The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, I: What We Become

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in England in 1885. Within the first seven chapters of the story, the audience is introduced to four important characters: Dr. Jekyll, his old friends Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Utterson, and his new, unsavory acquaintance, Mr. Hyde. The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde raises a question that extends far beyond the story: how responsible are people for the things they allow into their lives?  

     As Dr. Lanyon lies dying, he refuses to see Jekyll again, telling Utterson that he perceives Jekyll as dead. At first, this can simply be understood as Jekyll being dead to Lanyon as a friend. Perhaps, however, Hyde’s actions while living alongside Jekyll have truly killed the man Lanyon knew. Hyde appears to take advantage of Jekyll’s willingness to tolerate his behavior, but Jekyll’s continued acceptance raises the question of how long someone can excuse another’s actions before that acceptance begins to shape their own identity. At some point, allowing another person’s worst traits to run unchecked is no longer being too kind or too much of a pushover; it becomes a choice to live alongside and potentially adopt those traits.

    Human identity is shaped through constant social feedback. From an early age, interactions with others teach us which behaviors are acceptable and which should be restrained. The traits we repeatedly encourage become easier to access, eventually shaping our character and becoming our default responses. 

     The people we allow into our lives influence who we become. Surrounding yourself with harmful behavior is not merely guilt by association; repeated exposure can make that behavior easier to tolerate and eventually imitate. Hyde may be responsible for his own actions, but Jekyll is still responsible for allowing them to continue. Watching wrongdoing without resisting it does not make someone responsible for the original act, but it can make them responsible for what that tolerance eventually does to them. 

     Jekyll’s struggle ultimately shows that people cannot simply separate themselves from the darker parts of their nature. The more those parts are allowed to act without restraint, the more influence they gain. Becoming a good person is not about pretending those darker parts do not exist, but about deciding which parts of yourself you will allow to take control. You cannot run from the darker parts of yourself; you can only decide whether to feed the monster or starve it.