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Beyond duality and repression, Jekyll and Hyde explores the dangerous power of science, the tension between science and religion, and the pervasive role of secrecy in Victorian society. These themes are interconnected and essential for achieving top marks.
Jekyll's experiment is an act of scientific transgression — he crosses boundaries that should not be crossed.
"I not only recognised my natural body from the mere aura and effulgence of certain of the powers that made up my spirit, but managed to compound a drug by which these powers should be dethroned" (10)
Jekyll does not merely observe or theorise — he interferes with human nature itself. His experiment challenges the boundary between what science can do and what science should do.
Jekyll's story follows the pattern of the Faustus myth — a scholar who makes a deal with the Devil in exchange for forbidden knowledge:
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