duality

• | duality

  • novella is concerned w/ how an upstanding member of society can become a savage criminal
  • Stevenson SHOCKS the reader by first presenting Jekyll & Hyde as two separate characters, then revealing that they r same person
  • shows how 1 person can possess conflicting personalities
• | duality

  • Stevenson presents a Victorian London divided between strictly defined 'reputable' areas which are in close proximity to areas of poverty
  • through the theme of duality, Stevenson manipulates growing fears of human nature's capacity for evil
• | duality

  • “commingled out of good and evil"
  • "commingled" is the merging of 2 words 'combined' & 'mingled' to emphasise how it is impossible for humans to be only good or only evil, there will always be aspects of both in everyone's personality
  • Dr Jekyll reflects further on human nature by stating that "man is not truly one, but truly two".
• | Jekyll & Hyde

  • Jekyll & Hyde is most obvious form of duality
  • conflict between Dr Jekyll's innermost desires & his outward presentation of himself
  • this duality results in the creation of a different person: Mr Hyde.
• | Jekyll & Hyde

  • "duality of purpose"
  • Jekyll is divided between his duties as an upstanding member of society & his basal instincts
• | Jekyll & Hyde

  • Stevensons uses juxtaposing imagery to emphasise disparity between morals of Jekyll & Hyde. Mr Hyde is described as "that child of Hell".
  • "child" has connotations of innocence which is juxtaposed with the idea of "hell" which is a cess-pit of sin and is symbolic of corruption and evil
  • observation that Mr Hyde "had nothing human" evokes fear & hatred in reader who would have been terrified of the idea of 'devolution'.