Keyword Guide · study-guide
This study guide offers a clear, original synopsis of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel for quick understanding. It highlights the plot, key ideas, and how to study the book for classes, quizzes, and essays.
The story follows a respected London doctor, Henry Jekyll, whose scientific experiments lead him to create a separate identity, Edward Hyde. Hyde acts without conscience and becomes linked to violent crimes. As Hyde grows stronger, Jekyll struggles to control the transformation. The novel builds toward the revelation that Jekyll and Hyde are two sides of the same person, ending in tragedy.
Dr. Henry Jekyll represents respectability, ambition, and moral conflict. Edward Hyde embodies cruelty, secrecy, and unchecked desire. Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, serves as the reader’s guide, investigating the mystery with reason and restraint. Minor characters reinforce the contrast between public order and hidden corruption.
The novel explores duality within human nature, suggesting that good and evil coexist in every person. It also examines reputation, secrecy, and the dangers of misused science. Victorian social pressure plays a role, showing how fear of judgment can drive destructive choices.
For quizzes, focus on the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde and how the mystery unfolds. For essays, connect the theme of duality to character actions and setting. Track how narration shifts from observation to confession, and note how suspense supports the novel’s message.
It includes suspense and frightening moments, but it is mainly a psychological and moral study of human nature.
Hyde symbolizes the hidden, immoral side of humanity that society tries to suppress.
Its themes of identity, ethics, and self-control remain relevant to modern discussions about behavior and responsibility.
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