Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: is Jekyll a tragic hero?

Dr. Jekyll is certainly one of the most complex and layered characters in the novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. His character can be interpreted in many ways. In order to describe Jekyll as a tragic hero, one first must decide what a tragic hero is. A tragic hero is someone who was born into wealth or nobility. Also the character must be someone of great respect and admiration to fall down the social ladder. They are responsible for their own fate and suffer with a flaw which will no doubt lead to their demise. This flaw will doom the character to make a serious misjudgement. This character must also inevitably realise they have made an irreversible mistake. They meet their end with honour and dignity. Finally, the audience should feel pity or fear with respect to the characters actions.
Jekyll certainly fits the criteria of a tragic hero if we consider how he was born into a wealthy family. His parents were upper-middle class people who introduced Jekyll to the upper-middle class life from a very young age. This may have influenced Jekyll’s lifestyle and his attitudes. Dr. Jekyll was also highly admired and respected throughout society. He was known as a good man and one of the best doctors in the country. He lived in an illustrious two hundred and fifty thousand pound estate in one of the richest parts of London; this would be an estate worth many millions of pounds today. On the other hand Dr. Jekyll has certain flaws. His main weakness was that he could not resist the pleasures of the flesh. Henry Jekyll was addicted to sexual pleasure and he could not restrain himself. In the second chapter, ‘The search for Mr. Hyde’, Mr. Utterson tells us about Jekyll’s past and how he was “wild when he was young”. Henry Jekyll also had a certain arrogance. This was portrayed in his