Theme Of Addiction In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

The form of addiction presented in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde presents the reader with a theme of addiction to enhance the more straightforward good versus evil motif in the novella. Dr. Jekyll’s addiction presents a lure to the elixir which changes his previous Victorian gentleman status and seems to isolate him from this previous being. The alteration of him is explored throughout the story as the nature of Dr. Jekyll changes once Mr. Hyde begins to take control. The titles given in their social class is important to the hierarchy of the two halves of Dr. Jekyll as he and Mr. Hyde are further distanced other than mere personality and physicality. The morality of the addiction is also under suspect …show more content…
Hyde with the gentlemanly statured men of the novella like Mr. Utterson and the lesser extent, Dr. Jekyll. The addiction plagued by a man of stature is seen throughout this story and the true gentlemen nature of Mr. Utterson is seen in comparison to the declining health of the doctor. Mr. Utterson in the beginning narration is described that it “was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men” (Stevenson 1) showing some of his courteous traits while the addicted Dr. Jekyll is described by his change in public gentlemanly nature (and subsequently health declining) when seeing Utterson as “he did not rise up to meet his visitor, but held out a cold hand, and bade him welcome in a changed voice” (Stevenson 18). The reunion of these two characters and this point marks the beginning of what the reader sees of the coming addiction presented upon Dr. Jekyll. The two gentlemen can be compared with and soon the decline of Dr. Jekyll will be evident compared to the true gentleman. The consequences from the addiction to the elixir has Dr. Jekyll transforming into an ulterior self who represents a more primitive beast than the gentlemen of his former self. These traits are shown through the descriptions of Mr. Hyde who is described on multiple occasions as being seen as a “troglodyte” (Stevenson 10) and being described as having “the hand… corded and hairy” (Stevenson 51). The descriptions of Hyde being a primitive being shows the duality of the public gentlemen that Dr. Jekyll tries to embody and the private experiment let free that is Mr. Hyde. One more observation between these two is the change in not only evolutionary stature but in their social statures. Dr. Jekyll is seen through his title of doctor as being a man of education and substance while his alter-ego