Thursday, July 18, 2019

How Stevenson Depicts the Relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

How Stevenson Depicts the Relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson wanted to gradually show the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde in his story. It does not state until the end of the story that they are in fact the same person, he instead leaves it for people to work out for themselves, with a brief explanation at the end of the book. For most of the story, nobody can explain their relationship, as they are never seen together. People are confused as to how they know each other and became such good friends. Clues are given throughout the story that they are the same person; not enough to guess on your own, but so that it all makes sense in the end. These clues include the fact that Hyde once goes into Jekyll's home and takes out Jekyll's chequebook to pay out of Jekyll's bank account. People found this very strange, 'a man does not, in real life, walk into a cellar door at four o'clock in the morning and come out of it with another man's cheque'. This gives the idea that they must be very close friends to share a bank account, or that Jekyll would give Hyde entry to his account. Their relationship is depicted as business-like, and as if they have known each other for a long time. The latter part of this is true in a way. The have an interesting relationship, they need each other to live. Hyde uses Jekyll as a body to carry out his evil and Jekyll uses Hyde to get rid of his burning desires and stress, I think that Robert Louis Stevenson intended to use this in a way to show that they rely on each other and because one has begun to depend on the other, they could not live without each other even though they have so much hatred towards one another. At one point their relations... ... good idea from Robert Louis Stevenson as it gives a clearer impression to the readers about Jekyll and Hyde's relationship with each other and shows their personalities and how they differ. Another interesting way the existence of Hyde can be perceived is that he is the meaning of evil, 'that child of Hell' sent to destroy lives. One character saw himself as the person to hunt down evil, though in the end he was unsuccessful, 'If he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek', a clever play on words suggesting evil against good. Black is often linked with evil, Hyde is only used during the night time when it is dark and he has dark hair, as opposed to Jekyll only being himself in the light and having fair hair; another difference between them. His general appearance also looks evil to those who see it; Hyde's visage is described as 'Satan's signature on a face'.

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