MatthewArmstrong

Ms.Gardner
English10H,4
7November2015
ToHydeinPlainSight
Buzwell, Greg. "Man Is Not Truly One, but Truly Two: Duality in Robert Louis Stevensons
Strange

Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde."

British Library
. British Library Board, n.d. Web. 7 Nov.

2015.

In this analysis of
Jekyll and Hyde
, Greg Buzwell touches on the novels nature in representing
the duality of man in various ways. He explores the evolution of man, the timeless conflict
between multiple expressions of a single person, and the dualityofsocietyinitseffectonJekyll
and Hyde and its continuation even to today.Buzwellidentifiesthemorbidthemesof
Jekylland
Hyde
asdistinctlyhumanqualities.

This article helps to achieve anunderstandingofJekyllandwhathisactionsrepresentinalarger

view. The article shows that the urges that Jekyll indulges in as Hyde are distinctly human and
that everyone struggles with them at some point. The duality of man is not solely expressed by
Jekyll,butbyallofsociety.Jekyllsimplyfoundawaytocheatsociety.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder (MultiplePersonalityDisorder)."

PsychologyToday
.Psychology
Today,
n.d.Web.07Nov.2015.

This informative article on dissociative identity disorder, a disease formerly known as multiple
personalitydisorder,clearlyandsimplyexplainsthedefinitionandsymptomsofthisconditionin
a way that is easy to understand for someone who is unfamiliar with psychology. The article
states that dissociative identity disorder leads to multiple identities in a single person that are
entirelyindependentandofteninconflict.

To understand the meaning of

Jekyll and Hyde
, one must understand Jekylls actions. They are
often viewed as a representation of dissociative identitydisorderhowever,asthisarticleshows,
Jekyll does not in fact suffer from this condition. Hyde is not a separate identityinsidehimthat
hestruggleswith,butanidentitythathehascreatedtoexpresshisurges.

Nenadic,Stana."TheRiseofEdinburgh."
BBC
.BBC,17Feb.2011.Web.7Nov.2015.

This brief historical article tells the story of the rise of Edinburgh, Scotland. It tells of its early
beginnings and expansion into a powerful, productive, urban city that earned the name Athens
oftheNorth.Edinburghinthe1800shadanewandanoldside,alightanddark.

Having lived in Edinburgh in the 1800s, Stevenson experiencedthisurbancityandbothitslight

and dark sides. His experience with this dualistic nature of the city likely influencedhiswriting
of
JekyllandHyde
,astoryofamanwhoaltershisbeinginordertoexpresshisdarkerside.

Padnick, Steven. "What Everybody Gets Wrong About Jekyll and Hyde."
Tor
. Macmillan, 22
June
2012.Web.21Oct.2015.

In Padnicks articleaboutthe misunderstandingof

JekyllandHyde
,helaments thefactthatmost
people who read the novel believe that Hyde is a separate person from Jekyll. Supported by
evidence from the text, Padnick thinks that HydeisJekyll,simplyinadifferentbody.Thisbody
is what allows him to commit heinous acts, which were never possible for him because of his
social standing. Padnick also denounces the ideas that Jekyll and Hyde represent good and evil,
that Jekyll accidentally created Hyde, that Jekyll has no control over Hyde, and that Hyde is a
monster.

This article,despitebeingslightlyopinionated,is backedupheavilybythetext,meaningmostof

its points cannot be disputed.Itreflectsonthetruemeaningof
JekyllandHyde
,anditrepresents
that meaning well. The article argues that the novel is not about a struggle between good and
evil, but about the struggle to express ones evil. This tragic misunderstanding is the same
misunderstandingthatJekyllmakesandleadstohisdownfall.

"RobertLouisStevenson."
Bio
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,n.d.Web.7Nov.2015.

This short biography ofRobertLouisStevensondetailshislife,histravels, andmostimportantly

his writings. The biography reveals that Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but often
traveled across the world, and that he became a writer at the age of twentyeight. Stevenson
published
Jekyll and Hyde in 1886 to an eager audience after already building a reputation for
himself.

It is important to understand an author's life in order to understand their work. Robert Louis
Stevenson lived a life that was often full of adventure and travel, andmanyofhisnovels reflect
this. However,
Jekyll and Hyde is darkandmysteriousnovelthattakesplaceinanurbansetting.
This departure from the lighthearted nature of most of his work could be a result of changing
experiencesinhislifeorpossiblyadesiretorepresenthisownpsycheiswriting.

"The Victorian Age."

Dualism&Dualities
.LiceoScientificoStatale"DeCaprariis",n.d.Web.7
Nov.
2015.

This article gives the reader an idea of the duality that was present in Victorian society. It
highlights

the rigid morality of higher class people who had to present themselves as

respectable. Doctors, lawyers,andotherprofessionalshadtorepressanyandallurges inorderto

preserve their appearance. However, people of the lowerclassescouldleadlivesofpleasure and

vicewithnofearofscrutiny.

The duality of Victorian society is the central idea behind

Jekyll and Hyde
, for Jekyll, a
wellrespected doctor, must repress his urges in fear of ruining his reputation. To escape this
moral imprisonment, he creates a potion that changes his body into that of alowerclassmanof
appalling physical appearance. Although his body is altered, his mind remains the same, andhe
isabletoexpressallofhisviolentanddisgustingurgeswithnoconsequences.