The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay -- Robert Louis Stev

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, pen by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a story rife with the imagery of a degenerate psyche. Admittedly taken largely from Stevensons dreams, it undoubtably sheds light on the informants own hidden fears and desires. Written at the turn of the nineteenth Century, it also reflects the psychology of society in general at the analogous fourth dimension when Sigmund Freud was setting about to do the same thing. While Freud is ofttimes criticized for his seemingly excessive emphasis on sexual suppression as the leash cause of psychological disturbances, the time period in which he lived was exceedingly strict on what constituted appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Accordingly, Freud hypothesized that the bulk of people were obliged to hide their unacceptable thoughts and feelings down in the depths of their unconscious mind from whence they would inevitably escape from at a later time to mani fest in a variety of ways. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde illustrates Freuds theory of repression throughout the entirety of the story and shows the negative consequences associated with this coping strategy. heat content Jekyll is the character who has repressed the most and who consequently suffers the direst of outcomes. In his statement of his experiences leading up to the emergence of Edward Hyde, one anticipates the revelation of some early detriment of a fairly significant scale that would clarify the mans need to regress to an alternate identity. However, Jekylls letter is free from any(prenominal) mention of anything of the sort. He instead emphasizes his gaiety of disposition, and his guarantee of a distinguished future, while steering clear of any descriptio... ...he reveals his struggle as he sought with tears and prayers to smother down the crowd of direful images and sounds with which my memory swarmed against me (57). His fight with repression wa s a losing battle as was everyone elses. They made the misidentify of believing that an issue can be buried deep abounding in the unconscious to remain hidden forever. Had Freuds theories been made everyday a few years earlier they may have agnize the irrationality of their actions and that openly addressing troubling material is the only way to fragmentize it. For as the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde makes disturbingly clear, small problems can plough into catastrophic ones when they finally break the surface, and they inevitably will as the muddiness cannot hold forever. Works CitedStevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York Norton, 2003.