Good and Evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Good and Evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Throughout the story of “The Strange Case Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, the

author, Robert Louis Stevenson, presents his idea of the duality of

man- where we all have a dark, wicked side within us, where evil is

held in waiting to surface, but we hide it away, we pretend it does

not exist, and we keep it tame. He presents this idea by using two

protagonists, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, who are actually the same person.

One of these characters symbolizes the normal side of a person

represented by the respectable Dr Jekyll, who is a typical upper class

Victorian, and the other, Mr Hyde, a deformed man, signifies the

purest of evil. During the course of this essay I will comment on

Stevenson’s presentation of good and evil, and how the two work

together to create an outstanding story.

The book “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” was published in

1886, in Victorian England. The horror story originated from a dream

that Stevenson’s had about a split personality and the central

suggestion that evil is potentially far stronger than good. When he

awoke he immediately set about putting his thoughts into words and

finished the first copy in just three days but was forced to burn it

because of the disapproval from his wife. He wrote another version,

again in just three days. The second copy was published and was an

overnight success.

The storyline is about a doctor, who stumbles upon a potion, which he

finds can change him into an entirely different person physically. Mr

Hyde opens the window for evil deeds, through which Dr Jekyll could

commit crimes without ruining his good name. At fist Dr Jekyll can

control his transforma...

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...easily become out of control

and then take over your body. Today there are constantly news stories,

pictures and bill boards telling you what drugs can do and in

Victorian times drugs use and abuse was increasing, especially the use

of opium. Lastly, mentioned before was Mr Hyde being described as

ape-like, this can show contemporary relevance because of how Charles

Darwin brought up the theory of the “origin of man” in Victorian

times. There was an outrage in the 19th century and not many would

believe Charles Darwin’s idea, because most people were strict

Christians and “Adam and Eve” was from where they originated. Today in

the southern states of America strict Christians still feel very

strongly about their faith and still put down this theory. For these

few reasons the story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is still very relevant in

the modern world of today.