In the midst of the 19th century European societies had faced a terrible crime wave. During these hard times they also faced significant intellectual, scientific and culture changes. As one Arthur wrote a story reflecting these events in his novel: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, shows the inner conflict of humanities sense of good and evil. It is believed that mankind is made up of both good and evil personalities. It is an ultimate struggle to try to portray and act upon the good we have inside of us without letting the thrills of the evil surface. Crimes committed by violence fueled by intellect and cultural beliefs of a person trying to purge evil and instead causing chaos.
In his novel society faced an incredible discovery of a mankind trying to understand what is good and what is evil. Dr. Jekyll believed good and evil exists within all of us. Through his experiments and research he was able to create a potion that will enable him to separate the differences in personality of good and evil. As he drank this potion he became warm and his conciseness filled of bliss but as a direct result the potion caused him to transform into the cruel remorseless evil Mr. Hyde. An evil personality and evil intellect Mr. Hyde creates a secret life full of cruel deeds like murders and gets a thrill out of committing violent acts. On the other hand, Jekyll is a well-respected doctor who is someone society would look up to. Periodically he reverts back to Dr. Jekyll but in the end he gets stuck in the form of Mr. Hyde while continuing to research he kills himself.
This could be reflected within religion. Religion teaches to choose between good or evil, it guides you through life teaching you lessons in which you're supposed to instill wisdom and knowledge. Throughout your life you are given trials in which if you choose to go through the wrong path, you must follow the consequences that subsequently follow. In the end, resulting in your spirit being tranquil and peaceful as opposed to a disturbed and mad spirit which gets no rest until pushed to the limit which in some people could result in suicide.
The novel is also known for its vivid portrayal of a split personality. It is portrayed that within each person there is both good and evil personalities. The novel has had such great impact in society's use of language, that the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" is used to describe a person who in different situations has two completely different moral characters.
The science behind this novel was in the finding of a former friend of Jekyll's, Hastie Lanyon. Lanyon disagrees with Jekyll's 'scientific' concepts and even goes as far as to say that his concepts are '...too fanciful'. Hyde transforms himself back to Jekyll in Lanyon's presence. However, Lanyon was first to uncover the true identity of Jekyll's evil side, Hyde. Lanyon later on witnesses the transformation process (from Jekyll to Hyde), he was in such a state of shock that he actually became ill to the point of death. As an embodiment of Victorian rationalism, materialism, and skepticism, Lanyon serves as a foil to Jekyll. Scientific societies were important arenas for the exchange of information gained through empirical experimentation.
Another instance that The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde amplify our views on society, is that in this society we are brought up to a certain family and are taught not to deviate and work to become someone important. Of course, the higher class people are expected to maintain a status quo and are viewed as respected and honored. These are people that you would look up to or expect to be intellectual. Dr. Jekyll reflects on that very well. He is a doctor who is clean-cut and well respected, also quite intellectual. This is someone who wouldn't have been expected to be like a double edged sword. His evil entity, Mr. Hyde, is more prone to violent mood swings and behaves erratically. The evil personality is so powerful and violent that it eventually leads him to kill two people without cause or motive. The evil becomes such chaos that he was driven to then commit suicide. He has a very rouged look and has longer hair. He is mostly described as a person who is poor and isn't led by good examples that grow into a life of crime and deceit. These people are people who are more prone to struggle with trying to be good in an evil world. Dr. Jekyll experienced this war within himself which led to suicide, a very unfortunate ending because in the beginning of the novel although Dr. Jekyll was more prone to evil doings was surrounded by his work and help to the society which helped him refrain from any wrong doings. However, he was unable to maintain his good behavior which is usually the case in society.
As Dr. Jekyll takes the form of Mr. Hyde, he is abhorrent to Victorian religious morality. Hyde was simply engaging in the types of activities that a man of Dr. Jekyll's stature. For example, Hyde participates in burglary, walking the streets all night, and even engaging with prostitutes. He seems to get the most pleasure in committing acts of violence. Hyde even goes as far as attacking Sir Danvers Carew, for no apparent reason, and eventually killing him. He was then viewed as an outlaw throughout all of England.
In conclusion of the novel, European societies learned about current changes and challenges of intellectual and scientific deeds. These changes were not only in good but also in evil that reflect well in the novel. The challenges of intellectual and scientific deeds in the 19th century and the book showed traces of violence within the experiments. Violence seemed to be the key drive to evil. History will forever be tainted by the research and results of this novel.
Reference and bibliography
16. Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror.2002
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror.2002
Wikipedia. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde#Adaptations
