The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a wonderfully frightful novel that has led the world down some dark paths. From debates on what the duality of human nature means, to the advent of science and technology, to the fact that we’ve had to give up our own humanity in exchange for a rotting kingdom on earth, this book is no doubt one of the literary giants in history.

The book begins when a man named Edward Hyde tramples over a young girl. The girl’s guardian forces him to pay 100 pounds, before leaving Hyde alone and visiting the man’s house. The guardian, later revealed to be John Utterson, knew Dr. Jekyll, and was confused as to why Mr. Hyde was the sole heir to Dr. Jekyll’s fortune. Several nights later, Mr. Hyde was seen beating Sir Danvers Carew, Utterson’s client. When Utterson comes down to the police station, he’s shocked to find Jekyll. At first, Utterson believed that Jekyll was only trying to protect Hyde, but dismisses the notion. Soon after, things begin to calm down, and everything seems to be fine with Jekyll. But as time passes, Jekyll starts refusing friends and others, to the point where Utterson has to intervene. Finally, Utterson uncovers the devastating truth; that Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same person. As it turns out, Jekyll, who endeavored to shut Hyde down permanently, was in his laboratory, coming up with chemicals so that this personality would become permanent. Despite this, he fails, and decides to write down his confession, before transforming into the monstrous Mr. Hyde for all eternity.

There are various themes in the book that critics have praised for decades. For many, the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represent the inner struggle between good and evil. When one fails to dominate the other, this can result in catastrophic consequences, from the loss of life to the loss of sanity. Others see it as a fight between civilization and barbarism. For instance, Dr. Jekyll was a polite gentleman who fitted well into society, a sharp contrast to Mr. Hyde, who was seen as more of an animalistic beast who would prey on whomever he deemed fit. Interestingly enough, the novel fits into the norms of society in that it idealizes society in a way that makes it almost innocent, while shunning the dark. So it wasn’t necessarily good vs evil in a sense, or even humanity vs the wild, but rather the natural vs the unnatural.

The work was celebrated based on its reflections of humanity. It was a way to show that perhaps there’s a monster hidden within us, that whatever happens, there’s no way we can get rid of it. Or maybe society is what separates us from our monsters, in that it makes us what we fear most and, despite everything we may do to counteract it, we still give into our most basic of instincts.