Central Theme and Symbolism in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Duality of Human Nature

         Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers upon a concept of humanity as dual in nature,  we  does not find this theme in the begininig  but, when we read the complete story , at the end of the story  the Jekyll-Hyde relationship is revealed. There the theme of The Duality of Human Nature emerges, We conformely find the theory of a dual human nature explicitly only after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde’s crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The novel is not only the dipiction of  duality of human nature but it also forces uf to think about the hight of this duality.

        Jekyll claims that “man is not truly one, but truly two,” and he imagines the human soul as the battleground for an “angel” and a “demon,” and  they were struggling for mastery. But his potion id different and he try to purify each element, but he  succeeds only in bringing the dark side into being.  Once unleashed, Hyde slowly takes over, until Jekyll ceases to exist. If man is half angel and half demon, one wonders what happens to the “angel” at the end of the novel.

       Perhaps the angel gives way permanently to Jekyll’s devil. Or perhaps Jekyll is simply mistaken: man is not “truly two” but is first and foremost the primitive creature embodied in Hyde, brought under tentative control by civilization, law, and conscience. According to this theory, the potion simply strips away the civilized veneer, exposing man’s essential nature. Certainly, the novel goes out of its way to paint Hyde as animalistic—he is hairy and ugly; he conducts himself according to instinct rather than reason; Utterson describes him as a “troglodyte,” or primitive creature.

       Yet if Hyde were just an animal, we would not expect him to take such delight in crime. Indeed, he seems to commit violent acts against innocents for no reason except the joy of it—something that no animal would do. He appears deliberately and happily immoral rather than amoral; he knows the moral law and basks in his breach of it. For an animalistic creature, furthermore, Hyde seems oddly at home in the urban landscape. All of these observations imply that perhaps civilization, too, has its dark side.

        Ultimately, while Stevenson clearly asserts human nature as possessing two aspects, he leaves open the question of what these aspects constitute. Perhaps they consist of evil and virtue; perhaps they represent one’s inner animal and the veneer that civilization has imposed. Stevenson enhances the richness of the novel by leaving us to look within ourselves to find the answers.

The Importance of Reputation

          For the characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, preserving one’s reputation emerges as all important. The prevalence of this value system is evident in the way that upright men such as Utterson and Enfield avoid gossip at all costs; they see gossip as a great destroyer of reputation. Similarly, when Utterson suspects Jekyll first of being blackmailed and then of sheltering Hyde from the police, he does not make his suspicions known; part of being Jekyll’s good friend is a willingness to keep his secrets and not ruin his respectability. The importance of reputation in the novel also reflects the importance of appearances, facades, and surfaces, which often hide a sordid underside. In many instances in the novel, Utterson, true to his Victorian society, adamantly wishes not only to preserve Jekyll’s reputation but also to preserve the appearance of order and decorum, even as he senses a vile truth lurking underneath.

SYMBOLISM

      Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Jekyll’s House and Laboratory

       Dr. Jekyll lives in a well-appointed home, characterized by Stevenson as having “a great air of wealth and comfort.” His laboratory is described as “a certain sinister block of building … [which] bore in every feature the marks of profound and sordid negligence.” With its decaying facade and air of neglect, the laboratory quite neatly symbolizes the corrupt and perverse Hyde. Correspondingly, the respectable, prosperous-looking main house symbolizes the respectable, upright Jekyll. Moreover, the connection between the buildings similarly corresponds to the connection between the personas they represent. The buildings are adjoined but look out on two different streets. Because of the convoluted layout of the streets in the area, the casual observer cannot detect that the structures are two parts of a whole, just as he or she would be unable to detect the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde.

Hyde’s Physical Appearance

           According to the indefinite remarks made by his overwhelmed observers, Hyde appears repulsively ugly and deformed, small, shrunken, and hairy. His physical ugliness and deformity symbolizes his moral hideousness and warped ethics. Indeed, for the audience of Stevenson’s time, the connection between such ugliness and Hyde’s wickedness might have been seen as more than symbolic. Many people believed in the science of physiognomy, which held that one could identify a criminal by physical appearance. Additionally, Hyde’s small stature may represent the fact that, as Jekyll’s dark side, he has been repressed for years, prevented from growing and flourishing. His hairiness may indicate that he is not so much an evil side of Jekyll as the embodiment of Jekyll’s instincts, the animalistic core beneath Jekyll’s polished exterior.

Characteristics of The Pre Raphaelite Poetry

         The Victorian period is remarkable because of its various trends. The Pre Raphaelite movement was started by D. G. Rossetti in mid ninetieth century. It was originally not a literary but an artistic movement. Rossetti himself was a painter. He felt that contemporary painting has become a formal and unrealistic. He wanted to go back to the realism, sensuousness and devotion to detail. There were features of art of Indian painter before a Raphael. Rossetti and other member of the group were both the poet and painter. Thus the Pre Raphaelite poetry came in to existence in poetry. The movement was against contemporary poetry of Tennyson and others. According to him contemporary poetry is deals with the problems of society. The wanted to write poetry based on aesthetic pleasure.

       Pre Raphaelite poetry was influenced by several poets of thirteenth century of Italy. The group of poet was inspired by Spencer’s symbolism and sensuousness of Keats and mysticism of Shelly in the Pre Raphaelite poetry.

Let us discuss the remarkable feature of the Pre Raphaelite Poetry.

Break With Tradition:

       Pre Raphaelite poetry was revolt against the set tradition of the poet like Tennyson. The Pre Raphaelites opposed the over concern of poets like Tennyson and those poets were depicting contemporary social and political problems. The Pre Raphaelite poets escaped from the realism of such poetry. They took shelter in a dream world of their own.

Medievalism:

        The middle age influenced many poets before Raphael. The Romantic poet like Keats, Coleridge, and Scott under such influenced. D. G. Rossetti and Morris has special urge for medievalism. They were attracted to the Romantic chivalry, mystery and supernaturalism of the Middle Ages. Rossetti’s poem ‘The Blessed Damozel’ and ‘Sister Hallen’ are full of spirit of Middle Ages. Most work of Morris like the ‘Earthly Paradise’ and so connected with the spirit.

Devotion to Detail:

            The Pre Raphaelites were connected more about particular in their painting and in their poetry. The devotion to detail purely visual in both painting and poetry. The detail of poetry was both auditory as well as visual. Every Pre Raphaelite poet had this tendency. D. G. Rossetti’s ‘The Blessed Damozel’ is devoted to detail.

Sensuousness:

           Like Rossetti most Pre Raphaelite poets were painter as well as poet. We find the element of sensuousness in their poetry. The poets of group were more devoted to detail. Whenever he described human body or physical passion, they deal it in detail. The result was the poetry becomes sensuous. The poem ‘Silent Moon’, and ‘The Blessed Damozel’ have a quality. Because of the sensuousness the Poetry of The Pre Raphaelite is also blamed to the flaccid.  

Art for Art’s sake:

           The Pre Raphaelites were the advocate of the theory of art for art’s sake. They aimed to give perfect and finish to their poetry. Like Dryden and Pope the movement was artistic. It revolted against didacticism and philosophy of Tennyson and Morris. Morris himself calls him – ‘an idle singer of an empty day’. He advised to the moral and spiritual issues from the poetry.

Music and Melody:

        The Pre Raphaelite poetry is rich in music. The Pre Raphaelite poet cultivated it with special efforts. The poetry has the quality of the wave of the Melody. The poetry of Swinburne is indeed musical and melodious. His ‘The Garden of Proserpine’ is musical having electoral and rhyme.

Picturesqueness:

        The Pre Raphaelite poetry was strongly pictorial because of those writes who wrote a natural work. They were mostly a painter also. The aim of those poets was to create the landscape painting in poetry. This poetry is notable for its word picture like –

“The blessed damozel leaned out,

From the gold bar of heaven”.

Love of Symbolism:

          Another remarkable characteristic of movement was its love of symbolism. This is Medieval note and Rossetti learnt it from Dante. William Morris and A C Swinburne  also obediently used symbolism.

Kinship with the Romantic Literature:

       The Pre Raphaelite poetry is very close to Romantic Poetry. It has some characteristics which Romanticism have. They derived the love of aesthetic pleasure by Scott, Coleridge and Keats. Pictorial quality and melody by Keats and Coleridge, supernaturalism from Coleridge. Of all Romantic Poets Keats made great input on Pre Raphaelites. Rossetti and Morris called the worshiper of beauty. It was truly called by Rickets. The Pre Raphael movement was the logical development of Romanticism.

Conclusion:

         In short, The Pre Raphaelite movement was entirely a new one. It may be considered to be direct and legitimate development of Romantic Revival in England.

Character Sketch of Dr. Jekyll in 'DR. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'

             Dr. Jekyll is the  prominent character of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. He is  popular  scientist of London, who is well known for his dinner parties. Jekyll is a large hearted, and very handsome man of perhaps fifty. He is owner of a large estate and has recently drawn up his will, leaving his immense fortune to a man whom Jekyll's lawyer, Utterson, thoroughly disapproves of.

       Jekyll's own story of his life is recorded in his "Statement," which comprises the entirety of Chapter 10.

      "He was born to a good family, had a good education, and was respected by all who knew him. As a youth, he thinks that perhaps he was too light-hearted. He confesses to many youthful indiscretions, which he says that he enjoyed very much — indiscretions which he was very careful to keep secret. However, there came a time when he realized that his professional career could be ruined if one of these indiscretions were to be exposed, and so he repressed them."

         Now, however, When  he is middle-aged, he has been fascinated with the theory that man has a "good" side and a "bad" side, and he has decided to investigate the theory. His investigations were successful; he compounded a potion that could release the "evil" in a person in the form of an entirely different physical person, one who would take over one's own body and soul. Then one could commit acts of evil and feel no guilt; furthermore, one could drink the same potion and be transformed back into one's original self.

       Jekyll's evil dimension took the form of Edward Hyde, a man who committed any number of crimes and performed acts of sexual perversion; seemingly, his most serious crime is the vicious murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a Member of Parliament.

          Jekyll's fascination with his "other" self became so obsessive that he was finally no longer able to control the metamorphosis process, and Edward Hyde began appearing whenever he wanted to — and not at the command of Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll became, therefore, a frightened recluse, trying desperately to control Hyde, but successively failing, especially whenever he would doze off. Finally, crazed by anxiety and a lack of sleep, he hears Utterson and Poole, his butler, breaking down his private study door and, in desperation, he commits suicide, but just as he loses consciousness, Hyde appears, and it is the writhing body of the dying Hyde which Utterson and Poole discover.

Symbolism in The Bishop's Candlesticks

          After being released from the Prision after nineteen years, Jean Valjean (convict) cannot imagine how to lead his life in any other way than through theft and concealment. When the Bishop shows kindness towards him by giving him dinner and a room for the night, Valjean is shock and overwhelmed, but is still unable to prevent himself from stealing the Bishop’s ornate silver candlesticks and running away in the middle of the night. 

        When Jean Valjean (convict)  is brought back by the police, the Bishop exclaims that the candlesticks were a gift to Valjean, and that the policemen should let him go. The candlesticks thus symbolize the mercy shown to Valjean by the Bishop, as well as humility and goodness in the Bishop’s lack of interest in beautiful possessions and wealth. The candlesticks also reappear at various moments throughout the novel, as Valjean keeps them close to him as a reminder of the man and the act that began his transformation. That he nearly throws them into the fire at one point reveals just how closely Valjean equates the candlesticks with the Bishop’s system of morality and mercy—by keeping them rather than throwing them out, Valjean recommits himself to the new path he’s chosen.

Character Sketch of Bishop in The Bishop's Candlesticks

       The Bishop is a noble and kindhearted  person who lives with his sister Persome. The Bishop is always ready to help anyone in distress. The doors of his house are always open for the poor and the needy. He has donated everything except Candlesticks gifted by his dying mother.

            The Bishop’s sister Persome feels that most people take advantage of Bishop’s simplicity and nobility. In her opinion, he is often cheated and misused of his generosity. One such occasion is Mere Gringoire; the old woman who lives on the top of the hill and does no work. He is made to pay for an old lady’s house rent by selling his salt-cellars.

      One day in the midnight the Bishop sits to read. A convict enters the Bishop’s house and asks for food at the point of his knife. He threatens to kill the Bishop if he tries to call out. The convict is rude, suspicious and full of fear. The Bishop calls Persome to open the cupboard. He treats him with kindness and provides him cold pie, wine, and bread to eat.

       The convict tells his painful story. He told Bishop that he lived in the prison for ten years. His wife, Jeanette was ill and dying of hunger. He stole a piece of bread for his wife but was arrested soon. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. While in the jail, he was informed that his dear wife had died. He lived in the hell for ten long years and had broken the prison and came out.

            The Bishop is moved on hearing the convict’s story and asks him to sleep in his house and assures safety and security. Saying this, the Bishop goes inside to sleep. The convict happens to see the candle sticks on the mantel piece. He was told before by the Bishop that they were given by his mother. Unable to resist the temptation, the convict steals them and runs away.

          When Persome and the Bishop get up the next morning, they find the candlestick missing. While they are discussing about the missing candlestick there is knocking at the door. A sergeant enters with three soldiers and the convict. They tell Bishop that the convict is walking on the road with the candle sticks and they have arrested him on suspicion. The cops remember the candlesticks of the Bishop and so they bring the silver candle sticks there to get identified. Though the candlesticks are very dear to the Bishop, (it is the parting gift presented to him by his mother) he saves the convict from going to hell by telling he has gifted them to the convict and calls convict his friend.

          The convict is deeply touched by the noble gesture and generosity of the Bishop. Now, he is full of repentance and asks for the Bishop’s blessings. The Bishop blesses him and also gives the candlesticks as a gift. Then he shows him a secret road to Paris. The convict’s human values and human goodness are restored due to the noble act of the Bishop. The convict becomes a man again and leads an honest living in Paris.

The Bishop's Candlesticks - Brief Review of the Play

Theme – The power of Kindness and conversion

       The Bishop’s Candlesticks is a fine example of kindness and reformation. The play dramatically depicts how the love and compassion of the Bishop brought about a change of heart in a convict and turned him into a man of promise for a good life. Though, the play being an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, it is much about the value of compassion and its power to transform the hardened hearts. Besides, it is a finger pointed at the life of the high-profile spiritual leaders whose prime concern is expected to be charity.

• Leading Characters

The Convict – Jean Val Jean

         The convict was a happy man before he was jailed but ten years in the prison transformed him into a wild beast. He had lost trust in humanity, faith in the Church and hope in God. He considered him a number that was assigned to him when he lived in the prison. Under the influence of the bishop, he makes a walk back to his past self.

The Bishop

        The Bishop was a kind-hearted man who followed the teachings of Jesus Christ in the true spirit. Besides being a true Christian he was also an ardent humanist. He was ready to sacrifice everything to help the needy people. Even after selling all he had for others, he felt sorry that he could do so little because he believed that the world had so much suffering. He sold his salt-cellars and gave the money to Mere Gringoire so that she could pay her rent to the landlord. The Bishop thought that if the people pretended to be in distress and if they deceived him, it was because they were poorer in spirit and not he. His door was never shut and it was open for every passerby.

Persome

         Persome is a little worldly woman, neither as selfless as her brother nor so noble. She did not like her brother live a life entirely for others ignoring himself. As a mother figure, she thought that people took unfair advantage of his charitable nature so was always on his guard. A woman in her place cannot be entirely blamed for her selfishness and possessiveness for her only brother.

Biblical References

Important Sentences

      The words that moved the convict. Briefly explain what the bishop said to the convict and the effect they had on the convict. Can you write what effects they had in him?

1. “You have got your soul to lose, my friend.”

2. “I want people like you come in that’s why I keep the door open.”

3. “No one will come; but if they do, are you not my friend?”

4. “That is a pity, my son, as the Church does not hate you.”

5. “One must do a great deal for the devil in order to do a little for God.”

6. “I am sorry for thieves.”

7. “I think you are one who has suffered much.”

Central theme of 'The Bishop's Candlesticks'

             “The Bishop's Candlesticks” by Norman McKinnel is adaptation of an extract from the play Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It is about how a simple act of kindness reforms a convicted criminal from a beast to a man. 

        Thus the central theme of the play “The Bishop's Candlesticks” is love, kindness and redemption. It is about how a simple act of kindness reforms a convicted criminal from a beast to a man.

             In the play, a convict comes to a Bishop's house and demands for food, threatening the Bishop’s life in the process. The Bishop offers him not just food and shelter, but his sympathy too. Instead of being grateful, the convict steals the Bishop’s candlesticks, his prized possessions, and escapes. He is soon caught and arrested by a Sergeant, who presents him to the Bishop. The Bishop, however, claims to have given the candlesticks to the convict as a gift and demands him to be released. This simple act restores the convict's faith in humanity and convinces him to go back to leading an honest life.

In short we can say that - The play demonstrates how criminals are not born,but circumstances turn a person into a criminal.