The pleasure of reading

miércoles, 26 de octubre de 2011

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson

What do you think about the following claim?

Jekyll and Hyde are like a dual personality, a single entity dissociated into two. They have become what Otto Rank calls opposing selves. According to Rank, the double in primitive societies is conceived of as a shadow, representing both the living person and the dead. This shadow survives the self, insuring immortality and thus functioning as a kind of guardian angel. In modern civilizations, however, the shadow becomes an omen of death to the self-conscious person. Doubles become opposites and demons rather than guardian angels (Rank, 71-76). This is particularly true in inhibited or self-restrained modern societies like that of Victorian Britain.

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