Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Date of First Publication: 5 January 1886
Place of Publication: London, UK: Longmans, Green & Co.
Bibliographic Reference: isfdb
Type: Novel
Keywords: ANDROID; BYRONIC HERO; FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER; POSTHUMAN; QUEER
Critical Summary: The narrative follows Mr. Utterson, a lawyer and friend of Dr. Jekyll, speaking with his cousin and fellow lawyer, Mr. Enfield. Mr. Enfield tells Mr. Utterson of a settlement between the family of a trampled child and the perpetrator by the name of Hyde. Later on, Mr. Utterson meets Hyde upon receiving Jekyll’s will; the will leaves everything to Mr. Hyde, prompting Utterson to believe that Hyde plans on killing Jekyll. Utterson confronts Jekyll, who explains that he doesn’t want Utterson’s acceptance of Hyde, he only wants his will to be carried out. Upon Hyde murdering a highly-regarded official, Jekyll goes into a state of depression and claims that he’s done with Hyde. A letter indicates that Hyde and Jekyll have the same handwriting, convincing Utterson of Hyde’s presumed intention of blackmailing and eventually murdering Jekyll as well.
Dr. Lanyon, a colleague and friend of Jekyll and Utterson, badly shaken by something he learns about Jekyll, leaves a letter with Utterson to be opened in the case of Jekyll’s death or disappearance. Lanyon dies of shock not long after. Jekyll secludes himself In his lab for weeks. When Utterson breaks in, he finds Hyde, who has committed suicide. The final two chapters are told through the perspectives of Lanyon and Jekyll, respectively, through letters written to clear the air. It’s finally revealed that Dr. Jekyll discovered a drug that could separate the binary of personality: good and evil. Jekyll and Hyde are the same person: the monster and the scientist are one.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde embodies both the Creator and the monster as one in the same. In conversation with Frankenstein, it can be argued that Victor Frankenstein was also a monstrous character for having created the creature and neglected it, allowing it to run amuck. However, Jekyll and Hyde are inseparable, occupying the same space with similar bouts of paranoia in regard to each other. Likewise, both novels describe the process of the Creator losing control over the result of their morbid curiosities. The moment the creature awakens, Frankenstein flees in immediate regret and horror. Jekyll, unfortunately is unable to flee; in fact, in contrast with Dr. Frankenstein’s disgust for his creature, Jekyll expresses affection for Hyde. The scene described by Lanyon, when he discovers the fruits of Jekyll’s research, details the horrors of the transformation from Hyde to Jekyll. Hyde’s body shifts, expands, and melts away to reform into Jekyll; the gruesome detail, which Lanyon is unable to recover from, is reminiscent of the experiences of childbirth—body parts shifting and expanding to welcome a new being. Furthermore, in Jekyll’s account—the very last chapter—he states that upon transforming for the first time, he was instantly delighted at his success and his opposite form. Jekyll revealed that he was never ashamed of Hyde’s antics, implying the necessity of his darker side, although he tried to take responsibility in righting Hyde’s wrongs. Between Jekyll and Hyde, there is a generational narrative to be told, similarly to Frankenstein: Hyde and Frankenstein’s monster are their Creators’ legacy; but the Creators’ demise signals the failure of their misfits to find a place in the world.
Administrative Notes: J.D. Mayfield, CSUF. Edited by Gareth O’Neal and Melanie Yogurtian, CSUF.