Dorian Gray vs Mr. Hyde
I finished reading a very interesting and unusual book some days ago. The book was named “D-r Jequill and Mr. Hyde”. This book influenced me very powerfully because it let to reflect many vital things: about psychology of human conduct, about relationship between persons, about eternal battle between the good and the evil inside of every person etc.
And I remembered another book, which was very famous too. It was “Portrait of Dorian Gray”, which was created by English writer Oscar Wilde. It’s seemed to me that both of the books have many identical traits.
These books were written by England writers at almost the same period of time. There is the same place of action - London. The principal heroes of the books were persons, which belonged to the same levels of society. This was the easiest parallel.
I saw many other common traits in subject of two work of literature too. Both of two books had elements of mysticism. The battle of the good with the evil was basis of the books. And this battle took place in soul of one person.
I would like to describe schematically all personages of two books:
“Portrait of Dorian Gray” ”Mr. Hyde and d-r Jequill”
FOREFATHER artist Basil d-r Jequill
THE GOOD artist d-r Jequill
THE EVIL Lord Henry Mr. Hyde
SUBJECT OF BATTLE Dorian Gray d-r Jequill
WITNESS portrait Mr. Utterson
THE REST OF THE PERSONS aristocratic society narrow round of friends
(THE WORLD)
The subject of ”Mr. Hyde and d-r Jequill” is more easy that “Portrait of Dorian Gray”. There is a little
number of heroes; there almost isn’t any description of social levels of London. Moral of the book was show more straight and schematically. Mr. Hyde was the incarnation of pure evil. Dorian Grey was more difficult character; he was still trying to be good.
Some persons can to ask - why good and honest d-r Jequill would like to be Mr. Hyde? He was telling that Mr. Hyde was more young, and he would like to be young for ever. Dorian Gray had the wish too.
But dear doctor knew that Mr. Hyde had been evil part of himself. So, he took his change consciously. And I think that it’s normal because any evil is very attractive and any good is very usual. Little evil is usually very pleasant and it’s very difficult to find the brink between the evil and naughtiness. And the good inside of a person let to do it enough easily.
But if a person let himself to perform any evil actions without censure, the evil will defeat the good surely, because the evil always cause more evil. Stevenson wrote about this idea in his book. D-r Jequill had liberated his evil from influence of his good and his evil destroyed him.
The good always have to be counterbalance of the evil.
Portrait of Dorian Gray was his conscience. When he had started to perform his first evil actions, the good inside of him tried to stop him. Then the evil was becoming stronger, he had hit his portrait and he continued to create the evil. And the evil won and in this book too - Dorian Gray killed his friend, who was a good part of his soul.
Can any person battle with his evil? Yes, of course. But any person can do it with success only if he battle with his evil permanently and will not let his evil actions to stay without censure.
So, the good stop the evil and this is principal function of good. The question about role of the evil is more difficult. If the good stops the evil, can the evil stops the good? What is role of the evil and has it useful function? Must the evil stop the good?
I think that the evil hasn’t useful functions. The evil is irreplaceable element of human society. The evil and the good can be only in human society and these categories can be used only for assessment of influence on any person, which he renders upon other persons.
The society can’t destroy the evil inside of any person but it can to create some rules, which would determine conduct of persons inside of the society. This is only protective mechanism of being any society on the Earth.
Also, there aren’t good persons and there aren’t evil persons - there are subjective assessments of actions of persons inside of the society. If a person wants to be among other persons - he will follow these rules, if a person doesn’t do it - he will be a social outcast.
The balance of observation of the rules and its dropping is measure of the good and the evil of any person.