The theme of duality is a common topic for many literary works, including Shelly’s Frankenstein, Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, and Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The main idea of duality is to underline the worth of opposition that exists in society and human relationships. As a rule, people want to compare two different aspects or characteristics of the same thing and investigate the connection between good and bad, evil and kind, black and white. Wilde, Shelly, and Stevenson explain duality, using various assessment means, and this essay aims at discussing the ways of how characters exhibit this trait, their reasons, outcomes, importance, and methods.
Each story contains several characters who introduce duality in a specific manner. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde shows how it is possible to succeed in creating numerous identities and an ambivalent position in society. In Shelly’s Frankenstein, the main character wants to demonstrate his powers by creating another new form of life and questioning the worth of the mind over the body. The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explicates the notion of duality in one of the most evident forms, a physical transformation within the same individual from one personality to another.
In these stories, the characters have their motivations and goals to approve duality. Shelly aims at discussing the distinctions between madness and genius in reality and fiction. The Creature believes that “I am fearless and therefore powerful,” which provokes the necessity to compare the outcomes of human actions (Shelly). In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the transformation is explained by the necessity to take responsibility for everything. The main character thinks that “If I am the chief of sinners, then I am the chief of sufferers also” (Stevenson). The reason for the characters of Wilde’s story to support duality in their relationships is the belief that “the truth is rarely pure and never simple” (Wilde). Therefore, both Algernon and Jack use dual identities to avoid responsibilities and hide their true intentions in order not to be judged by society.
Duality in The Importance of Being Earnest is neither success nor failure because it is hard to neglect the mistakes made and the achievements described. Despite the intention to make everything simple, the characters comprehend the true worth of life and its triviality. In Frankenstein, the efforts of the main character to reveal his ambitions turn out to be a failure because of the impossibility to neglect the importance of social alienation, love, and trust. Stevenson is probably the most successful author in proving the success of dual identities in people. Jekyll shows that all human beings combine good and bad qualities, and it is an independent decision either to choose one side or to balance between good and bad all the time. Some people can deal with this task, and some people, like Dr. Jekyll, are not, revealing their worst qualities.
Duality in all three stories is properly evaluated to highlight people’s dreams and achievements. The Creature is shown as an outcome of what Victor could not be in terms of social relationships and the desire to be a part of the world. Human weaknesses become the main aspect of dualism in Stevenson’s work. Compared to other stories, the thematic importance of dualism in The Importance of Being Earnest is to warn the reader that dualism could be understandable, but it is never simple because those who live more than one life should be ready for more than one death, the forms of which are unpredictable.
In general, the chosen characters and their stories have several differences and similarities. On the one hand, all of them confirm the emergence of duality as an outcome of human unrevealed dreams, weaknesses, and failures. On the other hand, Shelly, Stevenson, and Wilde show that dualism is neither good nor bad. It is a means with the help of which people could take another step in their development and social adaptation.
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. The Project Gutenberg eBook, 2018.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Project Gutenberg eBook, 2011.
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. The Project Gutenberg eBook, 2006.