Theme
At the most basic level, human instincts make them into creatures of want and desire - selfish, primal creatures.
Stevenson's creation of the character Hyde embodies human beings' true nature. Society sets parameters that people are expected to follow, and these restrictions are followed because that is what is expected of them. However, a life filled with others' expectations is exhausting; wouldn't it be easier to forget them for a while? Jekyll set out to separate what he believed were two entities within a single physical being; one dark, one light. Similar to the Chinese Ying and Yang, the two were constantly seeking to balance the other. He believed he could separate the two; therefore, allowing the light to live free of the burden caused by the dark. However, he only managed to separate the darker embodiment, while he himself remained a mix of the two. s a doctor and respected member of his society, Jekyll was expected to conduct himself in a particular way. His alter ego, Hyde, allowed him to escape these expectations under the guise of another. Although the experiment that led to the creation of Hyde may have started as just an experiment, Jekyll began to indulge this side of himself; the more he indulged Hyde, the stronger Hyde became. Eventually, Hyde became stronger than Jekyll, proving Stevenson's assertion that darker human nature is stronger than the societal constraints placed upon it.
Stevenson's creation of the character Hyde embodies human beings' true nature. Society sets parameters that people are expected to follow, and these restrictions are followed because that is what is expected of them. However, a life filled with others' expectations is exhausting; wouldn't it be easier to forget them for a while? Jekyll set out to separate what he believed were two entities within a single physical being; one dark, one light. Similar to the Chinese Ying and Yang, the two were constantly seeking to balance the other. He believed he could separate the two; therefore, allowing the light to live free of the burden caused by the dark. However, he only managed to separate the darker embodiment, while he himself remained a mix of the two. s a doctor and respected member of his society, Jekyll was expected to conduct himself in a particular way. His alter ego, Hyde, allowed him to escape these expectations under the guise of another. Although the experiment that led to the creation of Hyde may have started as just an experiment, Jekyll began to indulge this side of himself; the more he indulged Hyde, the stronger Hyde became. Eventually, Hyde became stronger than Jekyll, proving Stevenson's assertion that darker human nature is stronger than the societal constraints placed upon it.