The Strange Case od Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde chapters 8-10

These last three chapters bring the novel to a close in an interesting way. The way the novel is written takes a turn and changes perspectives. In chapter 8 the novel is told as Dr. Lanyon’s narrative. In his narrative Lanyon reads and describes a letter that he received from Jekyll. He also shares his experience of visiting him. In this letter, Jekyll designates Lanyon as one of his closest friends and he gives him multiple tasks and responsibilities to complete for him. What he tells Lanyon to do is very important and if it isn’t done Lanyon will be responsible for Jekyll’s life. In this letter Jekyll orders him to go to his house, meet Mr. Poole and a locksmith and remove all the contents from the drawers in his room. He was told to bring these things to Cavendish Square exactly the way he found them. All of this made Lanyon think Jekyll was insane. He does everything he is ordered to and meets up with a man at the Square. He watches this man mix powders and chemicals and drink it. He watches in terror because the man that once a stranger had now become Henry Jekyll. After all this happens, the novel changes to Jekyll’s full statement of the case. In this chapter he talks about his dual personality and how they began. He discussed the differences between Jekyll and Hyde. He was once able to control the changes between personalities but then Hyde became so powerful and chemicals were no longer needed for the change. It became voluntary and it was ultimately hurting Jekyll. At the end of the case, there is the death of Jekyll and Hyde prevails.

A quote that caught my attention was, “[…] that man is not truly one, but truly two” (48). I totally agree with this and not only do I agree with this because of Jekyll’s case. I believe everyone has different personalities because of the structure of the brain and also depending on the situation and environment they are in. Another quote that I found interesting was, “I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness even I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both […] elements” (49). I think it took a lot of courage and acceptance for him to admit that he is both of these people no matter what anyone or himself tells him. Many people would deny this. I think that him admitting this, brings a type of closure to the novel.

I would like to ask the author why did Jekyll ultimately choose to live as Hyde is he brought him so much pain?

What will happen to Hyde? Will he be discovered and killed?

Wallen, Jeffrey. "Falling Under an Evil Influence." Promoting and Producing Evil. Ed. Nancy Billias. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rodopi, 2010. 67-93. At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries 63. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.