremely intriguing framework; through lawyer Utterson, we will uncover some strange facts. Stevenson leaves leads for his readers to ask questions. Finally, thanks to a manuscript, we will know the surprising outcome.
Have you ever had thoughts that were considered “bad”? Probably. And you have perhaps already asked yourself these kinds of questions? What if I could let this cruelty run free? Do we really have a dark side? The idea of this duality has been treated from different points of view within the framework of various disciplines (philosophy, psychology, literature, etc.).
What if this duality was what made us human? Perfection does not exist, neither does absolute goodness. What is good for me may not be good for you. Ethics has taken on the task of investigating and establishing what is considered “good”, but divergences have nonetheless appeared. Throughout our lives, we have all been able to commit irrational and incoherent acts. Acting in a totally unexpected way.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores, in addition to the personality disorder, a series of questions about our own nature. In the form of a plot, it captivates us and mixes psychology with literature and philosophy. It is certainly an indispensable work in our library.
The good and the bad
If we look a little at our history, our culture, our religion, etc., we find an infinity of manifestations which try to show us what is good and bad. Examples which seek to differentiate these two faces. To separate them. If we think about religion, we find that almost all of them try to define and make arguments about good behavior. To punish the bad. And to explain to us the consequences of one or the other.
How would we define good? The question may seem simple, but this idea of the good can, in the end, be a little subjective. We would end up summarizing it as “the opposite of evil”. Ethics is the part of philosophy that has tried to offer answers to these types of questions throughout history. Thus, several philosophers have tried to answer it by revolving around the same idea: good is the opposite of evil.
For Aristotle, for example, the ultimate good is happiness, the common good for all, that which is achieved through virtue. Politics would play an important role there; the path acquires a particular importance because it is not something immediate. Hedonistic ethics, on the contrary, fixes the good in sensory and instantaneous pleasure. The Christian religion goes a little further. It identifies good with the figure of God. And evil to that of Satan. She gives them a name. And sketch their face.
So, with an infinity of examples throughout our history, we always come back to an idea of opposition. But what if good and bad were two sides of the same coin? Inseparable, inseparable, intimately united while being different… In other words, what if one could not live without the other? This idea of cohabitation in the depths of the human being is what Stevenson explores in his novel. However, he takes a step forward in trying to pull them apart and ultimately bring them together again.
Each individual grows up in a society and learns the most accepted or appropriate behaviors there. However, it would seem that a nature exists in us. A nature that sometimes pushes us to act. Or to think against these inherited norms. Doctor Jekyll thought he could separate this duality, that he could break this room. However, each of these parties began to act as they pleased.
Jekyll and Hyde, duality
Literature has explored the idea of the double over and over again and with varying points of view. Dostoevsky had already opened a door to a literature that would explore human psychology, the deepest part of our mind, in works like The Double (1846) where we witness the duplication of the same person. Other more recent works like Le loup des steppes have also tried to draw this complexity by relying on duality. But also on a multiplicity of personalities within the same being.
Jekyll and Hyde’s story explores the consequences of trying to separate these two sides, which results in a split personality. They are both the same person. Their desires and impulses reside in the same being. By separating them, the consequences are excruciating.
Jekyll was a “good man”, an exemplary, distinguished man; a man who, like all the others, repressed his darkest impulses. His passion for medicine and his obsession with separating good and evil prompted him to try a strange potion that brought Mr. Hyde to life. Mr. Hyde is the opposite of Jekyll, someone who lets himself be ruled by his impulses and pleasure.
The transformations suppose a division but also a search on the part of Jekyll to have recourse to these pleasures and desires prohibited by society. The physical description of the two characters is also significant; while Jekyll is portrayed with a pleasant appearance, Hyde has a “caveman” aspect, savage and obnoxious.
The intrigue and the magic of the work increase until it leads to a spectacular ending. Through a note from Hyde, we discover the whole truth. And not just the truth about potions. We are also told about human nature, the acceptance of the impossibility of separating the good and the evil that live in us.
Jekyll and Hyde were equal but opposed. In the end, it is an exploration of human nature to tell us that we should not try to separate good from evil. Both are indeed part of us and make up our identity.
Our thoughts Discover the tale “William Wilson” by Edgar Allan Poe which highlights the theme of the double, a very interesting literary theme.
