Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Time to discuss!

It was a good time to read this one: right before Halloween.

I enjoyed this book. I've known the story since I was a kid. I have seen many adaptions of it. Looney Tunes comes to mind. I think Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and others all took their turns as Jekyll and Hyde. But knowing the story and actually, finally, reading it are completely different things. And it didn't disappoint.

I have to wonder what it would have been like reading this and NOT KNOWING that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person. When would I have figured it out. I guess 135 years makes for the ultimate spoiler.

A very marked difference in the style from Kidnapped, the last Stevenson book we read. Moving from adventure to horror I suppose that's to be expected. I think he excelled in the horror and suspense department.

While I knew that Hyde represented pure evil, I don't think I ever knew that he actually assaulted and murdered.

I'm glad we got to read this classic.

Sean wrote: "...I have to wonder what it would have been like reading this and NOT KNOWING that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person...."

I agree and I thought the same thing while reading it.

Like many other books that have been reinterpreted in various media forms, I was surprised at the difference in how Hyde was portrayed compared to what I expected. I thought of Hyde as a lumbering brute, a Jack-the-Ripper type. Instead, he is noted to be short, and he is cowed by others who confront him for "trampling" a little girl (who appears not to be hurt, just scared). He does murder a member of Parliament later in the book, his only true crime. Then he commits suicide rather than be caught.

I was ambivalent towards the book and actually slightly disappointed until the final chapter, in which Jekyll relates his story in a letter to Utterson. The ruminations on the duality of man, as well as the consequences paid by Jekyll for the sins of Hyde, reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "The ruminations on the duality of man, as well as the consequences paid by Jekyll for the sins of Hyde, reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray.."

I agree and I thought the same thing while reading it..."

A very good comparison. I also thought about Dorian while reading J&H.

Now I’m thing about it when I would have figured it out if I didn’t know…I hope I would have figured it out before the big reveal… I could see the clues, but I think they were obvious because I had seen so many adaptations of the story.

I was still impressed by the mysteries that kept me wanting to read when I knew the story’s big secret.

I think one of the scariest things was that his deepest darkest self was so small and cowardly compared to the rest of the world, but was so strong that it overtook the best parts of him.

Nakanisha wrote: "...I think one of the scariest things was that his deepest darkest self was so small and cowardly compared to the rest of the world, but was so strong that it overtook the best parts of him."

Good observation. I assumed the message Stevenson was going for was "you are what you do."

I read this a few years ago for Halloween. Despite its short length, I was very impressed with how it pulled me in and made me think about good versus evil. I don't remember a ton of details, but I do remember being intrigued that Jekyll longs for the unconstrained nature of Hyde, but Hyde does not feel the same longing to be more like Jekyll.

Jennifer W wrote: "...I do remember being intrigued that Jekyll longs for the unconstrained nature of Hyde, but Hyde does not feel the same longing to be more like Jekyll."

That is a great observation.

It's good, but could be much better in my opinion.
I think, it sums it all up that Dr.Jekyll wants to reconstruct his own identity to break humanities ethical, shared rules and Victorian England's societal norms, but without paying a price. So, he splits his identity into duality, which can be simply read as good and evil.
It also referred a lot to the view on morality in the times when it was written, because of the huge gap between the classes (economical, between genders etc.).

And unfortunately, the popular culture misrepresents such classics like this one (and Frankenstein for example). Before you read the book, you already have a formed picture about the characters and the plot, but once you read the source, it's something total different.

Armin wrote: "...Before you read the book, you already have a formed picture about the characters and the plot, but once you read the source, it's something total different."

Exactly how I felt. I can hardly imagine something like this being written today. I'm sure the editors would have kicked it back saying there wasn't enough action, no love interest, no diverse characters, and an unsatisfying ending.

I see this more as commentary on a society where the wealthy put on the airs of being moral, but behind closed doors, they are able to do despicable things without consequence because they can hide behind their wealth. It is not so much that they secretly wish they could be Mr. Hyde, but that Mr. Hyde is who they truly are, and Dr. Jekyll is only what they allow us to see.

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Sean wrote: "...I have to wonder what it would have been like reading this and NOT KNOWING that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person...."

I agree and I thought the same thing while reading it.

L..."

yes, you are absolutely right, RJ! There are quite a few similarities between Dorian Gray and Jekyll and Hyde:

- the kind of "doubling" of the protagonist and the eventual recognition of cruelty and sinful behaviour
- the split-personality-motif
- suppressed and negative features of a person, which are are shifted off to the unconsciousness due to social pressure
- struggle between individual and society

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Sean wrote: "...I have to wonder what it would have been like reading this and NOT KNOWING that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person...."

I agree and I thought the same thing while reading it.

L..."

Upon further thought, I also found some similarities between J&H and the stories by Edgar Allan Poe on the list:

They both feature an authorial narrator who introduces the reader to the story by telling them about something "dark and ominous" thus creating a sense of forboding and future misadventure. As the story progresses and the reader dives deeper and deeper into the plot, the narrator fades more and more into the background. (Very clever that!)
There are also a lot of doppelgängers, experiments in alchemy and split-personalities in Poe, but not so much in the short stories that are on the list.

Jennifer W wrote: "I read this a few years ago for Halloween. Despite its short length, I was very impressed with how it pulled me in and made me think about good versus evil. I don't remember a ton of details, but I..."

A very interesting point you are making about Jekyll wanting to be more like Hyde but not the other way round.

I do feel like there is one instance in the book, where one could argue that Hyde sort of wants to be like Jekyll: After the murder he says "Jekyll was now my city of refuge". - The identity of the respectable doctor becomes his hiding place from the crime he committed.
But, yes I do agree, Hyde represents all Jekyll's darkest desires and as such, he has no wish to be like the "good" Jekyll.

I actually skipped this one because we had just read Kidnapped. I couldn't take another Stevenson, haha. But it appears from your comments that it was different... Well, maybe next October 🦇.

Daniel wrote: "I actually skipped this one because we had just read Kidnapped. I couldn't take another Stevenson, haha. But it appears from your comments that it was different... Well, maybe next October 🦇."

Very understandable, Daniel. ;-)
Jekyll and Hyde is very different and I think you'll like it better than Kidnapped.

All of your comments are wonderful to see! I believe that this book is a great piece of literature which should be more well-known. The most enjoyable part of reading this novel was always wanting to know what will come next, the subtle mysterious feeling in the beginning of the story got me hooked from the get go.