Relationship between Jekyll and Hyde

Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same

The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde is at the heart of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The revelation that they are in fact the same person is the major plot twist that turns the novella from a crime story into a supernatural story. 

When Mr Utterson mentions that he has “been learning something of young Hyde”, Dr Jekyll is obviously frightened: “The large handsome face of Dr Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes.” (p. 18). It is notable that even the mention of Mr Hyde causes Dr Jekyll to change his appearance and the “blackness” in his eyes hints at the evil inside him, even very early in the novella. 

In popular culture the idea of “Jekyll and Hyde” suggests an opposition between good and evil, but Stevenson’s representation of the relationship between the characters is actually much more complex. 

Dr Jekyll remains a mixture of good and evil

It is true that Hyde is an embodiment of the evil parts of Dr Jekyll’s character. He is “a being inherently malign and villainous; his every act and thought centred on self” (p. 57). However, the separation of Hyde from Jekyll does not mean ...