Jekyll and Hyde The Face of Evil

Everyone is capable of great evil, inside all of us is the ability to do great good and great evil. The concept of evil and the duality of evil has fascinated audiences for generations. From Modern film characters like Darth Vader and Norman Bates to comic book characters such as the Batman Villain Two Face and the Spider-man Villain the Green Goblin. This idea is most famously illustrated in the classic Robert Louise Stevenson Novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This classic Horror Novella presents the idea that a persons evil impulses are manifested in a completely separate person independent from Doctor Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde. But is this really how evil is? Are our evil impulses just apart of who we are? Or are our evil impulses separate from us like a virus infecting our good side?

The novella came about from Stevenson’s interest in the duality of man. “a horror story that prefigured The Master of Balantrae’s fascination with the darker side of human nature and reflected his long- standing interest in the idea of a double life. (Pg 1676)”. Stevenson like many in the Victorian Age was very interested in the psychology of the human mind, the id the ego and the super ego. In his work The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde we see this duality presented in our titular character Doctor Henry Jekyll. Jekyll represents the ideal victorian gentleman. He is intelligent, very hardworking has amassed a vast education and holds a respectable position in society. When we the reader are introduced to Jekyll it is from the point of view of…