Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Title: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre: Thriller
Special notes: A dark and complex novel

Usually, we tend to suppress our evil side, our secure but dark side in order to live among others in a blind harmony. This book takes that idea one notch further and brings to life the duality of man not just in his mind but also among others.
You cannot hear the name Mr. Hyde without thinking of the inner self, of the false doppelganger that does much more than living with us, it becomes a part of us and dictates the way we act, feel and live. In the same manner, the name Dr. Jekyll stands as a pedestal of constant redemption, of pity and he is the true mirror to our feelings. Needles to say they are the same person: one wreaks havoc and the other lives with the guilt.
The novel begins with a discussion between Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, and his friend, Mr. Enfield; this discussion is mainly about a door, a symbol of mystery and possible change and this is the pretext to introduce Mr. Hyde. This is an effective way to present a character and to keep him in the mist of secrecy until the readers crave the truth. The action of the book must by read and I don’t intend to cover it in this review.
The plot is a razzmatazz of uncertainties, written for people thirsty for mystery and it doesn’t seem to hint at the palpable; this burdens the reader with a strange feeling, given the fact that the book is quite short – under 100 pages.
Each chapter’s title hints at something evil, powerful and enigmatic and this influence is clear throughout the book as it aids the action and strengthens the will of the reader. Titles such as “Story of the door”, “Incident of the letter” or “The last night” seem to be Stevenson’s way to pay homage to Edgar Allan Poe and we are prepared for the uncertain.
Hyde is the character that is truly complex, that is too powerful and he refuses to take part in one’s game. He has a will of his own and he will not become astray just for our entertainment. He is the one who refuses to be a dream, he refuses to be the other persona of Dr. Jekyll, he defies him. Hyde isn’t typical of horror/thriller stories because he doesn’t feel the need of vengeance but simply the need of violence, of malevolence and he doesn’t have a purpose to fulfill. His existence coincides with the existence of pure, undiminished evil.
Dr. Jekyll, on the other hand, seems to be an old man blinded by knowledge with a dangerous idea: to separate the good from the evil and to create a pure identity. Noble as it is, this goal, once it is fulfilled, shatters his identity as a human and regresses from a doctor to a pitiful man who tries until the end to make all his mistakes right.
A story of psychology and evil, of purity and sanity, “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a well established classic in literature and it is a must read for anybody. I strongly recommend being clear headed while reading it as it may entrap you in a world for a longer time than you may expect.      

“It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date, even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil. It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous faggots were thus bound together –that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should continuously be struggling. How, then, were they dissociated?”

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