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Integrity In Jekyll And Hyde

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On the other hand, the interaction between the immorality and integrity of Jekyll is characterized by his repeated expression of temptation and his inability to resist, ultimately resulting in the death of his persona. Similar to how the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” gains a new identity, Jekyll’s persona is gradually replaced by the evil persona of Hyde. Some psychoanalytic critics “see Jekyll and Hyde not as equal personalities, but Hyde as a suppressed version of Jekyll, undercutting Jekyll's idea that separation of the two personalities may be achieved” (Brackett). At the outset, the relationship between Jekyll’s immorality and integrity is lopsided in favor of the latter, but as Hyde commits worser crimes, Jekyll’s spirit deteriorates. …show more content…

But in private, Jekyll confesses that when he “looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, [he] was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. This too, was [himself]. It seemed natural and human” (Stevenson 78). Instead of feeling disgust at the appearance of Hyde, like every other character in the story, Jekyll feels comforted. The fact that Jekyll is able to view pure evil without revulsion is symbolic of his innate corruption and foreshadows Hyde inevitably overwhelming Jekyll. Throughout the story, Jekyll is utterly incapable of resisting the temptations of Hyde. Even after vowing to never transform into Hyde again, Jekyll drinks the potion after two months: “I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught” (Stevenson 86). By allowing himself to fall prey to temptation and feel comfortable with Hyde, Jekyll refuses to acknowledge the immorality of Hyde. This is illustrated by the fact that “While the other characters find ways to accept and cope with their shadow sides, Dr. Jekyll cannot, and his failure to integrate the seemingly opposite aspects of himself… [results] in his …show more content…

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” deserves higher merit due to its more profound and logical analysis of ethical dualism and of the interaction between immorality and virtue. While both works offer evidence that disproves moral dualism, Poe’s story requires more conclusive details. The narrator is insane, and as a result, his perspective of the story is less trustworthy. While it is possible to reason that the narrator’s heart rate increases due to fear, it is also possible to reason that it increases due to excitement. The narrator may have admitted to murdering the old man from guilt, or he may have admitted simply due to his insanity. In a review of the story, Michael Barsa states that at the beginning, “You immediately get the sense that the narrator is reacting to something or someone, perhaps an unnamed interlocutor who's just told him he's mad. Or perhaps he's simply arguing or contending with himself? With a narrator like this, you never know, which is why I love unreliable narrators. There's no stability, no objectivity--everything is a shifting sand of the mind.” Simply put, the narrator is untrustworthy. As a result, the existence of ethical dualism in Poe’s work hinges upon the interpretation of what the narrator feels when his heart rate increases. In Stevenson’s work, he utilizes Jekyll’s virtuous nature to create two seemingly opposite forces,

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