The Evil Side of Our Nature

Something that we talked about in class and came up again in the reading I found compelling was the way Hyde is described. When Jekyll first experiences being Hyde, he says he feels lighter and younger but that he has lost stature. He explains this stating, "The evil side of my nature, to which I had now transferred the stamping efficacy, was less robust and less developed than the good which I had just deposed. Again, in the course of my life, which had been, after all, nine tenths of a life of effort, virtue and control, it had been much less exercised and much less exhausted. And hence, as I think, it came about that Edward Hyde was so much smaller, slighter and younger than Henry Jekyll" (64-65). At first when we were discussing this idea that Hyde is smaller, I thought the reasons for this were because he is the less human part of Jekyll but this does not seem to be the case. Jekyll goes on to say, "This too was myself. It seemed natural and human" (65). Hyde is clearly still human, and the reason for him being smaller in stature is because Jekyll has lived his entire life attempting to keep this part of him in check. He is smaller and younger simply because he has not been allowed to grow larger within Jekyll. This made me think that someone who had not kept their desires in check throughout their lives as much as Jekyll claims he has previously, would have a larger more developed second self. Someone who leads an even more "caged" life would have a much smaller second self. We all have this part of ourselves, and it's interesting how easily this part of us can take control over our lives, no matter how small. Despite leading a life almost entirely of virtue, once Hyde is unleashed and given freedom to exercise his more evil desires, Jekyll can no longer contain this part of him.