One of the books that sparked my interest was a recent read.

I bought Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by

Robert Louis Stevenson as a venture into reading classics. I really wanted to start a classic but wasn't
sure where to start as many of them , though popular, somehow didn't seem to garner my attention
Many have had an assumption that this book is nothing but a piece on supernatural fiction but from
what I believe, Stevenson puts a curious perspective on mental health and how the stigma around it
shaped the society's perception of it. Dr Jekyll deals with a split personality disorder and turns into
the monstrous Mr Hyde whenever he skips his "potion". In a way, this can also be considered as an
expression of Stevenson's own inhibitions. People in the Victorian society were supposed to act in a
certain way, which denied acknowledgement of the baser instincts. Dr Jekyll is the personification of
this, he turns into Hyde so as to commit acts which the polite society would have found scandalous.
The concept did strike a chord with the society ,the past and the present generations alike. People
still reference as one being a Jekyll and Hyde character based on their mood swings. All in all it is a
great read with rich Victorian vocabulary and after reading it you will surely be empathetic towards
either one of the characters.