Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Easley Library Bookworms

Feb 16, 2008 Werner rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, classics

Note, Oct. 27,2017: I edited this review just now to correct a minor typo.

Stevenson's only foray into the science fiction genre, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects his characteristic moral orientation and Romantic style --it's very much in the tradition of Romantic SF, with its scientist as alienated loner using science and reason to pursue dark and dangerous ends. Like Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Rappaccini before him, Henry Jekyll isn't a poster boy for the benevolent visions of Note, Oct. 27,2017: I edited this review just now to correct a minor typo.

Stevenson's only foray into the science fiction genre, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects his characteristic moral orientation and Romantic style --it's very much in the tradition of Romantic SF, with its scientist as alienated loner using science and reason to pursue dark and dangerous ends. Like Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Rappaccini before him, Henry Jekyll isn't a poster boy for the benevolent visions of science as doorway to Utopia that appealed to many 19th-century thinkers; and this story of his discovery of a drug/antidote that can split the good and evil impulses of his nature into separate alter egos sharing the same body isn't about better living through chemistry.

Most modern readers and writers have a vague general idea of the plot and premise of this novel, but without having actually read it; most of the modern adaptations, or rip-offs of the premise (such as a famous episode of the original Star Trek), preach the message that a well-adapted personality needs a "healthy balance" between good and evil, so you oughtn't try to split them. That message, or anything resembling it, is a far cry from Stevenson's, though. For him, evil is just that --evil; there's nothing healthy or constructive about it. Yes, it's in all of us; but it's our job to defeat it, not to let it out and give it free reign once in awhile. Jekyll's mistaken belief that he's found a "harmless" way to do that is his undoing; for the more you pander to your inner monster, the more power you give it over you. And what Stevenson's protagonist in the book does with drug and antidote is simply a metaphor for what any human being does every day, one way or another, with the fabric of his/her moral choices; this is a classic example of the use of a "far-fetched" speculative premise to illuminate very down-to-home truth about life in the real world. (It isn't hard to see it as a commentary on the moral life of societies as well as individuals, too. Victorian England as a nation had its own Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy --the official image of established church, national virtues, healthy family life, etc. vs. the dark world of rampant materialism, the horrors of imperialism and poverty, and secret vice-- and many of the original readers probably realized this.)

Through the eyes of the narrator, Utterson, and through written accounts that he reads, the reader of the book gradually becomes aware of the mystery surrounding Jekyll/Hyde, and finally grasps the full import of what is going on at the perfectly crafted denouement (at least, the original readers would have; modern readers are more apt to be more knowledgable about the latter when they pick the book up :-)). It's a gripping read; the horror is primarily psychological, with only one instance of lethal violence, but Stevenson is a master of brooding ambiance. And unlike many massive Victorian novels, this is a short, quick read; the 19th-century diction, IMO, wouldn't be a problem for any good reader (after all, I read it as a nine-year old kid --okay, a rather precocious one, but still a nine-year old!). ...more

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