Response 6 (10/20)

The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most fascinating novels to read that is based on gothic literature. This is mostly if not entirely because if the underlying themes within the novel. The whole creation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde gives us a visual representation of what it means to be human and all the different qualities one might endure. The paychological symbolism practically oozes from the characters and the story itself. Dr. Jekyll is what it means to be human; his repressed nature and social construct represents humanity as a whole and how we try to differentiate ourselves from other creatures on this earth. Mr. Hyde is our repression in a manifested form; he is what we all Barbour within ourselves. This is especially important because around the time this story was released, Sigmind Freud was developing his theory on the subconscious; and how we all had our three “parts” of ourselves. These are known as the Id (our most primal self), the ego (our logical and method concentrated self), and the super-ego (our moral and ethical self). Dr. Jekyll would in fact represents the ego while Mr. Hyde represents the Id. There does not seem to be a physical representation of the characters super-ego, however, which makes the story even more compelling. What makes this story so truly terrifying is that there are no fictional monsters that the gothic is more formally known for, the monster is the man. Dr. Jekyll fears his other “self” more than anything in the world, and it shows how truly terrified  humans are to release the repressed anger and instincts we harbor within ourselves every day.