Dual Nature of Man (Scottish Highers English): Revision Notes
Dual Nature of Man
Duality serves as the central organizing principle of the novel, driving both the plot and its exploration of Victorian society. Understanding this theme is essential for analyzing Jekyll's character and Stevenson's social critique.
The novel explores duality as its central theme. Jekyll experiences himself as divided between opposing aspects of his personality, and this internal division drives the entire narrative.
Jekyll's experience of duality
Before creating Hyde, Jekyll experiences his life as fundamentally split. He occupies a position of social standing, earning the respect of the wise and good in Victorian society. At the same time, he recognises that he is guilty of "irregularities" — sins and desires that he conceals from public view. This creates an internal tension between his public respectability and his private conduct.
Jekyll extends his personal experience into a universal principle. He declares that "man is not truly one, but truly two." He presents this as established fact rather than personal opinion, which reveals how deeply convinced he is of this theory. This conviction leads him to risk everything in his experiment.
Jekyll's Self-Awareness
Jekyll possesses greater self-awareness than other characters in the novel. He recognises the conflict between the good and evil aspects of his personality. Stevenson uses the language of battle to represent this internal struggle. Jekyll describes a "war" within himself, and refers to "two natures that contended in the field" of his consciousness. This military imagery makes the internal conflict sound like two armies meeting on a battlefield, emphasising how violent and destructive the struggle feels.
Jekyll attempts to resolve this conflict by separating the two sides through his experiment. However, he cannot fully separate them because he is "radically both" — the two aspects are fundamentally bound together within his identity.
Jekyll's Fatal Miscalculations
Jekyll makes two critical errors in judgment:
- He underestimates how closely the good and bad sides of his personality are connected
- He underestimates the power and appeal of his purely evil side
Eventually, Hyde and the negative part of Jekyll become stronger than the positive part of Jekyll, leading to his destruction. This serves as a warning about the dangers of trying to suppress or separate parts of human nature.
The religious dimension: sin and virtue
Without Hyde, Jekyll lives what appears to be a virtuous life. He is "distinguished for religion" and known for charitable works. However, he also describes himself as an "ordinary secret sinner." This phrase reveals that all people, including Jekyll, contain a mixture of sin and virtue. Jekyll's religiosity coexists with hidden moral failings.
Hyde represents the purely satanic aspect of Jekyll's nature. He writes "startling blasphemies" all over Jekyll's religious texts, desecrating what Jekyll holds sacred. Jekyll calls Hyde "My devil," explicitly identifying him with evil. Utterson observes that "Satan's signature" appears to be written on Hyde's face, reinforcing Hyde's connection to pure evil.
Jekyll creates Hyde because he wants to eliminate sin from himself rather than confront and manage it. He reflects that Hyde could have emerged as "an angel instead of a fiend" if the experiment had been conducted with more "pious" intentions — meaning for God's glory rather than Jekyll's own purposes. This suggests that Jekyll's motivations were fundamentally selfish, which corrupted the outcome of his experiment.
The appeal and power of sin
While Stevenson demonstrates the dangers of allowing the sinful side to dominate, the novel also presents complex attitudes towards sin:
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Sin is tempting — Jekyll feels "younger, lighter, happier" when he takes the form of Hyde. The transformation brings pleasure and liberation.
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Sin is powerful — Hyde eventually takes complete control, overpowering Jekyll's good side. Jekyll loses the ability to remain as himself.
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Sin is unavoidable — As Hyde, Jekyll surrenders to "original evil." This phrase suggests that evil exists as a fundamental part of human nature that cannot be permanently suppressed.
Jekyll's Transformation Experience
When Jekyll becomes Hyde, he experiences:
- Physical sensations: feeling "younger, lighter, happier"
- Emotional liberation: freedom from moral restraint
- Increasing addiction: the transformation becomes harder to reverse over time
- Ultimate loss of control: Hyde becomes the dominant personality
This progression demonstrates how indulging the sinful side initially feels rewarding but ultimately leads to complete loss of self-control.
Religious context
Evangelicalism, a branch of Christianity influential during this period, taught that all humanity is inevitably sinful because Adam and Eve committed the original sin. Stevenson takes this religious teaching further to create horror: the sinful side is not only inevitable but can become stronger than the virtuous side, ultimately destroying the person.
The social dimension: civilised and uncivilised
Hyde does not simply represent Jekyll's sinful side — he also embodies the uncivilised aspect of human nature. He disrupts the ordered, structured world that Jekyll and his social circle inhabit.
Some upper-class Victorians interpreted Darwin's theory of evolution to argue that people who committed crimes or disrupted social order were less evolved than respectable citizens. They used this interpretation to justify their own social position.
Stevenson's Challenge to Victorian Assumptions
Stevenson challenges his readers to recognise the possibility that savage instincts exist within all people, including those who appear civilised. Hyde behaves "like a madman" and moves in an "ape-like" manner, yet he forms part of Jekyll's identity. This demonstrates that the civilised side of Jekyll's personality exercises restraint over his impulses. Without that restraint, only Hyde's pure evil remains visible.
Duality in other characters
This pattern extends beyond Jekyll to other characters. Poole serves as a loyal, "well-dressed" servant who maintains proper standards, yet he shouts at another servant with "ferocity." This moment reveals that even characters who appear completely respectable harbour violent impulses beneath their controlled exterior.
Victorian evolution theory
Darwin and Social Interpretation
Darwin argued that humans and apes share a common ancestor. Some upper-class Victorians accepted evolutionary theory but reinterpreted it to support their social position. They believed evolution would eventually produce a 'perfect' creature, and they saw themselves as more highly evolved than working-class people.
Stevenson's portrayal of Hyde challenges this interpretation by showing that the savage exists within the respectable gentleman Jekyll, not in a separate, less evolved group.
Social commentary through duality
Stevenson uses the concept of duality to criticise respectable society. He argues that the gap between appearance and reality in Victorian London's people and places reveals deep hypocrisy.
Jekyll presents a respectable appearance to the world, but he conceals his true nature behind the "thick cloak" of Hyde. His house functions as a physical representation of this duality. From the front, it "wore a great air of wealth and comfort," suggesting prosperity and respectability. However, it connects secretly to the shabby door leading to the laboratory where Jekyll's experiments take place.
Clothing Imagery Throughout the Novel
Stevenson uses imagery of clothing throughout the novel to demonstrate how people and places construct misleading appearances to present to society. Just as Jekyll uses Hyde as a "cloak" to conceal his true nature, his house uses its respectable facade to hide the reality of what occurs within.
Characters in the novel feel intensely proud of their reputations. They prioritise maintaining the appearance of respectability over honesty about their true nature. The gentlemanly characters publicly condemn immoral behaviour, then engage in it privately. Jekyll's case represents the most extreme example of this pattern.
Jekyll's Fate as Warning
Stevenson demonstrates that this behaviour produces terrible consequences — Jekyll's fate functions as a warning about the dangers of trying to hide your true identity. The novel suggests that Victorian society's emphasis on maintaining appearances forces people into destructive patterns of concealment and hypocrisy.
The limits of concealment
Hyde's evil nature appears clearly visible in his "displeasing smile" and "extraordinary appearance." Unlike other characters, he does not hide behind false appearances. Stevenson may be suggesting through this that appearances can only conceal reality up to a certain point — eventually, the truth becomes visible.
Key Points to Remember:
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Jekyll experiences himself as divided between respectability and hidden sins, which he theorises as a universal human condition: "man is not truly one, but truly two."
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The novel presents duality through multiple dimensions: sin versus virtue, civilised versus uncivilised, and appearance versus reality.
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Jekyll cannot fully separate his two sides because he is "radically both" — they are fundamentally bound together. He fatally underestimates the power of his evil side.
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Stevenson uses duality to criticise Victorian hypocrisy, showing how society's emphasis on respectable appearances forces people to hide their true nature, which leads to destructive consequences.
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Hyde represents both the sinful and uncivilised aspects of human nature. While he is dangerous, he is also described as tempting and powerful, suggesting the complex appeal of giving in to darker impulses.