Dr jekyll e Mr Hyde di Stevenson

Stevenson wrote in his diary that he had dreamed of a man in a laboratory who transformed in to a different being after drinking a drug. Since he was young, he had always been interested in the duality of human nature and his mother’s Calvinism emphatized this aspect. The double nature of the human being reflect in that period, the double nature of Victorian society full of contradiction. The theme of the double is reinforced by some symbols such as the place where the story is set because Edinburgh like London is a city with double face. In fact this city is divided in two parts: the new town with the big square, and the old town full of crime and poverty. More over Jekyl’s house has two sides: the front sides used by the doctor is elegant and fair, and the back side used by Hyde is dark and sinister. In the same way there is a front door and a back door that opens on a place attended by tramps. Most scenes of the novel take place at night where the dark and fog wrap everything. A very important element for the “double” is the mirror, in fact in that Dr Jekyll sees his alter ego, Mr Hyde. The use of two names to speak of the same person is another stratagem to emphatize the duality; the two names have an interesting and symbolical meaning. Jekyll: can mean “I kill myself or other people”; Hyde: suggests something secrets hidden in something else. The novel deals with the theme of the double in human nature; in fact both good and evil are in each human being. In the story good Is represented by Dr Jekyll and evil by Mr Hyde. Their physical aspect reflects moral characteristics: Jekyll has always been virtues and so he is handsome, his body is well-proportioned and his hands are white and well-shopped; Hyde, instead is pure evil and so he is pale and dwarfish, his hands are dark and hairy, and gives an impression of deformity. At the beginnings Hyde appears smaller than his alter ego, because the evil side is less developed, but gradually Hyde starts to became taller, it means that evil is becoming stronger than good; and Dr Jekyll isn’t able to control Mr Hyde any more. • The story can be seen as a gothic novel for its irrational elements and because of its atmosphere, full of suspense, of the setting which is often dark and sinister and because of the sense of the terror transmitted by Mr Hyde. In addiction a lot of scenes are set during the night . • The novel can be also an example of detective story, in fact there is a myster