Melony Robinson Williams

Professor Batty
English 113
4 March, 2015
Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde: A Repressive Victorian Society
Many religions preach about the importance of a balance in ones life. This idea of
balance is heavily exposed in the novella, The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by
Robert Louis Stevenson. The novel opens up with Mr.Utterson, a well known lawyer, and
Mr. Enfield, his distant cousin, recounting a gruesome tale of assault. The incident
involves a monsterous character named Mr.Edward Hyde who crushes an adolescent girl,
vanishes into the darkness, then reimburses the family with a payment signed by Dr.
Henry Jekyll. Dr. Henry Jekyll is highly respected in his community and well known for
his generous donations, although Jekyll has a horrifying secret. He has participated in
deviant pleasurable acts since he was young. In order to hold his respected title, he tries
to hide these pleasures by creating an alternate persona, Mr.Hyde. Unfortunately, Mr.
Hyde committed many harmful acts and is known as a monster. When Jekyll decides he
wants nothing to do with Hyde he decides to get rid of him. Consequently, Hyde begins
to take over and Dr. Jekyll involuntarily transforms into Mr.Hyde. Soon Mr.Hyde
becomes dominant and Dr.Jekyll is unable to turn back to his original form. Dr.Jekyll
realizes that the only way to end Hydes rein is to end himself. In the novella, The
Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson supports the theme. In
order to find a balance one must accept their dual nature, which is expressed through the
theory of dualism and the idea of good and evil being coexistent creating a balance or

normal human. The dangers of a repressing one side of ones dual nature are also
relevant in the novella. Although others argue that due to Christian beliefs human nature
isnt dualistic, but monistic.
Dualism derives from the latin word duo meaning two. Dualism is most
thoroughly explained in Shubh M. Singh and Subho Chakrabarti essay, "A Study in
Dualism: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Dualism is easily described as
the division of something conceptually into two opposite or contrasting aspects or the
state of being divided. Dualism is often discussed with religion and philosophy. A
dualistic religion is one that acknowledges the existence of good and evil and that they
are coeternal, coexistant, and equipotent. One prominent dualistic religion is
Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is a dualistic religion where the concentration of all that
is good is around Ahura Mazda, and is evil around Ahra Mainyu. These two forces are
constantly at war and only at the end will good triumph over evil (Singh). This concept
appears heavily in the novel the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which, Dr.
Jekyll battles with the repression of his evil urges. Jekyll finally realizes his normalcy
of his dual nature and in his letter to Utterson he states, I have been doomed to such a
dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two that I learned to recognize
the thorough and primitive duality of man it was only because I was radically both
(Stevenson). Here dr. Jekyll realizes that one can not separate good and evil, for they are
forever coexistent. Although he realizes that he can not be all good, it is too late. Hydes
evil has taken over Jekyll, which leads to his unfortunate death.
Forced repression is key to Dr.Jekylls downfall. This novel was set in the
Victorian era, where there was a strict code of ethics, which included the normalcy of

repressing ones sexual or deviant behaviors. Dr. Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde when he
consumes a special potion. This potion awakens Mr.Hyde. This is emphasized by Hydes
physical characteristics. Hyde is younger, taller, stronger, and hairier. Hyde is considered
the unconscious or underlying urge in Daniel V. Fraustinos essay, "The Not So Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The idea of the unconscious mind or underlying urge is
explained thoroughly through the Sigmund Freuds theories. Freud described these
instincts as, a concept that is on the frontier between the mental and somatic, as the
psychical representative of the stimuli originating from and reaching the mind, as a
measure of the demands made upon the mind for work in the consequence with its
connections with the body(Singh). This theory of instincts was developed in relation to
the concept of libido and the consequent of the psychosexual phases. Freud believed that
many cases of neurotic illnesses in the Victorian society were due to the forced sexual
repression (Mcleod). This is the case in this novel. Dr.Jekyll constantly referred to his
deviant behavior as pleasures which hint that they were sexual pleasures. Because he is
a highly respected individual who was seen as pure good, he felt the need to hide his evil
in order to be pure good. Jekyll represents one who does not have control over his
primitive desires. Therefore he is the epitome of the repression in a highly respected
individual. When Dr. Jekyll liberates the Mr. Hyde in himself he becomes addicted. The
addiction and need to succumb to his evil self spiral out of control. He looses the balance.
In Singhs article, "A Study in Dualism: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he
states, A religion that is dualistic admits not only that the universe comprises good and
evil, or light and darkness, but also that though these are eternally opposed they are
coeternal, coexistent, and equipotent(Singh). Therefore, Dr.Jekyll was doomed from the

start. Repressing one side of your dual nature is impossible. The cost of Jekyll ignorance
resulted in a deadly reversal of dominance.
Many disagree and argue that the moral of the story is that of Christian belief and
what is recited daily: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. They
believe one needs to be in control of their evil side, and stop oneself from indulging in
this evil because it will grow. In the novel, Stevenson seems to throw out this Christian
belief and embrace the idea of dualism. In Singhs essay, A Study in Dualism: The
Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, the idea that Stevenson embraces dualism is
addresses when he states, Stevenson creates in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, two equipotent,
coexistent, and eternally opposed components that make up a normal individual
(Singh). The presence of these two makes one normal person. In the novel good and
evil are separated into two different individuals that are constantly at war. Evil doesnt
need good to balance or justify itself, making it more powerful and pleasurable.
Consequently leading to evil taking over and the death of Dr. Jekyll. Christians may look
at it as evil losing, but both good and evil lost because they are ultimately one.
Robert Louis Stevenson discusses the theme, In order to find a balance one must
accept their dual nature, which is expressed through the theory of dualism and repression.
Dualism, roughly meaning two, expresses the idea of good and evil being coexistent
creating a balance. The dangers of a repressing one side of ones dual nature are also
relevant in the Novella. Although other argue that due to Christian beliefs human nature
isnt dualistic, but monistic. This idea is quickly shot down in Stevensons novella due to
the horrifying end to the protagonists life. Why does this matter? one might ask. As

shown in the novel, repressing ones urges will ultimately never work. Be yourself thats
all the world can ask for.

Cameron, David. "The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde: Can We Effectively
Manage Sudden Behavior Changes in the Dying Patient?" N.p., July 2011. Web.
Fraustino, Daniel V. "The Not So Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Journal
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Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 292. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale,
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Freud, S. (1915). The unconscious. SE, 14: 159-204.
McLeod, S. A. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/SigmundFreud.html
Singh, Shubh M., and Subho Chakrabarti. "A Study in Dualism: The Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Indian Journal of Psychiatry. Medknow Publications, n.d. Web.
28 Feb. 2015.