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| <http://www.psychotherapy-nyc.com/> The conflict within Stevenson over his religious beliefs is reflected in the story of Jekyll and Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is preoccupied with the desire to remove or suppress his own corrupt thoughts and feelings. He turns to science in an effort to liberate the virtuous portion of his soul from the villainous, concocting potions in his laboratory that he hopes will accomplish the task. Initially the potions do provide a reprieve from the struggle; these opposing forces are segregated from each other, like caged animals, exchanging control of the mind and physical body. But the opposition never really ceases, Hyde is unaware of his alter-ego, but Jekyll isn’t. He feels a bit of remorse for the actions of the other but not enough to be stricken with guilt. In fact, he seems to relish the anonymity the physical change of appearance provides him and the partitioning of his conscience prevents acknowledgement of his own culpability. Stevenson’s exploration of the duality of human nature and his inability to reconcile those ideas might echo the reasons he abandoned his early religious beliefs. |
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| <http://www.barewlls.com/pv-558427_Great-Quotes-from-Great-Thinkers--Socrates.html>_ |
Our greatest thinkers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke have pondered these same questions, usually contemplating the more basic question. Is Man good or evil? The Bible teaches that we are made in God’s image and were without sin till the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. It also warns of temptation by the Devil and how this sin separates us from the Father. The depictions with Jesus on one shoulder and
Lucifer on the other amply portrays the conflict within Dr. Jekyll, each seeking the attention and control of the mind and subconscious. If man was wholly good would we need laws, government, and locks on our doors? The news is filled with stories of horrific acts perpetrated by terrible people, but even these individuals are not thoroughly immoral. They are capable of love, guilt, joy, and despair with many of them leading normal lives outside their sinister acts. We all have the propensity for good and evil, but the war between the two does not rage as it did inside Dr. Jekyll and perhaps Stevenson.
