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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Most of the fictional stories or novellas stem from the reality of our personal lives. The fight between good and evil is never-ending, either in society or within ourselves. Stevenson picked the main feature of our daily lives and dished it into a beautiful story. The story revolves around one man’s fight to stay good while keeping his vices under control.

About the author

Robert Louis Stevenson is a Scottish writer who gave birth to the characters Jekyll and Hyde. In not so many words, the book represents the conflicts Stevenson faced in his life. From a very early age, Stevenson suffered from bronchial trouble. Due to his illness, he felt like an outsider among his batchmates in school and other educational institutes. Stevenson’s parents were religious and devoted Presbyterians. However, after a certain age, he became rebellious and declared himself to be an atheist.

The constant internal conflicts about religion and connecting with people moulded his character and personality. Stevenson thus poured his personal experiences and internal conflicts in his novella. If one really observes his life in-depth and then read the book, they will find the similarities. The feeling of confusion, helplessness and life conflicts are all there. Stevenson was a novelist and also a poet and travel writer.

“A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson’s critical reputation has fluctuated since his death, though today his works are held in general acclaim. In 2018 he was ranked, just behind Charles Dickens, as the 26th-most-translated author in the world.”

Jekyll and Hyde – The Book

“Jekyll and Hyde” is a short novella published in 1886. The author is a Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. The book revolves around the protagonist, John Gabriel Utterson and his friend Dr Henry Jekyll. John is a famous lawyer where Jekyll is a well-recognised English doctor. The lives of John and Jekyll intertwined, once they became good friends.

Jekyll has always repressed his vices and evil thoughts. Then one day, these repressed feelings manifest into a living evil incarnation, namely Hyde. In the story, the protagonist experiences strange occurrences around him. These occurrences hold a mystery which is revealed in the end. The author has beautifully woven the mystery of everything in not so many words.

Jekyll tries to fight the evil within himself, but he loses the war several times. Each time the consequence is more considerable and darker than earlier incidents.

Jekyll tries to take outside measures to fight his demons. Unfortunately, he loses the fight and realises that to end this manifestation of his evil in Hyde’s form needs to end. To end Hyde’s life story, Jekyll took an extreme action resulting in his death too.

Let’s wrap the blog with a review,

“A great book! Usually, such old books fail to keep modern audience attention, but this one is engaging until the very end. Highly recommended. The book is less than 100 pages. I liked this book so much, and it was so fascinating. I liked the battle between the good and evil side of Dr Jekyll. And at the end of the book, when Dr Jekyll commits suicide, it makes the ending more tragic, and I like it so much.”

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