Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde
Themes
'The duality of human nature'
Science and the unexplained
The law and the unexplained
represents the standards of conventional society and the law
doesn't have the imagination to understand what Jekyll is doing.
The names 'Jekyll' and 'Hyde'
Jekyll = Je Kill = I kill
In the last chapter, Jekyll describes how he tried to get rid of (kill) the
Hyde in him.
Hyde = Hide
hidden from view, or the rough skin of an animal. Jekyll is in some way
trying to kill the hidden Hyde and his animal nature.
The size and age of Jekyll and Hyde
Jekyll is much bigger than Hyde. This is seen particularly when Hyde's
small body is found in the much larger clothes of Dr Jekyll. Hyde is a
smaller part of Jekyll, but that if people repress the bad in them it will
take over and destroy them.
Hyde is younger and more energetic than Jekyll. This suggests evil is
something that develops later in life, after a period of childhood
innocence.
Suggests Stevenson felt there is something primitively energetic and
exciting about mankind's baser nature; that the 'higher', respectable
nature of social humans is repressed and tame.
Plot Summary
Characters
Dr Jekylll
A prominent middle-aged physician described as tall and handsome. He
is also extremely wealthy, with a fortune of over two million dollars.
Everyone who knows him describes him as respected and proper.
However, as the novel progresses, we subtly witness his hypocritical
behavior, which is Jekyll's fatal flaw. The doctor's belief that within every
human being there are forces of good and evil leads him to experiments
that attempt to separate the two.
Dr Lanyon
A former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll. Ten years before the events
of the novel, Lanyon suspended his friendship with Dr. Jekyll due to a
disagreement over certain scientific endeavors.
Mr Utterson
Is a middle-aged lawyer, and a man to whom all the characters confide
something throughout the novel. As an old friend of Jekyll's, he
recognizes his changes and the strange happenings of Jekyll and Hyde,
and decides to further investigate the relationship between the two men.
He is perhaps the most prudent, respectful, and rational character in the
book, and so it is significant that we see Hyde's crimes and Jekyll's
hypocrisy through his observant, but generally sympathetic, perspective.
Mr Hyde
A small, deformed and repulsive man, somewhat younger than Dr.
Jekyll, who apparently lacks a profession. Lanyon, Utterson and Enfield
 all describe witnessing something indefinably evil and horrible in Edward
Hyde's face.
Mr Enfield
Mr. Utterson's cousin, a younger man who, it is assumed, is slightly
more daring than his respectable, quiet relative.
Poole
Dr. Jekyll's faithful butler. When he fears for his master's life, Poole
seeks the help of Mr. Utterson.
Sir Danvas Carew
A highly respected and prominent member of English society whom
Edward Hyde brutally murders.