Author’s Note: While reading the first three chapters of the novel, Jekyll and Hyde, I was inspired by the constant search for knowledge and it made me wonder why we are always encouraged to question when questioning often leads to more confusion and anxiety. I explored the cycle of knowledge and questioning through the Faust theme and the motif of light versus darkness.
Throughout the turbulence of our lives, figures of authority constantly remind us to question the meaning of life: why are we here, what should we do, how can we help? As we continue to scale the mountain of life, the knowledge we retrieve with each increasing altitude uncovers more confusing and complex questions – more crevices and cracks in the side of the peak to discover and explore. For some, this unending quest for knowledge poses itself as a thrilling and exhilarating adventure, but others see it as a confusing labyrinth full of too many twists and turns to navigate. Robert Louis Stevenson warns humanity of the disastrous cycle of knowledge in the novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, through the motif of darkness versus light – knowledge versus innocence.
Utterson, a loyal and intelligent lawyer, lives safely in society, away from the constant turmoil of the search for knowledge into which few people fall rapidly. But as he scrutinizes the will of one of his dearest friends and longtime clients, Dr. Jekyll, he too is swept into the whirlpool of the constant search for knowledge. Dr. Jekyll’s will mysteriously and generously gives all of his money to an unknown friend, Mr. Hyde. Baffled and fuming that Jekyll would simply donate all of his savings to a mere friend, Utterson embarks on a quest to find the puzzling Hyde. As his mind arrives upon the ship of questioning, Utterson is drawn out of the light of society and, “it was a night of little ease to his toiling mind, toiling in mere darkness and besieged by questions” (48). According to the Faust theme, those who crave wisdom are forced to sell their souls to the devil in order to comprehend the secrets of life. Although Utterson did not sell his soul, the damp, dreary and deathly darkness he enters through the doorway of questions is merely a motif symbolizing the devilish ways of knowledge. As Utterson begins to question the lives of Jekyll and Hyde, the answers he uncovers only lead to passels of more questions. The circle of questioning and knowledge is a deadly cycle; a cycle that will lead to insanity before it ever reaches conclusion. Stevenson is warning us of this dizzying sequence – warning us to use caution when questioning life because the answers are sometimes more muddling than they are clarifying.
Karen! I liked how you chose to do the traditional writing response- it is sometimes good to stick to that way to do things! I think that you pretty much laid it all out there really well to make it all understandable! I didn't really think of your topic at all while i was trying to do mine but after reading this it makes it clear that this is very important! I really liked this, good job!
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