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

The Strange courting of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a story rife with the imagery of a troubled psyche. Admittedly taken largely from Stevensons dreams, it undoubtably sheds light on the authors deliver enigmatical fears and desires. Written at the turn of the 19th Century, it also reflects the psychology of society in general at the same fourth dimension when Sigmund Freud was setting intimately to do the same thing. While Freud is often criticized for his seemingly excessive emphasis on sexual suppression as the lede 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 majority of people were obliged to hide their unacceptable thoughts and feelings bolt down in the depths of their unconscious from whence they would inevitably escape from at a later time t o manifest 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.Henry 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 trauma of a fairly significant scale that would clarify the mans expect to regress to an alternate identity. However, Jekylls letter is free from any mention of anything of the sort. He instead emphasizes his gaiety of disposition, and his guarantee of a distinguished future, charm steering clear of any descriptio... ...he reveals his struggle as he sought with tears and prayers to smother down the crowd of hideous images and sounds with which my memory swarmed against me (57). His fight with repression was a losing battl e as was everyone elses. They made the mistake of believing that an issue can be buried deep enough in the unconscious to remain hidden forever. Had Freuds theories been made public a few years earlier they may have realized the irrationality of their actions and that openly addressing troubling material is the simply way to resolve it. For as the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde makes disturbingly clear, small problems can grow into catastrophic ones when they finally break the surface, and they inevitably will as the fog cannot hold forever. Works CitedStevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York Norton, 2003.