Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Book Analysis

“In each of us, two natures are at war – the good and the evil. All our lives the fight goes on between them... But in our own hands lies the power to choose – what we want most to be we are.” (Stevenson) In Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a respected and intelligent doctor, Dr. Jekyll, struggles with the restricted structure of the Victorian area, and sets out to create a potion to fufill his visual perspective of a joyful and worry-free life. In doing so, he transforms into his sinister alter ego Mr. Hyde, who has no respect for the rules and morals of society. Jekyll's relationship with Hyde first started out nicely, with Jekyll frequently using Hyde as his regular escape whenever he felt like braking from his established character traits. But as time went on, he soon started to realize Hyde and his growing desires for evil started to spiral out of control, which ultimately led to both Jekyll and Hyde's end.

At the beginning of Jekyll's transforming calamity, he truly did not view Hyde as a problem. In fact, he felt major satisfaction in being able to separate the good and bad desires within him, with every time Jekyll transformed into his evil twin, he always "felt younger, lighter, happier in body." (Stevenson 54) Finally being free from preserving the expectation of perfectionism the Victorian men had at the time. Jekyll's perception started out as a great fondness towards Hyde, as he "sincerely [took] a great, a very great interest in that young man." (Stevenson 19) Even after an incident that occurred in which Hyde "trampled calmly over [a] child's body" (Stevenson 7), Jekyll still believed that there was still hope in his experiment, that it would soon prove to be truly efficient to humanity.

When it comes to the main aspect in Jekyll and Hyde's relationship, it consistently revolves around who would be the main one in charge. Jekyll would usually be the one to make the decisions on what to do. So when the tragic murder of Sir Danvers occurred, and he realized that his sinister half was getting stronger and harder to control, "as though the body of Edward Hyde had grown in structure." (Stevenson 59) He soon decided to stop using the potion, "and thus [Hyde's] conscience slumbered."(Stevenson 57). Although he was able to stop Hyde's evil intentions for a period of time, he was not able to withhold out Hyde's ambitions, lurking deep within him forever. The desires to disobey and break free from the restrictions from his moral attributes were getting stronger as time went on, so like a sinner falling into the temptations of the Devil, he went straight back into his addiction and took the potion, realizing the beast within him once again.

What started as a nice relationship Jekyll had with Hyde, is now flourishing into a growing hate towards him, "my evil, kept me awake by ambition, was alert and swift to seize the occasion; and the thing that was projected was Edward Hyde." (Stevenson 56). With his two composites fighting within themselves. "Jekyll now with the most sensitive apprehensions [also has] the greedy gusto" (Stevenson 59) of Hyde. As Jekyll's morals started to slowly dwindle away, he soon realized there was no way to refrain from Hyde madness and that he was going to keep growing until he had complete control over his body. Which led to the only solution Jekyll could do of out of desperation, suicide.

In conclusion, Jekyll and Hyde both started out as having a symbiotic relationship, separating the good and bad intentions and creating the pleasureful worry-free life Jekyll had always dreamed of. But as time went on, Hyde's growing desires for evil started to slowly take over him and he was unable to control the constant temptations within. The reader would never agree with Jekyll's intentions of being able to change what was already written into place, modifying it to make it his imaginary utopia, his ambitions ultimately led to his downfall and, in the end, his death.