hi everyone welcome back to my Channel today we will be analyzing the character of Edward Hyde Dr jackal's Alter Ego in Robert Lis Stevenson's Gothic Nolla The Strange Case of Dr Jackal and Mr Hyde if you would like a quick recap of the plot of this story or an analysis of Dr Jackal check out my other videos Linked In the description below so as I mentioned earlier Mr Hyde is the alter ego of Dr Jackal a creature created by scientific experimentation that is manifestation of all the doctor's bad characteristics even his name Reveals His purpose and Stevenson uses this pun intentionally because Hyde was created to allow Jackal to carry out his darkest desires without fear of being caught utter jaal's lawyer plays on this pun when he is searching for the mysterious figure saying if he be Mr Hyde I shall be Mr seek Hyde's inherently evil nature is represented not only by his internal thoughts and actions but in his physical appearance as nearly everyone who sees Mr Hyde comments on how he looks he is depicted with distinct physical traits are the direct opposite of Henry Jackal Hyde is described as pale and dwarfish while in comparison Jackal is described as a tall fine build of a man the physical differences between Jael and Hyde symbolize a deeper shift however as Stevenson uses Hy's outward appearance to mirror the grotesque hidden aspects of human nature apart from these physical traits however there's also something about Mr Hyde which is very off-putting although people seem to have trouble putting their finger on exactly what it is Mr Enfield says there is something wrong with his appearance something displeasing something downright detestable while Mr utterson describes him as giving an impression of deformity without any namable malformation the fact that almost every person who encounters Hyde experiences a similar disgust speaks volumes about how rotten and bad he is to the core as he simply cannot hide his evil nature hide is also repeatedly referred to in animalistic terms being described as apik likee a creature like a monkey and bestial not only does this serve to shock the reader and suggests that Hyde is less than human but it also links to the concept of activism or Devolution something that Victorian people at the time were very worried about this theory hypothesized that if humans could evolve from apes and other more primitive forms of life there was a possibility that we could go back to that state as well Stevenson definitely plays on these fears throughout the story to heighten the gothic and horror aspects of this Nolla that takes place not in some far off land but right at home in London however although he is animalistic in nature and often acts recklessly he is still crafty and clever using his wits to get him out of situations which would otherwise have led to him being jailed or killed when he tramples over the young girl in front of witness is he knows better than to ignore Enfield who threatened that he would make such a scandal out of this as should make his name stink from one end of London to the other and wisely pays them off and after the murder of Sir Danvers he allows jeal to take over when it is necessary for him to maintain his cover as he says his Terror of The Gallows drove him continually to commit temporary suicide and return to his subordinate station of a part instead of a person because the evil in Mr Hyde practically oozes out of his skin his impact on other characters in this story is unsettling to say the least the way others react to him is marked by a mixture of fear curiosity and repulsion for instance his mere existence and the Mysteries surrounding him consumes erson and he becomes obsessed with discovering who he is and what hold he has over his friend and for Dr lanan the sight of Hyde transforming into his friend Jackal disturbs him so greatly that he becomes visibly older and weak ER and dies shortly after Hyde is the driving force behind the suspense in this story and his actions particularly the murder of Sir danver's Karu escalate the tension and urgency in the narrative forcing the characters to seek out and confront Hyde and deal with the consequences which follow for Jackal as the embodiment of all things bad Hyde's actions throughout the novel are morally wrong and portray the darker aspects of human nature the novel doesn't shy away from portraying him as a thoroughly bad malicious person for instance when it described how Hyde murdered sir Danvers trampling his victim underfoot inhaling down a storm of blows under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway this depiction is a total contrast to the Victorian era's moral and societal Norms where there is a strong emphasis on propriety respectability and the repression of these base impulses these are the social rules which jeal must abide by but not hide his very existence is a challenge to society as he represents the often hypocritical moral righteousness of the Victorian upper class who would put on a respectable front to their peers but sneakily do bad things in private this duality of human nature is perhaps the most important theme in Stevenson's Nolla with the transformation of Jacqueline to Hyde visually representing this concept Hyde is not just jackal's Alter Ego he is a manifestation of the suppressed Primal desires and impulses that he cannot express due to society's restrictions one of jackal's most memorable quotes man is not truly one but truly two sums up this belief but here Stevenson isn't just talking about Dr Jackal and Mr Hyde as individuals but also about a broader philosophical view of humanity the novel suggests that everyone has two sides to them the moral and the immoral side the so-called civilized side and a more Primal Wild Side Hyde's existence is proof of this internal battle where the struggle is not just between good and evil but between societal expectations and personal desires The Duality of human nature and the character of Mr Hyde can be interpreted through various psychological lenses but particularly Sigman Freud's later theories of the ID and ego my analysis video on Dr jeal covers this topic in Greater detail but to put it briefly Hyde can be seen as the embodiment of the ID the part of a person's psyche that contains our basic instinctual needs like eating and sleeping Jackal represents the ego and super ego the parts of us that use logic reason and morals to restrain our ID from acting when it is not socially acceptable to do so this Freudian interpretation highlights the novel's exploration of the darker more Primal aspects of human nature that Society wants to keep repressed the transformation of jeal into Hyde can also be seen as a result of what happens when our baser instinct things are allowed to take over as time goes by Hyde becomes stronger and stronger slowly taking over jackal's life until he can no longer decide when and where he transitions into his alter ego in his confession to utterson Jackal recalls how one day in the park he looked down and my clothes hung formless on My Shrunken limbs the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy I was once more Edward Hyde we could interpret this as a warning by Stevenson to the reader about the dangers of allowing your Temptations and desires to do bad things to overcome your sense of morality the moral and ethical implications of Hyde's actions and by extension Dr jackal's are also Central to the narrative the creation of Hyde allows Jackal to do socially and morally unacceptable things without facing the consequences personally this separation of conscience and action raises significant ethical questions as jaal himself admits I was the first that could thus plausibly hide his darker self this ability to separate oneself from one's immoral actions puts forth a disturbing question about the nature of responsibility and guilt Jackal sees Hyde as a totally separate being as he gives him a name buys him a house and dresses him in different clothes because of this he is able to satisfy his conscience and let Hyde continue to indulge in worse and worse Behavior as he says it is hide alone that was guilty but what do you think does it make you any less responsible if you never have to face the consequences of your actions is jaal equally responsible for the crimes of Hyde it's important to remember that by putting all his evil Parts into hide Jackal is not now some saint that is purely good he Remains the Same a mix of good and bad characteristics otherwise he would never keep returning to that form I had now two characters one was holy evil and the other was still still the old Henry jaal the only difference is that he has created and let loose an additional monster that embodies all of the darkest parts of himself that he had previously tried to hide although he is a truly nasty horrible person Hyde seems to have some kind of aure to the other characters as people are drawn to him out of shock and horror at his ability to be cruel and violent without any remorse and perhaps because they can see their own repressed dark sides mirrored in him and this is true not only of the story but even in popular culture today Hyde's character has left a lasting impact on literature and the world in general as his name is almost synonymous with the concept of having a hidden self so to sum up Stevenson uses the character of Edward Hyde to provide a sharp commentary on Victorian society we could see his character as a criticism of the rigid and often hypocritical moral standards of the time Hyde is the embodiment of these repressed qualities and represents the consequences of what happens when we are forced to hide or deny the darker aspects of human nature the novel can also be seen as a reflection of the conflict between the outward show of respectability and the Hidden Truths of who we are inside Stevenson seems to suggest that the strict moral codes of the time were not only unrealistic but also potentially harmful as they forced individuals to hide their true Natures leading to the creation of hides within the upright Jackal of society thanks for watching guys stay tuned for followup analysis videos soon to come see you next [Music] time