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Comparitive Themes

 

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             Dr. Jekyll is a man of very high social standings. As an educated doctor, scientist, philanthropist and gentleman, he is regarded as a man of great status. With such status comes social responsibility. Dr. Jekyll is expected to be a man of great virtue and is thereby expected to follow all social rules. As can be seen from the characterization of Jekyll in Stevenson's novel, along with that of Martin's, he is thwarted by these rules, as he has deep within him the desire for evil doings. An example of such desire is found in the dialogue between Mary and Jekyll on pages 47 and 48, in which Dr. Jekyll says, ""I suppose I have a master too, and mine, Mary, if you can conceive it, is more demanding than yours."" He then goes on to probe Mary about whether she would make the choice to live with the freedom to do whatever one chooses without fear of consequences. His implications here are that as Mr. Hyde, he can do as he pleases, as Hyde is without the duties of social expectation. Both Mary and Dr. Jekyll are denied their desires by the constraints of their positions in the world. .
             Another parallel between the two protagonists is their fear. Just as Jekyll is afraid of the part of him that is Hyde, Mary is afraid of her father. Mary's fear of her father is shown in the initial pages of the novel in which she describes how he abused her in his drunkenness. Jekyll's fear of Hyde, however, is shown much less obviously. In one dialogue between Mary and Jekyll, he asks, ""Are you ever afraid of yourself, Mary? (142)"" This question is a metaphor for his fear of the parts of himself that he can't escape- those that are manifested in Hyde. Another corresponding event between the two is the recurrence of the subjects of their fear. .
             At some point during the novel, both Mary and Jekyll think that they have seen the last of their foes. On the contrary, both Hyde and Mary's father return to plague them once again with their fears.


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