Literature that reflects the concerns of contemporary society is of great importance because it warns as well as informs the reader about what dangers can affect the individual in society, not necessarily only in a physical sense. Whether people desire to read something that deals with these concerns in society or not, it is crucial because it allows them to escape their present state and explore a new concept, such as that in fantastic literature. This allows people to come back to reality with knowledge of the unknown or strange, yet also gain the knowledge to understand the issues that affect people every day in modern society. Alexander Solzhenitsyn writes, “Literature that is not the breath of contemporary society, that dares not transmit the pains and fears of that society, that does not warn in time against threatening moral and social dangers-such literature does not deserve the name of literature; it is only a façade.” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, reflects Solzhenitsyn’s quote by warning the individual of the evils found in the duplicity of human nature and the threat this may pose to society as a whole. The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects Solzhenitsyn’s belief that literature must inform readers about issues that society faces, or otherwise it is merely a superficial illusion. The story reflects this statement, by exploring the duplicity of human nature, showing how this duplicity can corrupt an individual’s mind, and revealing why humans have this dual nature. The duplicity of human nature is revealed in the book through various aspects of behavior displayed by the characters. The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reveals the dual nature of humans in the form of an uncontrollable mental disorder. However, Stevenson is not necessarily giving a literal interpretation of this chemically enhanced split personality disorder. He tries to reveal the underlying dual nature of the human mind. In the statement that Dr. Jekyll makes of his own illness, he claims to believe that “man is not truly one, but truly two” (Stevenson 55). This statement is very strong and representative in several ways. Stevenson does not literally imply that every person has a personality disorder; he refers to the innate tendency for humans to have a dual nature. Jekyll says that he has been “doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck” (Stevenson 55), showing that he does not like the way he feels when he becomes his alternate personality of Hyde. Similarly, we as human beings tend to be two faced in some aspects, and this is what Stevenson refers to beneath the literal meaning of a split personality disorder. Human nature is that we act differently among different people or even when faced with different situations. Many times, this dual nature is not recognized by the individual. This is why Stevenson implies that the duplicity of human nature is innate in a sense.
However, we also learn from experience as we get older, because we are not completely born with a dual nature, but we learn how to act in certain ways around different people and when placed in different situations. This duplicity of human nature is generally okay but not always positive. It can cause the pain of maintaining relationships, hurting others and being hurt. The reflection of this pain is what Solzhenitsyn refers to in his quote. Literature, such as this book, that reflects the pains of society, in this case also reflecting the social dangers of the dual nature of humans, is known as true literature, and not just a façade. The story reveals the importance of understanding this dual nature because it can help to prevent emotional harm to others and oneself. This is shown in the text when Utterson and Lanyon discuss how the two of them were such good friends with Jekyll, and that Jekyll was a very respectable individual. Utterson says that “few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension” (Stevenson 17), referring to Jekyll’s ability to have control of his life and mind. This control that Jekyll loses over himself represents the control that we as humans do not have over our dual nature. We unknowingly act two faced around different people, and this “doom and burden of our life is bound forever on man’s shoulders” (Stevenson 56). This statement by Jekyll is very true because this duplicate nature that humans possess will never change. The strange case of Jekyll and Hyde reveals in several ways how the duplicity of human nature takes control of an individual’s mind and this is a clear warning of the dangers that Solzhenitsyn refers to in his quote about literature. It is a shock that Jekyll’s mental state took such a sharp turn towards deterioration. In his case, his personality disorder makes him lose complete control of his mind. However, Stevenson’s implication of the duality of human nature, through Jekyll’s dual personality disorder shows that when an individual gets caught up in acting differently among different people, it is difficult change. Jekyll says that his alternate personality seems “natural and human” (Stevenson 58), yet at the same time he knows that “Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil” (Stevenson 58). This statement proves that no matter what he does to convince himself that Hyde is an evil personality, it seems too normal for him to change. Similarly, it seems that the duplicity of human nature is too normal to change, and this is why it corrupts an individual’s mind. Many features of the writing in Jekyll’s personal statement of the case show that he feels that he has no choice but to continue existing as two people. He even went through such extreme measures to carefully plan his dual lifestyle. Stevenson obviously refers to more than the literal meaning in all this; he basically says that humans have developed the duplicity in their nature and changing it is very difficult. It can be compared to the situation in which a person tells a lie, and in order to keep up with the lie, a series of lies must follow. Jekyll says that “If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable” (Stevenson 56). Stevenson primarily says that once people develop this dual nature, life without it would be incredibly difficult to lead. Jekyll’s uncontrollable obsession with transforming between himself and Hyde shows his addiction with his evil alternate side despite the pain it causes him, both physically and mentally. Beneath the physical aspect of multiple personality disorder, Stevenson refers to the innate mental state that humans have to act fake or pretend to be a certain way in different situations. Not only is this true, but the reasons behind why humans have this duplicity in nature is also shown in the characters of the book. The real meaning of and the reasons behind why humans exhibit this dual nature in their personalities is indirectly discussed in the strange case of Jekyll and Hyde, and is a key aspect of the story that Stevenson conveys. Jekyll’s obsession with having coexisting personalities fails to directly address the fact that maybe realistically, his evil side of Hyde over powers his original self. The reader never really finds out how extreme his obsession is until the last chapter which is his own statement of the case. It is clear that Stevenson tries to convey that every human being is dual in nature, but it is unclear whether this duality is of evil and good, or if the evil just over powers the good. The duality in human nature is not always good, and this is what Stevenson is trying to show the reader. It can cause tension when people are two faced, and it can break relationships. The reason that causes this duplicity of human nature is arguable, but mainly because human beings have a natural desire to gain acceptance from others and want to satisfy themselves through this acceptance from others. Stevenson relays this message through the fact that Jekyll “preferred the elderly and discontented doctor, surrounded by friends and cherishing honest hopes” (Stevenson 63). This proves that Jekyll is satisfied with himself when his friends and family are happy. Stevenson’s writing reflects Solzhenitsyn’s quote very well, because the story of Jekyll and Hyde clearly transmits the fears of society, in this case, the fears of the innate tendency for the duplicity of human nature. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a book that reflects the pains of contemporary society through the chilling transformations between Dr. Jekyll and his alternate personality portraying evil, Mr. Hyde. The reality of Jekyll’s double life is revealed thoroughly in only the last chapter in his own statement of his illness. Stevenson tries to show that the case of Jekyll and Hyde need not be taken in a literal sense, but in fact, to show that humans have a natural tendency to be two-fold in nature. Jekyll’s corruption of the mind is another issue that Stevenson conveys because without an understanding of why Jekyll becomes obsessed with transforming himself into Hyde, the reader cannot understand Stevenson’s next point, the underlying reasons and meaning of a dual personality. The real question is whether the evil in Hyde takes over completely at the end causing Jekyll’s death, or whether Jekyll dies because he cannot take the pain that Hyde causes him. Either way, Jekyll’s death is the ultimate proof that the fears of humans as being two faced affect society as well as the individual. The fact that Stevenson has left the reader to deduce whether Hyde represents the inner animal in every human being, and Jekyll the artificial side that every human being displays to impress others, shows that humans are complex characters, and that there is no definite answer to why we have this two-fold nature portrayed by Jekyll and Hyde.