Dr. Jekyll
tries to achieve his dream, through science, of separating his dark sidewhat we could call his
"id"from the rest of his responsible, ethical, hardworking self. He takes a drug that
removes his inhibitions and turns him into "Mr. Hyde." This way, he can freely and
without any qualms of conscience indulge all his deepest, most unacceptable desires for pleasure
and violence without having to repress, control, and sublimate them.
Stevenson's theme or message is that while it is tempting to want to find a way to
release our dark side, this is a very bad idea. Mr. Hyde, lacking a conscience, does terrible
things, such as murder, and feels no reason not to grow more and more powerful until he
threatens to take over Dr. Jekyll entirely. The novel's message is that we need to integrate and
control our darker and more anti-social impulses for the good of society and
ourselves.
It is worth noting that Oscar Wilde explores a similar theme of
trying to "split off" the evil side of oneself in his novel The Picture of
Dorian Gray. There, too, it does not go well, and the person wishing for the freedom
to indulge every desire ends up regretting the horror he has become.
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