The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

This is the first time I've ever read the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I'll admit I had no idea it was written by the same author as Treasure Island, which I also have not read yet. I would not have put those two ideas to the same author, so it's been enlightening all around! It's also amazing to me what a short story this really was, only 94 pages, to have inspired so many adaptations and interpretations, movies, etc.

It was an interesting dark fantasy tale with an important lesson about giving in to our baser natures. The more we indulge them, the more it becomes who we are until we're no longer able to hide or control those tendencies. ( )

“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
Written by Robert Louis Stevenson
Review written by Diana Iozzia

What a fantastic and morbid novel. Naturally, I had known about this story all of my life until I was very fortunate to read it in English class, I’ve read it thrice since.
This is a bone-chilling and grotesque novel, for the time period, but it still holds its terror-inducing chills and thrills to this day. The dark, spooky London streets are haunted by a mysterious monster man, known as Mr. Edward Hyde. Why has our narrator, Mr. Utterson, noticed this Mr. Hyde lurking around the home and laboratory of his dear friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll?
I love this novel for more than the deep and intriguing descriptions and interesting plot. You see the descent of madness that Dr. Jekyll endures in his letters and diaries. You also see the destruction of the man he once was, juxtaposed with the monster, Mr. Hyde.
I love science fiction, and I believe that this is the second-best science fiction known to man, losing to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”.
Unfortunately, I will never be able to not know the secret behind Mr. Hyde. It’s on par with many literary and film twists, that once you know the secret, you would never read the story the same way. It would have been lovely to read this novel before knowing the truth about Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll, but even so, this is a fantastic read. I almost forgot the secret, if that helps.
I often find myself emerged in a book or story, then completely lose faith or lose interest. This happened in the first chapter, but that’s it? It felt like a slow start to me, but then I was more enraptured than I thought I could be. ( )

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a novella that was first published in 1886. This story has captured the attention of many generations and has a lasting quality that has kept it and, it’s many versions, in the forefront of the literary world.

The author tells his chilling story with the use of both descriptive and powerful language. Two of it’s main themes are the classic “good versus evil” story line as we read of Dr. Jekyll’s struggles to keep his “bad side”, Mr. Hyde, under control. The other theme that comes immediately to mind is the familiar one of science going too far. Although this seems a rather mild story by today’s standards, it’s simplicity reveals a timeless classic of murder and monsters on the streets of Victorian London.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is very much a Victorian product showing man’s quest for keeping his animal nature suppressed and only showing the world the world a stiff, tightly controlled facade. Part of the significance of this story is that it can be interpreted in different ways. Is the author showing a split personality, the effect of mental illness, or is this a commentary on the rules of Victorian society? However one looks at it, this is a brilliant story about mind and body separation. ( )

Josh

Josh