Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll are two scientists obsessed with creating alternate beings that aren’t themselves. The scientists use their creative minds and abilities to exist in different spheres without being judged by the communities. Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll both seek to possess various creations in order to escape blame from society, particularly for their actions. Dr. Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde, the double of his multi-personality, whereas Frankenstein’s creature is separate from his creator. Individual needs and perspectives on the community and its demands are represented by the Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll experiments. Dr. Jekyll is torn between his two personalities, which represent good and evil. Edward Hyde is portrayed as a monster that represents the Dr. Jekyll’s evil character (Stevenson 78). Jekyll tries to suppress Hyde, his other evil personality, for the fear destroying his reputation. The doctor believed that his community’s demands were suffocating. Jekyll becomes emotionally and physically detached from his community that requires the fulfillment of the particular obligations (Stevenson 79). The primary objective to Jekyll’s alienation from the society was to find a balance between his good and evil sides using a potion. Dr. Jekyll feels the continued need to eliminate Hyde as the only resolution to the problem and the perceived harsh treatment from the community. The efforts to find a solution to his split personalities fail as Hyde becomes more dominant that Jekyll. The failure to control Hyde indicates that Dr. Jekyll believed it is impossible for the community to control permanently what a man creates.
Frankenstein sought to create a supreme being that helped him to live out his unconventional passions. Just like Dr. Jekyll, Frankenstein believed that the community demands were suffocating and the obligations constrained individual freedom (Shelly 75). According to Frankenstein, the community was judgmental and preserving his good character was paramount to determining the kind of life he led. A person’s reputation influenced his relationship with other people and acceptance from peers. Frankenstein also separated his emotions and physical presence from the community and lived in isolation. Frankenstein believed that the community should embrace the need to understand life and believed that the society could achieve a balance in the end. The Frankenstein’s monster’s desires constituted love and friendship from his creator and could not be separated from the self (Shelly 83). The rejection led to its ultimate revolt by killing Frankenstein’s friend and spouses. The premise exhibits the societal needs for companionship and fellowship that results into peaceful coexistence.
Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Frankenstein represent individuals seeking a balance between the good and evil. The created monsters represent the extension of their characters as influenced by their creativity, experiments and the need to alienate from the community. The common perception towards the community constituted its judgmental nature and the need for members to portray appropriate behavior to fit into specified social constructs. The monsters turn out to be inhuman and evil by portraying callous traits. The Frankenstein monster is described as a giant, violent and beast-like with fury related to that of an ape (Shelly 47). Edward Hyde appears as a dwarf with “lean, corded, knuckly, of a dusky pallor and thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair” (Stevenson 88). The monsters represent the alternate characters that developed as a result of the pressure to conform to community demands and obligations.
Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Frankenstein present a rebellion against their basic set up of the communities through the alternate personalities. The doctors avoided the dependency on predetermined obligations and demands of their communities. The scientists also indicate that good and evil are not separate from human beings. The need to make the right side prevail is important to strike a balance.
Works Cited
Shelly, W. Mary. Frankenstein or, the modern Prometheus. Boston: John Wilson and Sons. 1869. Print.
Stevenson, R. Louis. Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Harvard College Library. 1886. Print.
