Reputation in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

One of the major themes in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde relates to the Victorian anxiety over reputation. This can especially be seen in Dr. Jekyll’s reasoning for experimentation and his need for an escape. The following quote clearly reveals Dr. Jekyll feeling the unspoken need to behave in a certain manner: “Many a man would have even 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.”(pg 42) This obviously led to him seeking a type of outlet for his inappropriate desires, however he released a lifetime of pent-up frustrations and “…shook the doors of the prisonhouse of my disposition; and, like the captives of Philippi, that which stood within ran forth.” (pg 45)  Similarly, this occurred when Dr. Jekyll stopped allowing Mr. Hyde to take over for two months and “…I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught.” (pg 49) In examining Dr. Jekyll’s propensity to escape into the character of Mr. Hyde the argument can be made that Mr. Hyde is the literal physical manifestation of hidden Victorian identities and desires because of the strict Victorian societal structure that controlled every aspect of a person’s life. Contrarily, Dr. Jekyll represents the ideal public image of a Victorian citizen with a good reputation.