The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

We've all heard the tale of Jekyll & Hyde... sort of. But very few have actually read the story. I recently did, and though the book is a quick read I was put into quite a bit of thought afterward - much more than I'd expected. For the 0.1% of the population that hasn't heard this tale, I'm about to give it up. So you may wish to stop reading.... now.

We come in the end of the short novel to learn that the respectable Henry Jekyll and the murderous Edward Hyde are one in the same. Jekyll's dying confession recounts his revelation of the dual parts of his personhood - the side that strives for good and the side that maliciously desires only for itself. Jekyll discovered a potion that would allow him to slip between the two. But eventually he was unable to make more of the potion and was lost to Hyde. I've seen critics regard this as a novel addressing schizophrenia. After reading it, I can't agree with that.

Here's what strikes home about this book. In Jekyll's letter, he speaks of the desire to do evil that had always resided within him, though he kept it in check. Yet he eventually came upon the opportunity to allow the evil side of him to come out with no effect on his conscience. His sense of right and wrong was the only thing that had kept him from committing heinous acts, and as soon as he found a way around it he gave in. The acts of Hyde, however, soon became too much for his conscience. He tried to cut off the monster, but the evil had taken root and was taking over. It was now only the potion that was allowing him to remain his respectable self. Eventually he was unable to get the necessary ingredients, and he knew that he would forever become Edward Hyde.

I can not help but see a parallel between this story and the power of sin. We men are at best tempted beings who keep the evil within at bay, though always secretly desiring it's release. Yet as Henry Jekyll found out in the end: to give in to sin, to continue to entertain, would allow it a foothold that slowly corrupts, transforms, overtakes. His revelation of this is clear:

"You must suffer me to go my own dark way.  I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name.  If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.  I could not think that this earth contained a place for sufferings and terrors sounmanning..."

Choose carefully. No man starts out being evil.