duality analysis

• What is the central theme of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

  Duality of human nature
• When does the theme of dual human nature fully emerge in the novel?

  In the last chapter
• What does Jekyll claim about man's nature?

  Man is not truly one, but truly two
• How does Jekyll view the human soul?

  As a battleground for an angel and a fiend
• What is the outcome of Jekyll's potion?

  It brings Hyde into being without an angelic counterpart
• What happens to Jekyll by the end of the novel?

  He ceases to exist as Hyde takes over
• What does the theory suggest about man's essential nature?

  Man is primarily the primitive creature embodied in Hyde
• How is Hyde described in the novel?

  As hairy, ugly, and animalistic
• What does Utterson call Hyde?

  A "troglodyte" or primitive creature
• What does Hyde's enjoyment of crime suggest about his nature?

  He is deliberately immoral rather than amoral
• How does Hyde behave in relation to the moral law?

  He knows the moral law and enjoys breaching it
• What does the text imply about civilization's nature?

  Civilization has its dark side
• What does Stevenson leave open regarding human nature?

  The question of what constitutes its two aspects
• What might the two aspects of human nature represent?

  Evil and virtue, or inner animal and civilization
• What are the key elements of the duality theme in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

  • Jekyll's assertion of duality
  • The struggle between angel and fiend
  • Hyde's emergence and takeover
  • The implications of civilization's dark side
  • The open-ended nature of human aspects