The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

[alaterdate]

Bet The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson was on point when it first came out in 1886 and no one was spoiled about the last chapter.

132 years later it doesn't live up to the hype. Even the Dr's own musings about the duality of man's nature just fell flat as hell. The twist must have made it so popular in the good old days when people spelled burden as burthen. Also I'm pretty sure there's a page in here where they accidentally call him Harry Jekyll, but his name is Henry, so you know this book went to print so fast. Stevenson definitely wrote this for commercial purposes (to sell by Christmas) so it's funny as hell that it's touted so literary-ly. Things just always end up that way, the book you take several years to craft is dismissed while your 3 week story gets jotted down as a classic.

The analytic text surrounding the story is decidedly more interesting than the story itself. This story is like one of those "you had to be there" moments, if you didn't read it in 1886 it's not gonna enthrall you. It has so morphed into something so entirely different in the modern age that you won't easily recognize any of the themes you associate with the story in the the actual story (until the very end perhaps).

"Edwin Eigner complained as early as 1966 that Jekyll and Hyde had been ‘allegorised almost out of existence’ by the huge quantity of commentary it had generated."

I think it's all the historical things surrounding the publication of the story that marks it as remarkable, so enjoy the story, but definitely read up on some of this stuff. I read the DUKE Classics versions.

Comments

[alaterdate]

After being exposed to so many Jekyll & Hyde references the book was not at all how I expected or imagined. It's different from Frankenstein though. Yes, subsequent media made Frankenstein's monster mindless, but at least the theme that the relentless pursuit of knowledge can bring ruin is still present most of the time.

Jekyll & Hyde, not so much. It's portrayed as struggling with the duality of man, against an evil alter-ego who takes over his body without his consent and commits crimes Jekyll is not aware of. But in the book that is not the case at all! And there is now definitely more stock in the theme of good vs. evil natures where one is either all good or all evil. Rather than what the book was actually saying (especially about society in the 1800s).
It's kind of boring though, I don't think the shock value is there for a modern reader. The only thing I was shocked about was that the Dr's explanation was not what every other media told me it should be. I had to look up more info after that. Reading essays about the book, it's reception and sales was really interesting. The original text really did become insignificant in lieu of the ideas people now associate with the story. It's very own Jekyll & Hyde... DUN DUN DUN!