Jessica Gramajo
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) does not solely serve the purpose of entertainment. Many in the late nineteenth century viewed those with disabilities as both physical and mental outcasts. The characters of Jekyll and Hyde exhibit characteristics associated with mental disability, more commonly referred to as either mental illness or mental disorder. In today’s world, the two disorders that closely resemble these characters’ behaviors are Dissociative Identity Disorder (or Multiple Personality Disorder) and Bipolar Disorder (or Manic Depression). Dissociate Identity Disorder (DID) is defined as a disorder in which “[one] may feel the presence of two or more people talking or living inside [one’s head]” (“Dissociative Disorders”). Bipolar Disorder (BP) is a condition that disrupts one’s mood which includes “emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression),” creating abrupt mood swings (“Bipolar”). Of these two conditions, it is evident that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s set of characteristics can be classified under Dissociative Identity Disorder, not Bipolar Disorder.
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde falls under the genre of science fiction, but the science behind the tortured Jekyll and Hyde’s corruption shows a strong resemblance to early cases of dissociative identity disorder recorded during and after the publication of the novel. Rokeya Sarker Rita, in her analysis of the novel, defines dissociative disorder as a disruption in “memory, identity […] and sense of self” (75). Some symptoms of DID specifically include “headache, amnesia, time loss,” dissociative episodes, “and out of body experiences” (“Dissociative Identity”). These symptoms are present in Jekyll and Hyde’s case, especially in the closing chapter when Jekyll speaks of his personal experience with his so-called “twin” (49). One of the earliest cases of DID was recorded in 1883, just three years before the novel was published. A forty-five-year-old woman, called Léoine, took on three different personalities. She and patients in other cases struggled to remember what “they did in their changed state of mind” (Rita 76). Dr. Jekyll, too, has an entirely different personality that emerges from within, that personality being Mr. Hyde, and in some instances Dr. Jekyll fails to remember what has happened while he was “gone” (57). With an elixir’s help, Jekyll voluntarily turns into Hyde, but when the drug fails to work properly, Jekyll unwillingly awakes as Hyde, just as Dr. Jekyll has feared (62). Stevenson demonstrates Jekyll involuntarily switching to Hyde, from one identity to another. The exchange of personalities is the dissociative aspect of DID, where Dr. Jekyll feels detached from his usual self and fails to remember the order of events.
Frederic W. H. Myers’s article, published in 1886-87, describes the peculiar case of Louis V., who had a difficult upbringing but was “quiet, well-behaved, and obedient” before an incident with a snake. Louis was 14 years old when he was greatly frightened by a “viper,” and he became paralyzed in the legs and suffered physical symptoms, such as epilepsy. Suddenly, after “a hysteron-epileptic attack—fifty hours of convulsions and ecstasy,” Louis’ memory was “set back […] to the moment of the viper’s appearance, and he could remember nothing since” (134). Louis was not paralyzed anymore, and he became “violent, greedy, and quarrelsome.” Louis V.’s abrupt change in behavior is remarkably similar to that of Dr. Jekyll. In the two different identities, Jekyll’s entire demeanor changes, and he is seen as a separate individual when embodying the character of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll, as described by other characters, is a handsome, kind gentleman of older age with an admirable reputation. Meanwhile, Hyde is described as “troglodytic” (15), or like a cave-dweller, implying he is ill- mannered and uneducated, as well as “deformed” (11). Louis’s original set of characteristics differ from those he possessed after he was frightened, and it may be assumed that a new identity emerged due to an imbalance, or corruption, that occurred in the left and right hemispheres of the brain (Myers 135). Similarly, Jekyll and Hyde are viewed as two separate individuals because their personalities contrast with one another, but they are in fact one person who has developed two distinct identities.
Furthermore, Rita also notes that the diverse set of personas that reside within one individual “have their own age, sex or race” (75). In addition, other features such as “differences in voice, gender, and mannerisms” are displayed (“Dissociative Disorders”). Even though Edward Hyde is presumably the same sex and race as Dr. Jekyll, he is “so much […] younger” (51). Not only do their ages differ, but presumably their voices are also distinct from one another, Mr. Hyde’s voice being “husky, whispering, and somewhat broken” (17). The last thing that sets Jekyll and Hyde apart is their mannerism, the way each personality interacts with the rest of society. The contrast regarding the way they behave is evident when considering the roles they play, Hyde being the vicious criminal while Jekyll is the pristine doctor. Each behaves accordingly, and his reputation is one of the main reasons why Jekyll desperately tries to suppress his alternative personality: he does not want to bear the guilt of his crimes.
These contrasting personalities lead to consideration of the double brain theory. Anne Stiles states how scientists from the Victorian era argued that cases of DID were caused “from an over-enlarged right brain overpowering the rational activities of the left brain,” which would explain Hyde’s criminal tendencies and Jekyll’s overwhelming worries (886). Stiles also notes that Stevenson read scientific articles relating to multiple personality case studies, including Myer’s article which was sent directly to him by Myers himself. However, Stevenson denies taking inspiration from them in an attempt to keep the novel’s true meaning a mystery (880-881). Stiles further claims that Stevenson’s use of the multiple personality concept derived from “the theory of the double brain” (881-82), noting science historian Anne Harrington’s work with the “civilized, rational left hemisphere” and the “uneducated, evolutionary backward right hemisphere” (882). These Victorian studies support Stevenson’s use of what became known as DID in the creation of these characters.
Furthermore, Stevenson, as Stiles asserts, wrote about psychological advances of the 1870s and 1880s that focused on the “the conscious and unconscious realms of psychic life” (882). Ed Block, Jr., too, writes about the psychology incorporated in Gothic literature, focusing on Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde tale. Block notes that Stevenson was acquainted with psychologist James Sully and claims that “Stevenson suggests artistically what Sully analyzes scientifically” (445). These connections reaffirm the notion that Stevenson took inspiration from scientific studies regarding topics such as duality and multiple personality cases. Not only that, but Sully also asserts that when evaluating oneself, one must consider one’s own “just as a second person would view it” (Qtd. in Block 448). Jekyll was able to divide his mind into two, which gave him the ability to assess a different part of his identity, a part he failed to subdue. From an outsider’s perspective, though, this is an act of dissociating, attempting to separate his evil side from his good side. Hyde’s physical appearance also resembles his placement within Jekyll’s mind, i.e., the underdeveloped right hemisphere that Harrington described, since Hyde is much smaller and seemingly less human than Dr. Jekyll. Sully’s research also focuses on the dream state, wherein we “lose all hold of ourselves, and take up the curious position of spectators at a transformation scene,” which also aligns with the act of dissociation. When Dr. Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll becomes a spectator and claims to no longer have control over his own body or thoughts, which may be a reason he is never accountable for Hyde’s scandalous actions.
Alternatively, it can be argued that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde display symptoms primarily linked to Bipolar Disorder (BP), as this condition also consists of “unpredictable changes in mood and behavior.” However, these symptoms tend to vary depending on the type of BP disorder, such as BP I or BP II, like psychosis, which is when “mania [triggers] a break from reality” (“Bipolar”). In this sense, it is Jekyll’s mood that changes significantly from a depressive state to a manic one, exemplified through the character of Hyde. Dr. Jekyll experiences tranquility for some time with no clear pattern. After that period, his mood changes and Hyde arises, causing the death of Carew. In the case of unspecified types of BP, drug use can induce similar symptoms, like the elixir Jekyll uses to transform into Hyde. The novel’s concluding chapter details Dr. Jekyll’s addiction to the substance, urging his servant to acquire copious quantities of it, despite its scarcity. Considering these circumstances through the lens of BP, Dr. Jekyll is undergoing an uncontrollable mood swing that forces him to behave manically, releasing his Mr. Hyde persona.
However, even if Jekyll and Hyde exhibit some of the symptoms of BP, this theory does not consider one of the important causes associated with DID. As B. B. Wolman states, “Unless [a subject’s] organism was impaired by hereditary factors […], the mental disorder is started by his interaction with the social environment” (52). Unlike DID, BP is a mental disorder that is inherited most times by “a first-degree relative, such as a sibling or parent” (“Bipolar”). There are no accounts stating that Jekyll has an underlying mental illness, and family medical history is nowhere to be found, although this lack of information adds to the ambiguous effect Stevenson hoped to achieve. DID, however, is developed under the circumstances of the individual’s environment, which best illustrates Dr. Jekyll’s case.
Stevenson, like his characters, also took on many roles in his life and viewed life as a drama. According to his friend, Arthur Symons, he was “never really himself except when he was in some fantastic disguise” (Qtd. in Oates 604), alluding to the idea that we all can assume several personalities. In these ways, the true origin of Stevenson’s strange tale correlates with contemporary scientific research involving the duality / imbalance of the brain and dreams. It is clear that the condition of the protagonist of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde should be classified as Dissociative Identity Disorder.
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