Human Nature In Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was an original novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and was published in 1886. The novel is about Gabriel John Utterson, a London lawyer who was interested in understanding the strange occurrences between Dr. Jekyll his old friend and the evil Mr. Hyde. The work is said to be psychiatric with its split personality whereby Dr. Jekyll has two distinct personalities with one being good and the other evil. The novel has impacted significantly on the society such that the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde” means someone with the different moral character during different situations.

The Duality of Human Nature

The novel through its two main characters centers upon humanity as being dual in nature. The most significant duality between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde comes out after the last chapter when the complete relationship is revealed. Jekyll assumes that man is truly two and never one and thinks that the human soul is a battleground between angel and friend with the motive of being in command. Jekyll thought that by having another option that can be able to separate the two will purify both elements but instead it succeeded in bringing his dark side. Hyde, on the other hand, doesn’t have the angelic side in his soul once he has been unleashed; he takes over until Jekyll doesn’t exist. The writer asserts that human nature possess two aspects but doesn’t mention which two aspects are these. In the story itself the angel side of Jekyll is not witnessed at the end of the novel maybe meaning that man is not truly two but has the dark side shown by Hyde that has been brought under the control of law, conscience and civilization.

The Female Nature

In the novel very few references have been made regarding women. The women to be mentioned in the story have been perceived to be weak and unassuming. The novel tends to avoid the use of female with all the major characters both not being in any female relationships. All the women in the novella have been portrayed to be weak, helpless, emotional, and sensible passive creature that need some people to support them. Women in nature are weak in both mind and physicality but are sensible when working with some people. One can argue that, Jekyll, who thought that man is truly two but at the end, he witnesses only one side, is because he didn’t have a female counterpart to help him go through with the dark sides of Hyde.