Exemplar Essay: Duality

Read the following extract from Chapter 10 and then answer the question that follows.

In this extract, Jekyll reflects on his reaction to seeing himself in the body of Hyde for the first time.

I must here speak by theory alone, saying not that which I know, but that which I

suppose to be most probable. The evil side of my nature, to which I had now

transferred the stamping efficacy, was less robust and less developed than the good

which I had just deposed. Again, in the course of my life, which had been, after all,

nine tenths a life of effort, virtue and control, it had been much less exercised and

much less exhausted. And hence, as I think, it came about that Edward Hyde was so

much smaller, slighter and younger than Henry Jekyll. Even as good shone upon the

countenance of the one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other.

Evil besides (which I must still believe to be the lethal side of man) had left on that

body an imprint of deformity and decay. And yet when I looked upon that ugly idol in

the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. This, too,

was myself. It seemed natural and human. In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the

spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided

countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine. And in so far I was

doubtless right. I have observed that when I wore the semblance of Edward Hyde,

none could come near to me at first without a visible misgiving of the flesh. This, as I

take it, was because all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of

good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.

Starting with this extract, how does Stevenson present the idea of duality?

Write about:

● how Stevenson presents the idea of duality in this extract

● how Stevenson presents the idea of duality in the novel as a whole.

[30 marks]

Example essay:

Stevenson presents Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde as complete opposites in their physical form, which represents the duality of their characters: one represents good and one represents evil.

Stevenson juxtaposes the faces of Jekyll and Hyde, suggesting that ‘good shone’ from Jekyll’s face and that ‘evil was written broadly’ on Hyde’s face. The imagery created in these words suggests that warmth, politeness and respectability radiate from Jekyll’s face, whereas Hyde’s face is the image of pure evil. Stevenson also writes that Hyde’s body contains an ‘imprint of deformity and decay.’ The words ‘deformity’ and ‘decay’ suggest that Hyde’s physical features are grotesque and rotten, reflecting the corruption in his character. This contrasts with descriptions of Jekyll’s physical appearance earlier in the novel, when Stevenson describes his face as ‘handsome’ and ‘smooth’. Stevenson could have been influenced by Cesare Lombroso, who linked criminal activity with physical features. The implication in these descriptions is that Hyde’s physical appearance makes it obvious that he is an evil character, destined to commit criminal acts. Stevenson describes Hyde’s form as ‘much smaller, slighter and younger’ than Jekyll’s. The implication is that Hyde is far less developed than Jekyll, as Jekyll has only just begun to embrace his evil side, whereas he has been working hard to maintain his respectable side for most of his life. Stevenson could have been influenced by Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which proposed that humans had evolved from animals. Hyde is the more animalistic character - more inclined to commit acts that would be considered evil by human standards.

In the novel as a whole, Stevenson makes it clear that Jekyll struggles with his duality; it is this struggle that first drives Jekyll to create Hyde and, in the end, causes him to commit suicide in order to kill Hyde. The reader learns in Jekyll’s full statement of the case that he believes ‘man is not truly one but truly two’, capable of both good and evil acts. Jekyll himself feels divided into two personalities. On the one hand, he wishes to maintain his reputation as a well respected doctor. On the other, he wishes to indulge in his ‘pleasures’ - things that would not have been considered moral by other respectable Victorian gentleman. By creating Hyde, Jekyll no longer needs to struggle in this way. He realises that he can indulge in his secret ‘pleasures’ in the disguise of a different person. Stevenson contrasts the delight that Jekyll experiences while he is Hyde with the guilt he feels after committing his crimes in order to demonstrate how divided humans can be. Jekyll states that he ‘tasted delight with every blow’ when he murdered Sir Danvers Carew. This powerful, violent imagery of the brutal murder emphasises the enjoyment that Jekyll felt in the moment. However, afterwards he feels terrible guilt and temporarily suspends the transformations. Ultimately, Jekyll is forced to commit suicide in order to prevent Hyde from committing any further crimes. In trying to divide his personality and embrace his duality, Jekyll has lost all control. Stevenson could be suggesting that the standards of behaviour in Victorian society, which forced immoral acts underground or behind closed doors, could have terrible consequences.

Stevenson uses settings in the novel to symbolise duality. Whereas Jekyll’s house is in a wealthy, respectable part of London, Hyde’s apartment is in Soho. Whereas Jekyll’s house is described as ‘warm’ and ‘comfortable’, Soho is described as ‘dismal’. Just like the opposites in Jekyll and Hyde’s personalities, the places in which they live also seem to be opposites. In the Victorian era, Soho was considered a slum, and was a place where many of the poorest people in London lived and where drinking and prostitution were rife. It became notorious as a place where gentlemen could go to indulge their secret vices without other people knowing about it. For this reason, Utterson even goes as far as to describe Soho as a ‘nightmare’. Stevenson's imagery in this description suggests that Utterson would dread even dreaming about some of the things that go on in Soho. Duality is also explored within Jekyll’s house itself. While the front appears respectable and well looked after, the back of the house is ‘sordid’ and looks neglected. The duality of his house could symbolise the duality in his personality. Jekyll wishes to appear respectable, just like the front of his house, while hiding some shameful secrets, just like the ‘sordid’ appearance of the back of his house.