The Double: Jekyll and Hyde

In the final chapter, we learn through Jekyll's confession that he was fortunate to have a large inheritance, health, and a hardworking nature. He was also a strong idealist, Jekyll maintained social respect while keeping his more questionable vices secret. When he reached adulthood, Jekyll found that he was living two lives, one of the utmost respectability and social graces, and the other of hidden pleasures and dark underpinnings. As a scientist, Jekyll decided to examine the dual nature of man through mystical study that Lanyon found particularly offensive. In the latter, Jekyll insists, "man is not truly one, but truly two," and he explains how through his research he hoped to separate each side.

After years of work, Jekyll eventually created a chemical solution that would allow him to complete his work. Jekyll purchased a large quantity of salt for his final ingredient, and resolved to drink the concoction, knowing full well that he was putting his life in danger. The drink caused him pain and nausea, but as these feelings passed, Jekyll began to examine the results of his work. In fact, he felt strong, sensual and wild and he noticed that his body had changed. His hands were smaller and gnarled looking, and his clothes were suddenly far too large, which led him to conclude that his alter ego, which he later named Edward Hyde, was a small, dwarfish man. Jekyll reasoned that this identity was physically smaller because it represented his evil side which had previously been repressed and carefully controlled.