Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - The Battle Between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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The Battle Between Jekyll and Hyde Throughout Western literature, writers have created characters who act as perfect foils to each other with dramatically observable differences. Each pairing has a stronger and weaker in the combination, and usually one outlives the other. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the pairing exists in one body, and yet the struggle is heightened because both aspects of the identity are equal in strength. Ultimately, Stevenson emphasizes it is Jekyll who holds the power of life or death over Hyde. Hyde's "love of life is wonderful," but Hyde is also aware of Jekyll's "power to cut him off by suicide (Stevenson 101)." It is the awareness of each for the other which confirms that neither can exist alone. According to Albert Camus in his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus," "the sight of human pride is unequaled (Bowie 47)." It is Jekyll's pride in his secret existence of sensuality and "love of life" which postpones the self-destructive tendency. However, as soon as Hyde begins to appear without Jekyll's physical act of drinking the elixir, Jekyll can no longer allow the "brute that slept within" to emerge on his own (Stevenson 102." Both Jekyll and Hyde are ultimately aware of each other, and interact through necessity. To each, the other's freedom must be checked in order to stay "alive," and yet Jekyll finally spies freedom, but only through suicide. In the end, it is Hyde who triumphs, as it is in his guise that the body is discovered. Hyde is Jekyll without restraint, and the man Jekyll wants to be in the light of day. Jekyll's close friend and attorney Utterson regards Hyde with "disgust, loathing and fear," and yet cannot put a name on the precise reason for the... ... middle of paper ... ...tor (Mighall 190)." Works Cited Camus, Albert. "The Myth of Sisyphus." Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Ed. G. Lee Bowie, Meredith W. Michaels and Robert C. Solomon. 4th ed. Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 45-49. Charyn, Jerome. "Who Is Hyde?" Afterword: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Bantam Books. Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1981. 105-114. Hume, David. "Of Personal Identity." Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Ed. G. Lee Bowie, Meredith W. Michaels and Robert C. Solomon. 4th ed. Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 348-352 Mighall, Dr. Robert. A Geography of Victorian Gothic Fiction: Mapping History's Nightmares. Oxford University Press, 1999. 166-209. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Bantam Books. Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1981.

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