Returns of the Repressed in R.L. Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abstract

This research work studies R.L. Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydefrom the psychoanalytical perspectives. It explores the repressed psyche of the character which returns through the means of horror story. The fear about the future becomes repressed in the psyche of the main character Dr. Jekyll. A dual or split personalityshowsthat the same personhasboth good as well as evil qualities which are exposed in different conditions.When people are in normal condition they seem good and gentle, and when they are intoxicated they show their true identity i.e. full of cruelty and irrationality. The major charactersof the novella, Dr. Jekyll has two personalities: Dr. Jekyll ( a good and professional physician) and Mr. Hyde (an evil and murderous character). Drug plays a major role to separatethemfrom good to evil andviceversa. From theFreudianperspective,these two distinct personalities of the same person represent two different aspects of human psyche i.e. conscious and unconscious. Stevenson by describing the split identity of the character portrays the tendency of repressingexcessivedesire inthe contemporary society.Outwardly, theyseemed respectable, but inwardly were immoral and encompassed by dual characters like: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is thepsychic statethat the research focuses on.