Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, is the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the story, he is a good friend of main protagonist Gabriel John Utterson.
Living in Soho in the West End of London, Jekyll is a kind and respected English doctor struggling with repressed evil urges. As a potential solution, he develops a serum that he believes will effectively compartmentalize his dark side. Instead, Jekyll transforms into Edward Hyde, the physical and mental manifestation of his evil personality. This process happens more regularly until Jekyll becomes unable to control when the transformations occur. Dr. Jekyll roams Soho as Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Hyde inhabits Leicester Square as both himself and Dr. Jekyll.
biography[]
Dr. Henry Jekyll is a doctor based in Soho who feels that he is battling between the benevolence and malevolence within himself. He spends his life trying to repress evil urges that are not fitting for a man of his stature. Jekyll develops a potion in an attempt to mask this hidden evil. However, in doing so, Jekyll transforms into a hideous creature, which appears much younger than him. Jekyll decides to take advantage of this, naming this transformation of his "Edward Hyde", and uses his new persona to act out his hidden desires free of consequences while keeping his social status as Jekyll. As time goes by, Hyde grows in power and eventually manifests whenever Henry Jekyll shows signs of physical or moral weakness, no longer needing the potion to transform.
History[]
- Dr. Henry Jekyll: He is a well-loving, high-minded doctor of the Late Victorian London who feels that he is battling between the benevolence and malevolence within himself.
- Mr. Hyde: the evil opposite of and the alter ego of Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Behind the scenes[]
- John Barrymore played Jekyll and Hyde in the 1920 silent movie adaptation of the novel. This is the earliest film based on the novella.