Introduction: The fame of Jekyll and Hyde
A quick glance shows that in popular culture, Jekyll and Hyde figures appear countless times Plays, movies and books. One of the main reasons they are household names across so many countries is because they so adequately evoke the infamous tension between good and evil that lives within us all.
The term ‘Jekyll and Hyde persona’ is widely used to describe characters living lives of outward sanctity and inward poison, bearing witness to the invention of the story by Robert Louis Stevenson. However, most people know of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde instead of in reality to know This, I took it to read the 100 pages that comprise the story.
The dual nature of humanity
Every religion tells us to do good and it is in our nature to do so. Yet we all know what it feels like when primitives chase after their heads. Whatever their form – pride, lust, greed, anger, gluttony, sloth, envy – their appealing power can be strong and overwhelming for many of us.
We also know that if we give in to our urges without limit, others will suffer the consequences of our wickedness – including Hyde’s victim (sometimes silent) witness. However, what is less known is that the same actions will have dire consequences our Besides — Jekyll’s death makes it painfully clear.
theThe effect of suppressing our nature
The depth of this story lies in Stevenson’s masterful account of what happens when we repress the special urges of our individual natures—innocent as they may be.
Dr. Henry Jekyll is born into a prominent family with a large fortune, and is A very cheerful person by nature. However, as GK Chesterton rightly observes, humor and gaiety belong to the people, not the upper classes. Therefore, by his own standards he felt so ashamed of what he called ‘his pleasures’ that others thought nothing of them, Jekyll. the secret them with all his might.
“Indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient exuberance of nature, which pleased many, but which I found difficult to reconcile with my indomitable desire to carry my head high and wear more than a generally serious countenance in public.”
Immediately we recognize the tendency to hide certain traits specific to our individual nature, such as cheerfulness, pride, curiosity, or traits that we consider inappropriate. We feel ashamed of them for whatever reason and want to get rid of them with all our might, lest others find out about them. But the harder we try to suppress them, the more violent they seem to grab us at every opportunity – especially when we let our guard down.
When evil takes over
Good-natured and cheerful at heart, but feeling an almost morbid sense of shame at this ‘irregularity’, Jekyll suppresses his nature with a stern face. Yet we can deny our own nature for so long, because at some point it will rise to the surface. And the harder our suppression, the more brutal its rise – which is illustrated in this story by Edward Hyde.
Hyde is an unscrupulous being with a good-sized dwarf in his body who is interested in nothing but himself. In this respect he is like a child, with an underdeveloped body and unprincipled in voicing his needs at every hour of the day and night. And in a sense, Hyde is A child – if we consider that through Jekyll’s suppression, his true nature (lewd and gay) never had a chance to grow, develop and mature.
But Hyde is also an incarnation of what we call pure evil: Willing to inflict pain and full of hatred and fear. In this respect, he resembles the ideal of a bully, willing to do harm out of hatred, but unwilling to face the consequences out of fear for himself. As Hyde represents Jekyll’s neglected and neglected side on the one hand, he copy On the other hand, the shame of others. After all, they are one and the same person.
Stevenson skillfully shows us that Underneath every evil person you will find a scared little child – No matter how hard they work. But if that child is denied its individual nature or even existence, the chances are great that it will at some point emerge as our own personal version of Edward Hyde: malformed, underdeveloped, and powerfully angry at being denied the right to proper nourishment and existence.
We usually refer to that aspect of ourselves as ours dark side (Or, as Jung did: us shadow)
theHow balance works
Nature always seeks balance and human destiny is defined by the pendulum-like movement between the forces of good and evil. Yet good and evil are not such natural phenomena. they are culturally determined And if Jekyll had been born into the so-called ‘lower classes’, he might not have had a problem living a merry and gay life. However, if its nature in this instance was very serious and specific, compared who The traits can easily cause shame and repression in him for fear that he will be seen as a ‘burden’.
The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde First published in Victorian England (1886), where Keep up appearances And Stiff upper lip Common was in other words, you had to behave according to a certain set of rules and standards or you were excommunicated, which was worse than death in England in those days. However, since individual humans can’t possibly be forced into any kind of unifying moral or behavioral straightjacket, it’s no wonder that the suppression of our dark side manifests itself in numerous – and often horrific – ways.
Acceptance vs. Resistance
As we can see here, the circumstances into which we are born determine to a large extent what we consider good and evil – and often they do not correspond to our individual nature. We experience this in ourselves and in movements and societies at large: peace follows war and returns again in endless cycles. Yet, an uncomfortable truth is that the harder we try to grasp one (peace) and avoid the other (war), the more likely peace is lost and war begins — both within the microcosm of our own bodies and minds and in the external world.
So here we have a story that warns us of the dangers of trying to forcefully suppress our own individual nature. In the East, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism, this has already been known for thousands of years, which is why these religions and traditions provide practical means by which each person can develop – and live in peace – with their own nature (our nature is effectively made up of us Innate skills and talents)
The truth of suffering
Thus the profound message The Strange Case it is Our dark side is not our enemy. It consists of our inner children whose pain has not yet been processed and is dependent on us, the adults here and nowStart paying attention to them.
Almost no one goes through the process acculturation Intact Almost everyone experiences a clash between the culture they grow up in and their individual nature. In the process we get hurt and the longer the pain goes unacknowledged, the more evil takes hold within us.
Yet by acknowledging that we are hurt, we open the door to receiving, embracing, and making peace with our inner children. its acceptance The reality of sufferingTherefore, it is an important step in our quest for peace and harmony, and it is not without reason that it is the first of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths.
theConclusion: Holding up a mirror
Like many classics, The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Describes an apt diagnosis of the human condition and has an underlying caveat. Until we accept our own nature as individuals, with all The characteristics we have given in this present incarnation, will at some point claim its rightful place in our lives. Be it fair or foul – it ultimately depends on us.
happy reading,
Eric
