Analysis Of Robert Lewis Stevenson's The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

The human psyche is much too convoluted for us to begin unravelling and learning about to a deep level. Robert Lewis Stevenson’s novel, The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, attempts to describe a more peculiar aspect of the human mind: split personalities. Furthermore, there seems to be a struggle for power between the split personalities, a struggle over who controls the “external” psyche that society actually sees. To me, Stevenson is trying to relate to us, in a sense, that there are different ways to interpret the same person and to ascertain their “true” personalities.

During Utterson and Enfield’s stroll during the evening, they come across a dinghy house that is a stark contrast to the rich and lively neighborhood around it. …show more content…
It inspires a sense of eeriness and mysteriousness in me because of the large difference and the way Stevenson describes it. It also gives a foreshadowing into Dr.Jekyll’s underlying demeanor and gives us a peek into his dark side and how evil his hidden personality is. The front side of this building shows “nothing but a door on the lower story and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper;” (Stevenson 32) which signals an uninviting appearance because of the bareness and only one entrance. It’s as if whoever owns the house doesn’t want people to find out what is being held inside. This building works as a conduit to describe of the peculiar case of Jekyll and Hyde. This is made evident later on when we find out that this building, which houses the “Hyde part” is connected to the “Jekyll part” but is also hidden away from society. The way the language is used to describe the building and how there are “marks of prolonged and sordid negligence” (Stevenson 32) deliniates how Jekyll kept Hyde “bottled” within him for a period of time, and so Hyde festered, making the man, as a whole, worse and worse. Throughout the novel, Utterson tries to point out that it is only Jekyll/Hyde that have this type of freak occurrence. However, going a bit deeper into the novel makes me realize that there is a chance that Stevenson wants us to realize that maybe there is some kind of personality …show more content…
He says how he can’t quite place a solid “definition” on Hyde and how his outer facet is “something displeasing, something downright detestable.” (Stevenson 35). But, Enfield recognizes something hidden behind it that he can’t easily ascertain. He believes that there is another way to see Mr.Hyde, a way to view the inner workings of his mind. This anecdote possibly awakens a sense of jealousy in Enfield and Utterson because they can’t let out their “Hydes” as they are too bound by societal rules and reputations. They worry about the consequences of being found out before carrying out the actions to relieve themselves of the tension. The language used in this incident signals the frustration or jealousy because Enfield isn’t not able to specifically point out the misgivings about Hyde but he continues to spurn him. Enfield describes Hyde as “a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why” (Stevenson 35) and Utterson picks up this frustration about the mystery of Hyde and takes it to a higher level. He goes pseudo-detective and tries to figure out the connection between Mr.Hyde and Dr.Jekyll, since they seem so mysteriously intertwined. The way he acts and the language used to describe it signals that Utterson wants to figure out the reason behind the connection and possibly figure out a way he can also be like