Repression_in_Dr._Jekyll_and_Mr._Hyde

Repression plays a large role in the lives of the characters from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Fortunately or unfortunately, every character represses themselves as to lead exemplary lives. In the victorian age, the people of London controlled themselves by denying what they wanted in order to protect their reputation. Although, if the men in this story had not repressed themselves, they might have prevented the tragic murders committed by Hyde from happening. Characters that showed repression were Mr. Utterson, followed by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as less emphasized characters. Mr. Utterson, a lawyer who was friends with Dr. Jekyll, repressed himself by not stopping the evil deeds of others. “‘I incline to Cain’s heresy,’ he used to say quaintly: ‘I let my brother go to the devil in his own way.’ In this character, it was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of downgoing men.” (Stevenson 1) Needless to say, Utterson knew many men who went astray, one being his friend, Dr. Jekyll. Many times throughout the story, Utterson noticed Jekyll’s strange behaviors, but until Poole asked him to, Utterson did not act upon his impulses to help Jekyll. Perhaps, if Utterson took action earlier, the drug experiments wouldn’t have continued. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the most obvious characters to repress themselves. When Jekyll writes about his drug experiments, he mentions, “For two good reasons, I will not enter deeply into this scientific branch of my confession.” (Stevenson 80) He held back from explaining all the details of the evils of man because it will take too long. Also, everytime he transformed from Hyde back into Jekyll was repression because Jekyll was subduing his evil and Hyde was not rebelling against turning into a good person once more. If Hyde hadn’t turned back into Jekyll, he would have been caught and punished. Other characters repressed themselves, such as Lanyon and Poole. Lanyon writes, “What he told me in the next hour, I cannot bring my mind to set on paper.” (Stevenson 77) After the drug experiments are explained to Lanyon, he represses himself as to not set in writing what he was told because he was dumbfounded by it. Poole follows Dr. Jekyll’s orders, and Mr. Hyde’s because he is told to do so, even though on impulse he dislikes Hyde. Even after Poole suspects that Hyde murdered Jekyll, he continues to obey Mr. Hyde. If Poole had acted on his instinctual disgust towards Hyde, maybe the murderer would have been caught. Repression in the Victorian Age was though of as the proper way to behave oneself, although nowadays it can be argued that freedom of expression is a better way to live. The characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde repress themselves as a way to keep control and stay calm and collected. If the men in this story hasn’t repressed themselves, maybe Hyde wouldn’t have been able to get away with committing murder. Each man on impulse disliked Hyde when they met, but none acted upon this impulse to rid London of Mr. Hyde until after murder was committed. In the end, Hyde was not punished for his crimes, so the men that though repression was proper and the right way to act could be considered incorrect, because their repression brought about death.