"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 - the quality of character of being twofold. The duality of Human Nature - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a conception of humanity as dual in nature; 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. Robert Luis Stevenson is telling us that we fear the knowledge of our duality so we keep it silent. We are afraid of the truth about ourselves, so we stay quiet. Everyone has a part of himself or herself that they don't reveal to anyone. We are afraid to show it but when it comes out we"d rather not talk about it. .
In the Freudian psychodynamic view there exists the Superego - which is your moral side, the Id - which represents your drives and wants and the Ego - which makes compromises between your moral side and your drives and wants. In the novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll has a dual personality: Dr. Jekyll embodies the good part of his personality and Mr. Hyde embodies his evil self. Consequently, his Id is revealed through the latter, while the former represents the ideals of his Superego. The potion, which transfers Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hydes (or vice versa) serves as doctor's Ego. .
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represent a single but dichotomous personality. Those sub-personalities exhibit different desires and views within the society. Stevenson suggests that the elements of good and evil cannot exist separately. .
Dr. Jekyll is a typical Victorian gentleman: he is rich and very well respected among his fellowmen. He is "born to a large fortune, endowed beside with excellent parts" (Stevenson 103). However, his external behaviors are dictated by his Victorian personality, which incorporate the ideals of his Superego.
