Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

This novella has a brilliant, timeless premise about the duality of human nature, and Mr. Hyde is genuinely unsettling. The mystery builds well, and it’s easy to see why the story became so influential.However, the pacing can feel slow, and the heavy use of letters and secondhand narration creates emotional distance. We’re told about Jekyll’s struggle more than we truly feel it.

Whether this is a sample of split personality or a manifestation of dual character, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most brilliant literary works that I have ever read. I read it three times already, and I am willing to pick it up again in the future in order to seek Jekyll in his laboratory, and Hyde on his errands of depravity. These two polar twins, different sides of the same coin, and particles of the same mind are simply fascinating! The novella draws from Freudian principles and is, in fact, the stepping stone of the late 19th century revival of Gothic fiction. It has a heavy sense of the uncanny, and in multiple scenes the characters themselves battle desperately against its claustrophobic atmosphere. Although it is a brilliant study of mental and psychological ailments, it serves also as an eye-opener in regard to the social hypocrisy and decadence of the age. One memorable assertion of Mr. Utterson ran as follows "If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek". This single sentence describes the entire social structure of late 19th century England. For by what right did Utterson entitle himself to watch Mr. Hyde? The man, though of dark and somewhat vile character, did him no wrong and offered to do none. The two were not even acquainted! But Utterson is the personification of his community. The watchful eye of society followed every one at the time. In this manner, Hyde's unforgiveable sin was that he did in public what other men would only do in secret. This idea is illustrated quite clearly in Mr. Enfield's account of his encounter with Hyde. This "respectable" lawyer began as follows, "I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o'clock of a black winter morning". Now, let's take a minute to think about this. What business did a lawyer have at three o'clock in a deserted street on a bitter cold winter morning. Surely, he was neither a doctor nor a priest. Therefore, his professional advice can be said to be of no urgent nature that required a nocturnal attendance. And what's with the description "coming home from the end of the world". No statement could be more ambiguous or impregnated with meaning and mystery. An honest analysis of these facts point to a number of possibilities that put to question Mr. Enfield's own character. The only difference between Enfield and Hyde is that in the case of the latter, his acts of brutal depravity were witnessed by third parties, while Enfield had kept his secret nocturnal doings safely guarded from the eyes of his peers. This everlasting pressure from a rigid social regime, the latter's hypocrisy, and shaded decadence were, accordingly, important elements that acted strongly upon the tormented psyche of Jekyll. This brilliant scholar of the chemistry realm is no different from the rest of us. It is easy to condemn him as a sinner, weak towards temptations, and lusty for immoralities. Though, in truth, the only difference between him, you, and me lies in that he alone could and did find a potion that set him free from the ties of morality and rigid social respectability. In this regard, Jekyll is like Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's novel of the same name and Hawley Griffin in H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. All three characters had discovered a means to do as they wanted and yet to remain as blameless as babes in the eyes of society. And whence comes this extreme concern with public feeling? It comes from the Victorian struggle and great divide between reputation and integrity. Integrity and reputation, shadow and persona, these are psychological components which ought to be balanced in order to secure a more or less healthy existence. But in late-Victorian England, integrity was discarded entirely in favor of reputation. People did not care about your goodness; what interested them was your name, fortune, reputation. For such reasons, Jekyll had restricted his darker self for years, the latter raged with anger and impatience at prolonged imprisonment. This view does, by no means, defend Jekyll or inculpate him. It is merely the statement of all the facts and circumstances that had led to his tragic death. As a psychological study, the work is even more interesting. Part of my Master dissertation had for a task to analyze and enumerate the different possible mental illnesses that could have led a man like Jekyll to an ending like that of Hyde. The bracket proved surprisingly large and included among other complaints the Amok syndrome, multi-personality disorder, and schizophrenia. Such observations and findings make the reader wonder at and admire Stevenson's capacity of creating such a complex character as that of Jekyll and his double in so brief a work.

Me gustó mucho, muy de mi estilo. Recomendado :)