Duality Of Humans: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Mumu The Tricked digs into one of the horror classics, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

TITLE: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales

AUTHOR: Robert Louis Stevenson (Oxford World’s Classics)

GENRE: Dark Gothic Horror

PAGES: 205

FORMAT: Paperback Book

PRICE: USA $7.95/ RRP £4.99

Within this age of disconnections, remember how duality affects the nations. Or rather, how it was represented with the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in Victorian England. Dr. Jekyll was a renowned scientist. Known to be educated and kind, at least to the public eye. Then he created a serum that turned him into Mr. Hyde every few months. Whatever Dr. Jekyll was, Mr. Hide was not. Nearly a complete opposite, Mr. Hyde was violent and cruel; even going so far as to kill and maim an old gentleman on a whim. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represented the struggle of good and evil within the soul of one person. How everyone struggles with good choice and bad choice; it’s what makes us human. The truth is, we all have capability of good and evil; it is our choices that make it so. Dr. Jekyll chose to become Mr. Hyde by making that serum. Mr. Hyde was created due to Dr. Jekyll’s inability to accept his dark desires. He chose to ignore his morality, even after seeing these results.  Dr. Jekyll turned himself into a monster, and he was unable to stop it. The only thing he was able to do was warn his lawyer, Lanyon, about what he became. Mr. Hyde even stopped by and told Lanyon the whole story as well. 

There is another aspect of this; the person we choose to show the world versus our true selves. Perhaps Dr. Jekyll was Mr. Hyde all along, but he played the part of the good scientist as to not be persecuted for his true feelings. Or even, Mr. Hyde was all that Dr. Jekyll wanted to be but couldn’t due to the morality of society.  It’s not the first time someone decided to hide their true motivations in order to survive in the world. 

Although, I will admit, with Dr. Jekyll’s confession at the end of the work, it does seem that he went fully crazy. He couldn’t control Mr. Hyde any longer; he could only keep himself as Dr. Jekyll by not sleeping and by taking that serum over and over again until he had none left. It demonstrated his paranoia, how he knew he couldn’t go back to the way things were when he finally gave into those dark desires. In the end, Dr. Jekyll died mentally while Mr. Hyde took full control of his body; his morality finally dead and gone. It makes me wonder, though; do you think that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll maybe helped or even was Jack the Ripper? That would be a twist.  

Mumu the Tricked loves to read and write. It’s easier to sit still and work with their eyes and hands than move around some days. They are hoping to become a successful author and book reviews are quite fun, too. Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.