Since the term primarily assumes that the word refers to two separate entities, I think it can be rejected in this context, thought it is widely used in literary criticism. Like Doppelganger, the term double calls upon ambiguous interpretations and so I guess it also needs to be defined. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines it as- 1 someone looking like someone else-. Alone, it might create confusion, since the reader might think it refers to two different people. However, combined with personality, I dare think any reader can grasp its meaning. And last, the term Split personality is defined in the same dictionary as "1 a tendency to have extreme and unexpected changes of emotion or behaviour- and 2 "Informal, SCHIZOPHRENIA-. Thus, doubtless, either double personality or split will do for my purpose.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature, although the theme does not emerge fully until the last chapter, when the complete story of the JekyllHyde relationship is revealed. Therefore, we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde's crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but also forces us to ponder the properties of this duality. Jekyll asserts that "man is not truly one, but truly two", tormented by a sense of "the thorough and primitive duality of man" and also asserts that he "had learnt to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements."" (Stevenson: 70). But his potion, which he hoped would separate and purify each element, succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being "Hyde emerges, but he has no angelic counterpart. Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist.
In the first chapter, the reader is presented with the description of Jekyll's house contrasting it with the street.
Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. "We should not live alternately with our opposing tendencies in continual see - saw of passion and disgust, but seek some path on which the tendencies shall no longer oppose, but serve each other to common end." (Osbourne, Vol 24, 208) Duality...
Dr Jekyll represents not the pure good, but the whole of a person, and Mr Hyde represents pure evil and contains little of Dr Jekyll in him. ... Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are dual not only in behaviour but also in stature as well. Dr Jekyll is described as a "smooth faced- tall man, whereas Mr Hyde is perceived to be a man with much smaller stature, a visible hunch and much younger than Dr Jekyll. ... Although a lot more restrained than Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Mr Utterson too has elements of duality within his character. ... Dr Jekyll's house is also a symbolic representation of the duality. ...
Throughout the novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson explores the idea of duality through both the characters and the setting of the novel. Specifically he explores the idea of duality within a person's personality, not only in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but also Lanyon and Utterson. ... Primarily, Stevenson's examination of duality is shown through what appears to be the two characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. ... The concept of duality is explored by the other personality of Dr Jekyll and his contrast to Mr Hyde in every aspect of his life. ... Conversely to Dr J...
The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde The respectability of Victorian society was that there was an upper class, a working class and a under class. ... Further-more the settings in the text between the front and entrance of the house that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde reside in is that Jekyll uses the front entrance of the house and the back entrance of the house is used by Hyde because he tries to sneak in the house. "I saw Mr Hyde go in by the dissecting room". ... There is also Dr Lanyon who is a well known scientist who is good friends with both Dr Jekyll and Utterson. ... The text is a...
Even before being introduced to Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde, the ideas of dualism are already being played out. ... The contrast between the two men is evident, Dr Jekyll being well respected and esteemed, and Mr Hyde being aggressive and antagonistic. ... The change is Dr Jekyll's physical appearance connotes that the topic of Mr Hyde is a very hidden one, and that he does not feel comfortable discussing it, even with his close friend Mr Utterson. ... Dr Jekyll is embodying the idea of dualism with his relationship with Mr Hyde as he is outwardly a well-respected gentleman however inwardly he i...
In Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ... s dual personalities were not self-inflicted, unlike Jekyll's. ... This would be equivalent to Dr. ... Because he and Hyde were one, Jekyll was infatuated with the "dual" nature of humanity. ...
In the novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the character Dr. Jekyll becomes addicted and dependent upon a drug. This drug was not a "street drug", but just an experimental chemical drug that a chemist had made up-a sort of potion. Although the potion was made purely of compounded elements that had bee...
Jekyll and Mr. ... Jekyll metamorphoses into Mr. ... The first time Stevenson describes Hyde is through Mr. ... Hyde is meant to be evil, more precisely the evil side of Dr. ... Jekyll admits that all there is about Mr. ...
Jekyll and Mr. ... Jekyll and Mr. ... Stevenson uses the dual nature of Dr. ... The duality of human nature is shown in the character of Jekyll, the baser side of whose nature is fascinated by Hyde. ... Hyde is its theme of duality. ...