Approaches to Identity in Literature

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Approaches to Identity in Literature Robert Louis Stevenson explores the concept of duality of human identity quite literally in his work The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The author uses the idea of scientific fantasy to highlight the struggles of the protagonist. In the book, the protagonist and the antagonist are distinct yet the same. Dr Jekyll is a respected scientist, known for his calm demeanour and intelligence. However, deep within, he feels the urge to release his ‘second nature.’ Using science, Dr Jekyll experiments on himself, leading to creating another identity known as Mr Hyde. Mr Hyde is the evil incarnation of Dr Jekyll, who commits murders and various other atrocities. Dr Jekyll’s continuous experimentations on himself lead to Mr Hyde becoming too powerful and taking over ‘their’ body. In the end, both of them die due to the chemicals they were taking (Stevenson). Stevenson uses the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to show the possibility of dual human identity. Granted, Stevenson does use the fictional perspective to arrive at this conclusion. The duality of human identity causes people to believe that they are two separate and distinct individuals trapped in the same body. Such perceptions are often not literal; more often than not, they are figurative. People understand that one nature is their dominant nature, but they also hide a part of themselves that they feel is their second nature. Unfortunately, Mr Hyde also becomes the downfall of Dr Jekyll. Second nature can be destructive to the identity as a whole. There is a need to give a balance between first and second natures. Stevenson’s work should not be taken literally but applied in circumstances where...