Introduction
Robert Louis Stevenson published the novel “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in 1886. The novel features a London-based lawyer called Gabriel John Utterson who looks into strange issues that occur between his old friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and an evil man named Edward Hyde. Critics and book reviews have termed the novel as bringing out “split personality” or a condition in which one-body hosts more than one distinct personality. The body of Dr. Jekyll hosts an evil personality (Mr. Hyde) and a good personality (Dr. Jekyll). Jekyll confesses in later chapters that “man is not truly one but truly two” (Stevenson, 74). Frequently, the novel shows that Jekyll would choose to transform himself into Mr. Hyde and commit crimes. However, Jekyll ends up paying for his reckless choices with his life. Allowing one’s evil side to thrive in secrecy is self-destructive and completely corrupts the morals of a person.
Hiding accidental deeds breeds a bad character that nourishes the evil side. When Mr. Hyde tramples on a young girl, he disappears into a certain door along the street. It is apparent that Mr. Hyde and the girl collided by accident, “the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner” (Stevenson, 6). However, instead of Mr. Hyde attending to the injured girl he “left her screaming on the ground” (Stevenson, 6). This incident happened early on in the troubled life of the real Jekyll who allowed his evil side (Mr. Hyde) to thrive while he could have acted in time and trained his personality to act right and morally.
Jekyll concealed his evil deeds in secrecy thereby giving them room to thrive. After he had trampled on the young girl, he later emerged carrying a cheque for the family. “he carried us but to that place with the door?-whipped went in and presently came back with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance” (Stevenson, 7). As such, Jekyll had a guilty conscience (the good side) that urged him to put up a kind gesture to counter the inhumane act that his evil side had done. In all, it seems that he had a strong conscience, and he should have obeyed his good side and acted transparently in order to remedy the accident but he never heeded to his good side.
The symbolic writing of a will by Jekyll, to transfer all property to Mr. Hyde show that he (Jekyll) proactively decided to act evil and let his evil side thrive over the good side. “in case of the decease of Henry Jekyll all his possessions were to pass into the hands of “his friend and benefactor Edward Hyde” (Stevenson, 12). However, Jekyll had gone on and stated that were he to be absent of disappear unexplainably for “any period exceeding three calendar months” then he said Mr. Hyde could take over the Jekyll’s property and give only a small sum to the doctor (Jekyll’s) household. As such, it is clear that Jekyll was devoted to allowing his evil side to thrive by securing its future even when his good side was gone. He invested his time and resources to do evil deeds at the expense of doing moral, transparent, humane, and worthwhile deeds.
The avoidance of friends and company gives someone the opportunity to do evil deeds unnoticed. Jekyll had avoided his two oldest friends, Utterson and Dr. Lanyon in order to act evil. Dr. Lanyon states, “I see little of him nowit is more than ten years since Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me.” (Stevenson, 14). In another incident, visits a building that Hyde frequents and finds that the building is Jekyll’s laboratory attached at the back of his house. Jekyll, who had assumed the form of the evil Mr. Hyde, hesitates to come out and meet Utterson (Stevenson, 18). The lesser the number of people, Jekyll associated with, the lesser the people he had to account for his time, involvements, resources and decisions. Lesser accountability and associations gave Jekyll more secrecy to nourish his evil character.
The secrecy that Jekyll upheld, nurtured his evil nature to commit inhumane and intolerable acts such the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. He attached Sir Danvers “with ape-like fury, and he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows under which bones were shattered” (Stevenson, 28). Jekyll’s act was so horrifying that the maid who witnessed Sir Danver’s murder fainted. Unlike in the first accidental incident, when Jekyll trampled on a girl in the street, the murder of Sir Danver’s points to a brutal and heartless criminal. As such, Jekyll’s secrecy of previous incidents had strengthened his evil nature while his good nature was quickly degenerating.
Jekyll hides his intentions and pretends to appear friendly and sociable when he intends to recruit someone to maintain his secrets. He first pretends to have ended his relationship with Hyde. “I bind my honor to you that I am done with him in this world” (Stevenson, 33). Jekyll conceals Hyde by stating that indeed he knew him (Hyde) more than Utterson did and that Hyde would “never more be heard of” (Stevenson, 33). The truth of the matter was that Jekyll wanted to maintain his secrecy of ill intentions. Jekyll had gone to the extent of writing a letter to allege that Hyde had written to him asking that they part ways. These great measures to conceal the ill intentions secured Hyde (Jekyll’s evil side) and gave it courage to commit crimes that were more heinous.
When Jekyll realizes that he had nourished his evil side so strongly by maintaining secrecy, he confesses to having parted ways with Mr. Hyde. The now strong character of Mr. Hyde takes over the remaining bits of Jekyll’s enviable character. Jekyll had secluded himself in his laboratory. He could not hide any longer and the guilt of hiding behind the scientifically maneuvered Mr. Hyde, caused Jekyll to commit suicide. In a letter to Utterson, Jekyll explains how he allowed Hyde to overrule him. Interestingly Hyde has taken over Jekyll’s life, and he terminates Jekyll’s life. Hyde concludes the letter with the following words “as I lay down my pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end” (Stevenson, 96).
Everyone has an evil, and a good side to their personality and each person can suppress the evil side while nourishing the good side. The more a person chooses to do good deeds of kindness, transparency, love, helpfulness, and care, the more that person nourishes the good side, which thrives. However, if a person chooses to nourish the evil or the dark side, by being uncaring, unkind, selfish, corrupt, and secretive then he nourishes the evil side much to the detriment of the good personality of that person. As evidenced by the case of Jekyll, who chose to maintain secrecy over his evil side, the evil nature (Hyde) grew stronger, caused him to commit heinous crimes, and eventually drove him to suicide. As such, allowing one’s evil side to thrive in secrecy is self-destructive and completely corrupts the morals of a person.
Works Cited
Stevenson Robert Louis The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Longman, Green and Co. London. 1886. Print
