Category: 2014 Blog Post

“My two natures had memory in common, but all other faculties were most unequally shared between them. Jekyll (who was composite) now with the most sensitive apprehensions, now with a greedy gusto, projected and shared in the pleasures and adventures of Hyde; but Hyde was indifferent to Jekyll, or but remembered him as the mountain bandit remembers the cavern in which he conceals himself from pursuit.” (p 48)

This passage, to me shows the intertwined important relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The author is talking about how he feels the pressure to choose between the two personalities, that in a way support the other. There is an internal and external struggle taking place; this in turn creates a lack of balance. The shapes and identities between the two are shown here fully in this passage. Hyde and Jekyll represent the mountain bandit and the cavern that protects and hides the true identity. He hides behind the cleaner persona, allowing only one side to be shown at a time. I really enjoyed this passage because it relates to the larger picture of the novel pertaining to how we as humans are always concealing one side of ourselves. It relates back to the class’s ideologies because in our image based world it is extremely difficult for some people to show their true selves. The language shows the hidden message behind the passage by using words such as unequally, sensitive, and indifferent; these are all ways we can use to describe someone. Perhaps we do not view them as equals, maybe we think they are sensitive, or we are completely indifferent to them all together. In this scenario Hyde is indifferent to Jekyll and does not view him on the same level. Many people do this everyday to the other and sometimes solely based on sexual orientation. This makes people hide or conceal aspects of themselves that society does not deem normal.

 

Although The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a fictional story, so many people can relate to a tumultuous relationship between a father and son, or parent and child.

The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde can be summed up as, “Jekyll had more than Father’s interest; Hyde had more than a son’s indifference.” (59) This passage comes from Henry Jekyll’s Statement of the Case, which outlines the story of how Hyde came to life. Jekyll and Hyde are technically the same person and share the same space in the universe and their existence but exist in different physical forms and identities. Each character looks at the other in similar ways as a father to a son.

This quote can be looked at both literally and hypothetically. Dr. Jekyll spawned Hyde, much like a father spawns a son. The words interest and indifferent speak both to the characters of Jekyll and Hyde respectively. Jekyll can be identified as a man of quality character and develops interest into creating a life form that allows him to play out his negative urges. Though Hyde never narrates the story for himself and says very little throughout the story, the reader can pick up on a feeling of indifference towards his negative behaviors since he is able to make his violent choices while relying on the return to Jekyll’s appearance which acts as a safe haven; this is until Jekyll is no longer able to sustain his own identity.

The theme of identity plays an important role throughout literature, love, and life.

“Even as good shone upon the countenance of one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other.  Evil besides (which I must still believe to be the lethal side of man) had left on that body an imprint of deformity and decay” (pg 45.)

Most simply, this passage is referring to the two sides of Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll.  It describes how evidently evil and good his two personas were, respectively.  The passage claims that evil had literally made an “imprint of deformity and decay” on Mr. Hyde’s person.  However, the more interesting part of this passage does not come from its literal meaning.  What drew me to this passage was the dichotomy presented of the good and evil that exists in every person.  The passage claims that good and evil are entirely distinguishable and yet it is common knowledge that every human has both good and evil sides.  Another particularly interesting moment is when the speaker feels the need to point out that evil may not necessarily be bad or “lethal.”  While it is his personal belief is that evil is in fact bad, the fact that he notifies the reader of his opinion at all, rather than relying on a general understanding of the term evil, is unusual and draws attention to this particular passage.

This passage is led me to consider two interesting theories.  The first is that, while humans are composed of multiple sides and traits, only those that are “imprint[ed]” on our bodies (those that are physically manifested) may serve as identifiers to those around us.  As good and evil appear so glaringly when physically manifested, according to this passage, a person will be categorized as “good” or “evil” based on their appearances when, in reality, they may contain qualities of both sides.  Secondly, the passage draws our attention to the fact that the meanings of words are fluid and ever changing.  This passage caused me to question whether or not “evil” always means the same thing.  I would say no, that its definition is ever changing depending on the context it finds itself in.  While in this context evil may mean lethal, in many others it does not.  Following that logic, even the labels we push onto other people based on how they present themselves to the world can’t truly serve their intended purpose, for, like“evil”, they too are just words whose definitions are fluid and ever changing.

“All things therefore seemed to point to this: that I was slowly losing hold of my origin and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse. Between these two, I now felt I had to choose. My two natures had memory in common, but all faculties were must most unequally shared between them.” (48)

The beginning of “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case” leading up to this passage explores the details of Jekyll’s struggle with who he is versus who wishes to be. When he says “Between these two, I now felt I had to choose”, he realizes that it is impossible for him to continue living with both combinations of good and evil and soon or later he will be forced to choose.

“Slowly” is repeated twice, along with “two”, and between”. These words are repeated because they are significant to his current struggle. Jekyll is battling between himself and it is slowly driving him to a place where the only way the conflict can be put to rest is by choosing one or the other.

This specific passage was intriguing to me because it is very relatable to the topic of identity. When I think of Identity I think of  who I am, and when I think of who I am my thoughts  transfer to what kind of person I want to be in order to be proud with who I am. In Jekyll’s case he wants to be good but struggles internally with evil and I think we can all relate with wanting to be a certain way but struggling with road blocks that enable us to be the way we envision ourselves.

“Many a man would have blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame.” (42)

This quote is directly explaining why Jekyll wanted to explore the “Hyde” or “evil” side of the person he had become. Society has a moral code that Jekyll knew he must follow, yet at the same time he had inner thoughts and feelings that conflicted with the societal norm. He felt shamed by his desires and knew he must suppress them. This created a monster within Jekyll- Hyde-that eventually needed to be let loose.

The language used in this quote highlights the extreme shame Jekyll was feeling. The words Stevenson uses to describe Jekyll’s irregularities- that Jekyll was guilty of irregularities, the morbid sense of shame- all have a negative connotation to them. Guilty is usually used to describe the verdict of a crime and is extremely harsh. Morbid is daunting and depressing. This demonstrates Jekyll was feeling extreme shame because of what society would have done to him had they found out about his irregularities.

This quote is a very telling part of the novel as we see how Hyde was born. Hyde had not always been within Jekyll. He was formed within Jekyll years after Jekyll’s birth. My realization is that society is to blame for the creation of the monster. As Warner wrote in the “Trouble with Normal,”

“All too commonly, people think not only their own way of living is right, but that it should be everyone else’s moral standard as well.” (4)

we see that society dictates what is normal and what is irregular.Why do we accept this? Why does almost everyone feel the need to at least try to fit into what society dictates to be the perfect mold? Jekyll was forced to hide his irregularities just as many of us do to fit into society. We all have our own Hyde’s within us, hiding from societal norms; we just do not let them out to explore.

 

 

 

“I am painfully situated, Utterson; my position is a very strange- a very strange one. It is one of those affairs that cannot be mended by talking,” (13).

The passage is demonstrative of the awkward position in which Dr. Jekyll sits. It is evident that Jekyll’s situation cannot be discussed because of the horror that it evokes, but it also becomes pertinent when discussed in the context of his personal internal battle. A classic (but more realistic) case of a man vs. himself conflict is both the cause and the effect of this ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ complex.

“A very strange,” is repeated twice, to emphasize the abnormality of his situation, but also to make Utterson and the reader even more curious as to what is happening. The words ‘painfully,’ ‘strange,’ and ‘mended,’ stick out to me, as I feel that they go hand in hand. Pain is something that we as humans try to avoid or fix, and doctors are usually the people whom we seek out to “mend our pain.” This is significant because Jekyll, a doctor, cannot seem to mend himself, and instead, slips further and further into an evil impostor of himself who seeks to fulfill his strange “un-doctorly” desires. This brings oppositional irony into play, in conjunction with the strands of similar words.

The excerpt implies that Jekyll knows that what he does is sick and strange, but he cannot stop doing it. It seems almost as an addiction to wrong-doings, but drastic measures to ensure that his “good” reputation is not tainted. It ties in with identity and the fact that people cannot suppress who they are (or even half of who they are) without some sort of unfavorable consequence. The internal battle will prove to be far too overpowering and self-destructive.

“He had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face. The rosy man had grown pale; his flesh had fallen away; he was visibly balder and older; and yet it was not so much these tokens of a swift physical decay that arrested the lawyers notice, as a look in the eye and quality of manner that seemed to testify to some deep-seated terror of the mind” (23).

Poole is going to see Dr. Lanyon in his office and he notices physical differences that lead him somewhere deeper in recognition. He eyes up Dr. Lanyon and looks past what is obvious to him and begins to find things arbitrary to even Dr. Lanyon’s knowledge on the basis of identity and being. It is this power of ‘soul searching’ that allows Poole to derive such a heartfelt, detailed conclusion from a mere look past physical attributes, into Dr. Lanyon’s eyes and ultimately into his personal sensory systems.

There is an interesting theme of identity in this passage, derived through atypical methodology using personal detective skills, where one looks past the being and into the human. This “deep seated terror of the mind” was not found through a personal endeavor of searching, instead it as found through the use of an outsider: Poole. This idea is fascinating; where personal feeling and identity is sometimes beyond the eyes of the beholder.

Dr. Lanyon’s identity, surfaced and solidified by the searching of Poole demonstrates the overall idea that sometimes one cannot see what his/her surrounding human beings can. At the end of the novel, this epiphany arises, where one discovers that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, and this quote is important to this epiphany of identity. Jekyll and Hyde are more than less understood as one, yet clearly encompass two separate identities. This is a help or hinder question: could the uniqueness of an identity crisis such as this be a tragedy or a blessing to the quality of life or the scale of shame? AND what is it about the “quality of manner” that requires so much searching?