Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic horror tale, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1886 and deals
with the concept of individual good versus evil. It chronicles the story of an upstanding member of the community, Dr. Jeckyll who is thought to be decent model citizen. Unfortunately, like the rest of society, he battles internally with good and evil. Jeckyll struggles to repress the evil part of his personality, but finds that his evil half is too difficult to overcome. He finds that the
negative part of his inner self is simply too tempting and he grows weary of the struggle. Jeckyll uses his skills as a doctor to develop a potion that he hopes will keep his evil half at bay. If he is successful, the potion will allow his good half to dominate his evil half and control his life.
The elixir does not repress his evil half but rather, for a period of time, transforms his personality entirely to evil. Mr. Hyde is the physical manifestation of Dr. Jeckyll’s negative side. While Jeckyll is in the Mr. Hyde state, he satisfies his lusts, presumably by cavorting with prostitutes. Also while in that state, he commits various crimes, including burglary and murder. As time passes, Mr. Hyde grows more powerful and becomes dominant over the Jeckyll half. Mr. Hyde eventually becomes so powerful that he completely takes over Jeckyll’s personality. Even the use of the potion is no longer necessary as Hyde seems to take control at will. When he is not under the control of the Hyde personality, Jeckyll is very ill and unable to function. It begins to appear as if the Hyde personality will completely take over and that Jeckyll will simply cease to exist. Eventually, Inspector Newcommen of Scotland Yard uncovers Jeckyll’s secret and ends Hyde’s crime spree. At the end, Jeckyll is only left with the options of execution or suicide.
This story deals with the classic internal struggle between good and evil. However, Robert Louis Stevenson externalizes this struggle by transforming Dr. Jeckyll into two distinct and physically different personalities, the positive Dr. Jeckyll and the negative Mr. Hyde. Even the physical characteristics of Jeckyll are different than that of Hyde. Hyde is smaller in stature and evil in appearance.
This story has adapted into dozens of movies, the first of which was a silent movie the early 1900s. It has also been made into numerous stage plays, cartoons, video games and comedies. The
Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde is one of Robert Louis Stevenson’s best known short novels. Along with “Treasure Island” this work has passed the test of time.