Stevenson used many motifs throughout The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. The novel’s most prominent motifs are duality and opposites, which are repeated throughout every chapter. Duality derives its name from “dual”, which is two parts. These are the opposites of each other, as Stevenson later explains in his novel. Evil and good can be seen as opposite feelings. Sometimes, it may also be an influence that is meant to harm another person. Stevenson shows duality in his novel by demonstrating the difference between Dr. Jekyll’s personalities and switching from one person to the other. Evil and good are not distinct, but they are linked and established by one another.

Dr. Jekyll created a potion so he could express his feelings without feeling guilty. When Mr. Hyde presents a check to the family of the little girl, it is the first instance of duality. Utterson notices that everything is normal and realizes that Dr. Jekyll signed the check. Duality occurs now when Dr. Jekyll’s will is read. The will reads that Dr. Jekyll’s possessions ‘to be given to Edward Hyde’ Utterson, who is confused. This allows Mr. Hyde, to’step into the shoes of Dr. Jekyll…without any burden or obligation’. Utterson believed that, at least until he woke up the next night and dreamed of the trampled young girl. Utterson still has doubts about their connection. Guest compares Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde writings. Guest concludes that the handwriting is identical, but the slant is different. Utterson concluded that Dr. Jekyll forgave Mr. Hyde’s letter. Utterson discovers that Mr. Hyde has easy access to Dr. Jekyll’s Lab, where Jekyll is most productive and most at ease. All this leads to the conclusion that Dr. Jekyll is one person, but morally they are different. Jekyll leans towards the good, while Hyde leans toward the evil.

The chapter The Incident at the Window shows duality at the conclusion. Utterson & Enfield pass Hyde’s entrance one day. Now they know it leads to Jekylls’ laboratory. They decided that Dr. Jekyll would be a good friend and visited him at his window. They asked him about his health and began to converse with him. They had hoped to go on a walk together, but Jekyll was not keen to leave the house so they decided to remain where they were. Enfield, Utterson and others seemed to have noticed something while they were conversing. Jekyll saw the same thing and quickly closed the window to hide it. Stevenson shows the reader a glimpse of what is happening and closes the window to create suspense.

Utterson is greeted by Dr. Jekyll’s Butler who informs him of the problem. The servants arrive on the scene and are terrified. They can hear the voice of Jekyll and even a glimpse at who it was. It is not Jekyll. They determined that it was Hyde. But the mystery individual insists that they open the door. They break in and discover Hyde, who has poisoned him and a letter. Utterson was granted everything by a new testament. There was nothing to indicate that Jekyll existed. This section of Stevenson’s novel raises many questions. Jekyll, what happened? Why is Hyde still there? Why did Hyde move? This dramatizes the topic of duality: Hyde’s evilness/poison and Jekylls goodness/disappearance.

It has been proved that Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde and others are one person. Lanyon received a note stating that Jekyll had sent him stuff to retrieve and that someone would take it back later. Edward Hyde greeted Lanyon at his house. He asked Lanyon to get the liquid and if it was okay for him to stay and observe. He agreed to stay. Hyde then drank the potion. He becomes Henry Jekyll. The potion allows one to transform into the opposite. This information helps to resolve the tension between Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll relates his entire life and tells us why in a letter. He opened by revealing that he has been dishonest throughout his life. He also mentions that he invented a potion to create a second personality and body. It worked after he tried it. He made it possible for his second self to indulge in both modest pleasures and more sinister ones. He goes to bed as Jekyll one night, but wakes up in Hyde the next morning. Hyde is now his natural state. The story reaches its climax. Henry Jekyll is the good side of duality, while Edward hide is the bad. The good and the bad are not separate from one another. They are connected and established in each other’s bodies, just as Hyde and Jekyll have distinct personalities.

Citations

Goins, S. (2015). Eugenics, The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25748369/

Lueders and S. Stevenson, the Feminist: Flipped gender roles in Dr. Jekyll-and Mr. Hyde. (https://shelbylueders.com/2016/05/15/stevenson-the-feminist-flipped-gender-roles-in-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/)

Firmansyah, F. (2020). Gender Ambiguity and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strangecase of Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. LITERA KULTURA, 8(2). (https://jurnalmahasiswa.unesa.ac.id/index.php/42/article/view/35708)

Mills, K. (2004). The Stain in the Mirror: Pauline Reflections on The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. Christianity & Literature published an article in their 53rd volume that discussed the relationship between Christianity and literature, exploring the complex ways they intersect and overlap with each other (337-348). (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/014833310405300303)

Gatt, C. (2005). Psychoanalysis and duality, Stevenson’s ‘The strange Case of Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde’and David Lynch’s film ‘Blue velvet’ (Bachelor of Philosophy, University of Malta). (https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/85157)