One of the differences between Jekyll and Hyde is their appearances, Dr. Jekyll is described to be tall and good- looking, with his face being shaved and clean ” a large, well-made, smooth faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every marks of a capacity and kindness” (), while Hyde’s appearance is described to be short, deformed, horrifying and hairy, ” there is something wrong with his appearance, something displeasing, something downright detestable.”() Moreover, Hyde is described to be more like a beast than a human being” God bless me, the man seems hardly human”() The other differences between Jekyll and Hyde is the attitude toward facing the hypocrisy of Victorian society.
Jekyll is a typical Victorian gentleman, he represents the public self, who always repress his inner desire and follows the strict rules of Victorian society so as to keep his honorable images. On the other hand, Hyde iscompletely the opposite, he represents the private self of Dr. Jekyll, who is careless about the codes and his own public images, he is anti- social, who always behaves against the social values.
” Through Hyde, the respectable Dr Jekyll is freed from the restraints imposed by society” (Buzwell, 2014) Through Jekyll and Hyde, we can see the duality of human, just as Jekyll suggest” man is not truly one, but truly two”, Dr. Jekyll possesses two selves, the good self and the lurking evil self. The good self of him, Dr. Jekyll, is a charitable man, a doctor who devotes himself in healing and helping others. While Hyde is brutal, he shows no sympathy for others, he tramples an innocent girl and beat an old man to death, as Mr. Utterson describe Hyde to be” O my poor old Henry Jekyll, if I ever read Satan’s signature on one’s face, it is on that of your new friend.
“()The other difference between Jekyll and Hyde is their social status, the author implies the difference in their social status by providing them the different settings in the place they live. Although they live in the same place, their dwellings are depicted in different ways and they actually leave from two separate doors. The place doctor Jekyll lives is described to have luxurious hall with warm fires and expensive furniture, which “wore a great air of wealth and comfort” (), and Jekyll’s servant, Poole is described to dress properly. While the place where Hyde lives is described to be filthy, with clothes and ashes all over the floor, moreover, the servant of Hyde is “an ivory- faced and silvery- haired old woman” (), with an evil face.
