Alcohol and the Dark Side in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
who concocts and drinks a potion so he can express his dark inner urges without feeling guilt or ruining his good reputation. He tries to quit, but becomes addicted to the potion and has to take increasingly large doses to achieve the desired effect. Throughout the story alcohol is used to explore characters personalities. For example, Mr. Poole does not drink and Mr. Utterson drinks responsibly. The scenes involving drinking highlights the dual actions of alcohol, just like good and evil in man. Alcohol can be a healthy stress reliever when used in very small quantities. However, when abused the dark side of alcohol emerges, lowering inhibitions and allowing a person to act out their repressed emotions. In the story, alcohol and the “potion” are used as symbols of the transformation that goes on between Dr. Jekyll's alter egos, which is created by equal parts addiction, the struggle between good and evil and unsuppressed violent desires.
In “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Wine is mentioned seventy-six times. Stevenson used alcohol and the potion as symbols for the duality of man, which is a major theme in the story. Like man, alcohol can be good and evil. Alcohol can be used to unlock repressed emotions. People are often described as “angry drunks”, or “Jekyll and Hyde”, having a different personality. The story explores the idea that everyone is good and evil and when their inhibitions are lowered, and they do not use some self-control, a part of their true self may come out. In the case of Dr. Jekyll, there was an evil part of him that the potion unleashed. Another way of looking at it would be that the potion was used as an excuse to really do what he wanted, to kill and express his evil emotions. In this way he was blaming it on the potion, in the same way many people justify or mitigate their actions when intoxicated. The scenes with alcohol explored the different ways and reasons why people consume alcohol and how it reflected on their personality. Ultimately, like many addicts, Dr. Jekyll dies. Mr. Hyde was always hidden inside Dr. Jekyll, the same way an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic even if they do not drink. A moral of the story is if you have a Mr. Hyde hiding inside you, it might be a good idea not to drink potions or alcohol.
Work Cited
Stevenson, Robert L. "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."Free Ebooks Online 42.09 (2005): 422. Web.
