Key Quote
“"It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man"”
Dr Jekyll · Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll's Full Statement
Focus: “primitive”
Jekyll's philosophical conclusion — that duality is 'thorough and primitive' — suggests that the division between good and evil is not exceptional but fundamental to human nature.
Technique 1 — LATINATE REGISTER / ACADEMIC AUTHORITY
Jekyll employs a Latinate (derived from Latin, used in academic and scientific discourse) register: 'recognise', 'thorough', 'primitive', 'duality'. This elevated vocabulary lends his statement the authority of a scientific paper — he frames his murderous experience as a contribution to knowledge. The tension between the formality of his language and the horror of his content creates a deeply unsettling dissonance (a clash between things that do not harmonise).
The word 'primitive' (from Latin *primitivus*, 'first of its kind') carries evolutionary connotations: duality is not a modern condition but an ancient, fundamental aspect of human nature. This connects to Victorian anxieties about Darwin — if duality is primitive, it predates civilisation and cannot be eliminated by it.
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RAD — REGRESS
Jekyll's final statement reveals the ultimate regression: his entire experiment, born of intellectual ambition and moral idealism, has produced only destruction. His 'recognition' comes too late — understanding duality theoretically does not prevent it from destroying him practically. This gap between knowledge and action is itself a form of regression: Jekyll ends knowing more but being less than when he started.
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Technique 2 — CONFESSIONAL MODE / EPISTOLARY STRUCTURE
The final chapter shifts to epistolary (written as a letter or document) form: Jekyll's 'Full Statement' is a written confession read after his death. This structural choice is significant — Jekyll can only tell the truth in writing, not in person; and only posthumously, not while alive. The confessional mode (writing that reveals hidden truths about the self) requires the safety of death before full disclosure is possible.
The epistolary structure also means the reader receives the truth without Jekyll's physical presence — we read his words but cannot see his face, ask questions, or judge his sincerity. This creates a final act of concealment even within confession: Jekyll controls the narrative from beyond the grave, shaping how we understand his story. The man who could not control his body maintains control of his narrative.
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Context (AO3)
THE CONFESSIONAL TRADITION
The final chapter draws on the tradition of Christian confession — a formal acknowledgment of sin before God. But Jekyll's confession is addressed to Utterson, not to God; his seeking of understanding is secular (not religious) rather than spiritual. Stevenson suggests that in the modern world, the confessor is the lawyer, not the priest — institutional authority has replaced divine authority.
VICTORIAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Victorian period produced extensive autobiographical writing focused on moral self-examination (systematic scrutiny of one's own character). Jekyll's statement parodies this tradition: he performs self-examination but uses it to explain, rather than repent, his crimes. Stevenson critiques a culture where the performance of introspection can substitute for genuine moral change.
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WOW — THE SHADOW (Jung)
Carl Jung's concept of the Shadow describes the unconscious aspect of the personality that the conscious ego does not identify with — the dark, repressed, animalistic side of human nature. Hyde IS Jekyll's Shadow made flesh. Jung argued that the Shadow cannot be eliminated — only integrated (incorporated into conscious awareness). Jekyll's fatal error is attempting to separate rather than integrate his Shadow: he tries to exile evil from his personality rather than acknowledging it as part of himself. Jung would say that psychological health requires confrontation with the Shadow — accepting that darkness exists within oneself — not its chemical extraction. Stevenson's novella is a cautionary tale about the catastrophic consequences of refusing to integrate the dark aspects of identity: what you deny will eventually destroy you.
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