The façade of the Victorian era was one of sophistication and composure, exemplified in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is introduced as a respectable and honorable man, clean-cut with a door to match. He was a righteous man, “no less distinguished for religion. He was much in the open air, he did good.” His outward appearance conformed to society’s standards of a prominent, upper class man. Yet Jekyll’s dark and repressed internal desires become personified in the form of Mr. Hyde. Hyde’s madness eclipses Jekyll’s honest reputation as Hyde spirals out of control. The initial repression of Dr. Jekyll’s innate, sinister desires creates a need for freedom of self-conscious as well as an addiction to the madness that results. This ultimately undermines his outward appearance of dignity that conforms to Victorian society, giving way to evil and immorality personified in Mr. Hyde.
Restraining Victorian norms and dark repressed inhibitions creates a tension in Dr. Jekyll that leads him towards immoral scientific practices and their maddening consequences. Jekyll exists as a prominent, well-to-do gentleman in Victorian England. He lives in a townhouse which wears “a great air of wealth and comfort.” Even Utterson, a close friend, notes the comfortable and elegant nature of his house. In his house, Jekyll is known to host dinner parties with fellow “old cronies, all intelligent, reputable men.” He surrounds himself with others that appear similar, all fitting the mold of respectable gentlemen. However, when it concerns Mr. Hyde, Jekyll becomes reserved and standoffish. Jekyll’s association to Mr. Hyde is unsettling to a gentleman like Utterson. Hyde represents everything a respectable gentleman is not – mysterious, volatile, and erratic. Utterson explains to Jekyll his concerns over Jekyll’s will and the clause describing that Hyde should receive Jekyll’s fortune should something happen to Jekyll. Utterson comments, “I have been learning something of young Hyde…what I heard was abominable.” Hyde’s manner of disgrace and chaos opposes Utterson’s regards to order and decorum. Jekyll, however, assures him there is nothing to worry about, stating “the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde.” Jekyll refuses to relinquish the primitive attitude and behavior that Mr. Hyde exhibits. Dr. Lanyon, another friend of Jekyll’s, also comments on Jekyll’s recent immoral discretions. Lanyon explains that Jekyll’s latest research is “unscientific balderdash.” Jekyll’s experiments do not conform to the rationalism and materialism stressed in Victorian science nor do they conform to Jekyll’s normally dignified behavior. Dr. Jekyll’s outward adherence to societal norms creates tension with his need to express dark, primitive behaviors allowing him to turn to unconventional science as a solution, producing a maddening consequence.
Dr. Jekyll’s continued practices lead to an addiction to the madness. The addiction to Mr. Hyde offers him freedom and power, liberating him from the restraints forced upon him by Victorian society while sacrificing his once prominent and respected reputation. In line with true gentlemanlike behavior, Jekyll once more hosts a dinner party. It comes two months after a gruesome murder and two months after he rid himself of Mr. Hyde. As a result, “a new life began for Dr. Jekyll.” He appears at social gatherings, associates with friends, and finally reaches a state of peace. However, only days later does Jekyll seclude back into his home, turning away friends like Utterson and Lanyon. Utterson becomes concerned about the physically ill appearance of Jekyll and worries even more after receiving a troubling letter from Jekyll who exclaims, “I mean from henceforth to lead a life of extreme seclusion…you must suffer me to go my own dark way.” In the note, Jekyll continues to lament on his dark descent, stating “I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name. If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers.” Jekyll is no longer able to withstand the pressures of society, retreating to solitude and into himself where madness takes hold. Utterson and Poole attempt to lure him out of hiding but only find a maddening creature behind his door. Jekyll’s voice is altered, almost unrecognizable to Utterson and Poole. Jekyll cries “night and day for some sort of medicine” to feed his addiction. His actions are uncharacteristic as well as his build, described as “more of a dwarf” compared to his once tall, statuesque nature. The visage is the window so distorted that Poole insists that Jekyll is wearing a mask. With one revelation after another about the drastic changes seen in Dr. Jekyll, Utterson and Poole conclude that the raging creature behind the door is not Jekyll but rather Hyde. Upon entering the house, they ultimately find Hyde’s body lying dead on the floor, dressed in Jekyll’s clothing. Even in death, Jekyll attempts to maintain his respected exterior in elegant clothing, yet fell victim to his animalistic appetite in the body of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll’s addiction to the madness of Mr. Hyde and his unconventional attitude ultimately undermined his once respected reputation in upper class Victorian England.
The tension between repressed animalistic desires and outward conformity continues to undermine Dr. Jekyll’s reputation following his death and the confession of his sins. Armed with the knowledge that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person, the public immediately and dramatically shifts their opinions of Dr. Jekyll. As the first man to fully comprehend the situation, Dr. Lanyon agonizes over the complex relationship between Jekyll and Hyde in a letter to Utterson. He describes the monstrous transformation that took place as Hyde transforms back into Jekyll, enough to “stagger the unbelief of Satan.” Lanyon can no longer view Jekyll in a positive light; he is no more than a monster. Lanyon also comments on Jekyll’s dark practices, describing it as “transcendental medicine.” A far cry from the rational and material science of the time, Jekyll’s practices are investigations of human nature. His experiments stray too far from convention for Jekyll to be respected. In Jekyll’s own letter of confessions, he laments on his life of deception, enough to drive anyone mad. Jekyll writes, “I concealed my pleasures” and “hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame…already committed to a profound duplicity of life.” He could not logically indulge in such frivolous behavior without sacrificing his reputable name. And so, with potion in hand, he became a “profound double-dealer.” In his confession, he relinquishes Hyde from bearing the guilt alone. Jekyll understands that no longer can he claim himself to be totally separated from Hyde in a social manner. Jekyll states “both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I labored, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge.” Jekyll knowingly brought Hyde to fruition, understanding the evil and immorality he represents. Thus, Jekyll must be responsible for Hyde’s actions as well as his own. Ultimately, Dr. Jekyll’s indulgence in unfavorable behaviors and his subsequent admittance to such actions undermined his once favored social status.
Dr. Jekyll lived his life in accordance to Victorian social rules. He was a well-respected gentleman of science with “every guarantee of an honourable and distinguished future.” Before the public, he carried himself high. However, Jekyll unsuspectingly suffered under the “provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man’s dual nature.” He longed to separate himself from “the hands of this extraneous evil” that competed with the just and moral being he showed the public. He turned to unconventional science practices, knowing of the risks yet “the temptation of a discovery so singular and profound at last overcame the suggestions of alarm.” His search for release birthed a maddening addiction to the creature of Mr. Hyde. Hyde’s volatile and fatal behaviors soon eclipsed the once honest reputation of Jekyll. The tension created by the constraining social pressures of Victorian society and his primitive, psychological urges led Dr. Jekyll towards a maddening addiction that ultimately undermined his outward appearance of dignity and morality.