As stated above, Robert Louis Stevenson most likely attempted to convey the idea of how the two completely opposite sides of human nature balance out each other in the minds of people. In fact, this theme seems to have two sides to it, two lessons from the same phrase. The first message that the author was trying to convey is that having too much of any one of the two qualities, especially the evil side, will completely destroy one’s reputation and future path in life. The second is that humans are, in fact, a combination of both, simply stated, good and bad. Stevenson portrayed the theme of the duality of human nature very clearly, especially in the last chapter when Dr. Jekyll revealed all the secrets in the whole mystery along with his
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“I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth….man is not truly one, but truly two.” (pg. 61) Stevenson, like his previous lesson, was very clear in making his message known by incorporating sentences like the preceding one in his story. The two values should be assimilated in one’s character because attempting to split them apart from each other is unnatural and should not be considered. “I embraced anew the restrictions of natural life.” (pg. 72) This next quote shows that Jekyll had finally realized that attempting to break the natural course of life is not beneficial and has severe consequences (for him, it led to death, more specifically death from madness). He said this because he found that, ultimately, there was absolutely no benefit in altering the ego of a human because it not only harmed the tester, but also greatly hurt the community and made it suffer scary outcomes. Even Dr. Jekyll plainly admits his experiment was pointless and needless and has left him in the most saddened of situations. “Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.” (pg. 78) This was actually the last sentence in the novel, as can be inferred by its “summing up of the story”. The quote shows that he was left in despair and finds no point in living further due to the secrets
“I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth….man is not truly one, but truly two.” (pg. 61) Stevenson, like his previous lesson, was very clear in making his message known by incorporating sentences like the preceding one in his story. The two values should be assimilated in one’s character because attempting to split them apart from each other is unnatural and should not be considered. “I embraced anew the restrictions of natural life.” (pg. 72) This next quote shows that Jekyll had finally realized that attempting to break the natural course of life is not beneficial and has severe consequences (for him, it led to death, more specifically death from madness). He said this because he found that, ultimately, there was absolutely no benefit in altering the ego of a human because it not only harmed the tester, but also greatly hurt the community and made it suffer scary outcomes. Even Dr. Jekyll plainly admits his experiment was pointless and needless and has left him in the most saddened of situations. “Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.” (pg. 78) This was actually the last sentence in the novel, as can be inferred by its “summing up of the story”. The quote shows that he was left in despair and finds no point in living further due to the secrets