THE DOUBLE "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

THE DOUBLE

"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

The main theme of the book is the double. It speaks of the problem of duplicity of human nature, Bleak had already spoken of this duplicity, in his poem "The Tiger and the Lamb". He says that inside every man there are a tiger and a lamb, he sees the moral point of view of this duplicity. Stevenson, on the contrary, sees the psychological and social point of view, where is not important how you are, but how you behave, the image that people have of you: your respectability .This is the kind of contestation and denounce of moralism and hypocrisy of Victorian society. The problem is not to be good or wicked, but to be respectable. The wicked personalities is Hyde, that is pale and dwarfish, he gives an impression of deformity, weakness and deviousness, and he is small shabby, because he is still young, he has not much expensive of life and of his power. Dr Jekyll represents the good personality that is in every person, in fact, he is a doctor with good reputation and respectability. He discovers chemical portion wakes up and gives life to the wicked person hidden inside him and call him Mr Hyde. In time the chemical reactions that permit the changing, became more used so it is Jekyll that became feebler and uncereit, and Hyde that becomes stronger and more confident. When the changing happens without chemical potions, Hyde takes the control on the reaction.

The reaction happens spontaneously. The Dr Jekyll realizes that Hyde is going to win over him and he will be never Jekyll again, consequently the only way to kill Hyde is to kill himself, so "Je Kill", and he commits a suicide.

The important element is the door of the internal garden of the laboratory. A door which is always locked and only Jekyll and Hyde, of course, have the key. The door serve to keep divided what really easy what must appear.