I believe everyone is familiar with the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Lewis Stevenson. What I find most startling is how Stevenson is emphasising the duality of characters, however Hyde is only portrayed in the light of evil through the other characters eyes. Why is it that Stevenson left out the personal account of Hyde yet allowed the other characters to have multiple dimensions?
I believe Hyde is may be portrayed as evil so that we will stop and think. When we're catching personal accounts from all the characters but one, it is possible Stevenson was doing this so we would dig deeper about the character of Hyde. Is Hyde truly evil? Or are we just not getting the details needed to see him in a fair light?
It is also possible Stevenson characterized Hyde in pure evil so that in our questioning we would relate it to ourselves. How often do we judge others as "black" or "white" without knowing the details. Often we will make assumptions of people from that a friend has said with out having a real conversation with the person. Perhaps it has a social lesson mixed in.
Overall it's very interesting how Stevenson chose to cast Hyde with out a personal account and in pure evil. Whether it be for contrast in the characters, to make us think, or to teach us a lesson, Hyde's character certainly has caught our attention in this classic.
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