I just finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde today, and I am thrilled with it! It was a wonderful book, a fulfilling experience, and a pleasure to read. In fact, I highly recommend it.
I know what a lot of you are thinking (because I know everything-- just kidding!) I already know how this story goes! I've seen the movie; I've heard the plot. I know what's going to happen! Well, yes and no. It's true that the story of Jekyll and his evil counterpart Hyde has become ingrained in our minds from so many sources, but even so, the story the book tells is very different from the movies:
First of all, there are almost no women. Dr. Jekyll does not love a pretty young woman of a good family, while Hyde frequents a prostitute. Jekyll is fifty and single. The only women Hyde encounters are a young girl whom he tramples on, and a grown woman whom he slaps.
Second, it is not the pure and simple Good Jekyll verses Evil Hyde. Jekyll is not the good half. He is the collaboration of the two halves. Hyde is always in Jekyll who calls himself a hypocrite. However, Jekyll is absent in Hyde, who has no good in him whatsoever.
Third, Jekyll and Hyde do not communicate to each other. In the musical Jekyll and Hyde (specifically in the song Confrontation), the two parts interact with each other. However, Jekyll refers to himself as Hyde several times in the last chapter of the book, saying that as Hyde, he felt powerful, young, and devious. But, the two parts do not actually talk, since both are aspects of Dr. Jekyll himself.
Finally, while Jekyll is becoming more and more of Hyde (who is a part of him), Hyde starts to become Jekyll, for as we find out, there are scenes when Hyde struggles to find the antidote to bring himself back to Jekyll, cries "like a woman or a lost soul," and eventually kills himself, crying out before he does, "Utterson...for God's sake, have mercy!" (Robert Louis Stevenson -- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).
I was mesmerized by this little tome. It was a fascinating read that left me feeling fulfilled, like one who has just eaten a wonderful dinner. And yes, I did devour this book. (figuratively of course; paper does not appeal to my taste buds ;3)
I've owned the book for over a year and I've never cracked it open. This summer I shall!
ReplyDelete@Chess...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Chess :) This makes me very happy! Happy reading :D
I believe I read this many years ago and that is probably why I never cared for the movie. The movies were different stories about other people. I remember reading Robert Louis Stevenson a great deal as a boy, Treasure Island was the hook but now I can't really say I remember any of it. One of the blessings of old age is you can read some really good books over again and it's all brand new.
ReplyDelete@Oldfool...
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to read more of Stevenson this summer. This is my first experience with him, and I was thrilled!
I read this book a few years ago, and I was surprised at how different it was from the story that I thought I was familiar with. I really liked it, and would recommend it to anyone. I should probably re-read it at some point, because I've forgotten most of the subtleties of the plot.
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