Joyce Carol Oates Views and Comparisons of Jekyll/Hyde

In Joyce Carol Oates article “Jekyll/Hyde” she uses many other literary works and theories of respected people and compares them to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She uses these works to try and describe and define the personas of the two. Oates uses the comparison of Jekyll/Hyde and other scholarly sources to try and better explain the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Oates describes Dr. Jekyll’s obsession with Mr. Hyde as an addiction. “The moment I choose, I can be rid of him.” Dr. Jekyll says. Dr. Jekyll’s addiction is being compared to alcohol, nicotine, and drugs. Since this “addiction” was so horrifying to the public, Dr. Jekyll was forced to hide it from society due to the Victorian morals and ideals at this time period. Because this “addiction” was so monstrous he was forced to keep Mr. Hyde a secret. Dr. Jekyll wasn’t able to let society know what sort of shameless indulgences he took part in. He thought of it as an “addiction” but it was much more than that. Oates also mentions Dr. Jekyll’s obsession with his reputation and how this obsession eventually led to his death. Stevenson knew that keeping a good reputation was one of the most important things in society during this time period and we still see signs of this today.

In this article Oates goes into detail as to why Mr. Hyde is so ugly and unpleasant to look at. Mr. Enfield the lawyer says “I never saw a man I so disliked and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere…” Oates mentions in her article a nineteenth-century theory of criminology proposed by C.S. Lombroso and Henry Maudsley. This theory generally states that any inward or subconscious fault will be shown as outward physical deformities. Mr. Hyde is such a horrible person and enjoys doing such terrible things, it shows in his face. He has such horrible morals that it shows outward in his physique.

Plato’s Symposium is also mentioned in this article by Oates. She states that like in Plato’s work, every human being has a...