#2 - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Classic, 60 pages

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to read a somewhat frightening book, and we had Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on hand, so that is what I chose. At 60 pages, it is really a novella rather than a novel, but it is by no means an easy read. Written in 1886, this is a great example of a Victorian horror tale, and the language definitely takes some getting used to. I finally got into it, though, and made short work of the rest of this intriguing oeuvre

The story is told not by Dr. Jekyll, as I expected, but by his good friend Mr. Utterson, a lawyer. Mr. Utterson one day hears from another friend an appalling story regarding the behaviour of a Mr. Hyde. Utterson sets about to meet the Mr. Hyde for himself and see what can be done to separate him from his good friend, Jekyll. He waits for him at varying times over several days at what we later find out is the back entrance to Jekyll's laboratory. Eventually, he meets Hyde, and after this encounter determines, "If ever I read Satan's signature upon a face, it is on that of [Jekyll's] new friend."

Eventually, Hyde brutally murders a member of the upper class on the street, an act which is witnessed by a maid who sees the grisly scene from her window. This is the last straw for Utterson, who finally sees his friend and insists that Jekyll no longer have any dealing whatsoever with Hyde. For a time, all seems well. Jekyll is more genial than ever, donates to many charities and has his friends and acquaintances over for dinner on several occasions. This period is followed by a rapid decline, during which a mutual friend of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Utterson, mysteriously falls ill and quickly succumbs to death. Utterson receives a letter from this friend the day after his funeral, which contains another another sealed letter, which is "not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll".

Finally, Utterson is summoned to Jekyll's residence by his servant, Poole. For several days, the servants have been hearing the light footsteps of Mr. Hyde in the laboratory, and they suspect foul play. After much deliberation, Utterson and Poole finally burst in on Hyde, only to discover that he has taken his own life. After a search of the premises to discover if they could find Dr. Jekyll, Utterson finds yet another letter addressed to him, this one sitting on Jekyll's desk. Utterson goes home to read his letters, and everyone discovers the true identity of Mr. Edward Hyde.

Spoiler alert: Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Hyde. I must say that I was kind of familiar with the basic plot of the story, and I don't feel like I have just given anything away. Who hasn't heard some sort of comparison to Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Hyde? Therein lies the problem. The story seemed kind of anti-climatic to me, because I already knew Dr. Jekyll's terrible secret - he was Mr. Hyde. That being said, I still enjoyed knowing more about how the story actually unfolded, and I could almost imagine what it would have been like to read this tale in the Victorian era, when giving into your baser nature was the height of scandal and horror.

In finally reading Jekyll's confession, I was struck that it was something I wished I had read in an English class. It would make for a really good discussion, because we learn that, as Jekyll transformed into Hyde more often and indulged his baser nature, he had a harder and harder time becoming Jekyll again, until he didn't need his potion to transform into Hyde at all, only to turn back into Jekyll. I have to say, Jekyll's descriptions of how much he enjoyed the freedom of being Hyde kind of reminded me of the Dexter books by Jeff Lindsay. The internal dilemma that Jekyll faced in unleashing the monster reminds me of Dexter's conversations with his 'Dark Passenger'. You wonder if Jekyll ever would have stopped transforming himself into Hyde or back to Jekyll if he hadn't had to stop. He was like a drug addict thinking that he could control himself and just needed 'one more hit'.

All told, it was an interesting story, and I am glad that I read it. Even though I knew the big reveal, it was interesting to get a glimpse of Jekyll's psyche. Further, seeing that Lanyon fell ill and ultimately died because he witnessed first-hand the transformation from Hyde to Jekyll makes the reader understand the implications this kind of story had in Victorian society. I am sure the people who read this novella when it was contemporary literature rather than a classic would have a much heightened sense of horror at the events. I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars - an interesting read that doesn't live up to its full potential because we all know how it ends.