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Anybody here NOT like Dr. Jekyll?....I didn't like him.....(Spoilers?)

posted 9 years ago by misskaren2016
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I'm sorry about as nice as Dr. Jekyll was supposed to be I do not see much to like about him except for the fact that he seemed to care about the patients in the Free Ward.

First, he had this absurd idea about separating one person into 2 people..one good and one bad. Did he ever stop to think about the harm the 'evil' side would cause? What if while the evil side was active he or she decided to go on a massacre or become a serial killer or...

What if while he was Hyde he never turned back to Jekyll? Where would this have left Muriel?

And, why did he have to kiss Ivy? His friend was right for criticizing him for his behavior. He knew she was loose and he knew she wanted to sleep with him but he still let her kiss him without making much of a fuss.

I loved Frederic March in this role, but I don't buy this 'Good Guy' Jekyll thing. IMO, Jekyll was a careless, irresponsible, mad scientist who should have left that ridiculous experiment alone, married Muriel and had a happy family life.

[–] angmc43 9 years ago

First, he had this absurd idea about separating one person into 2 people..one good and one bad. Did he ever stop to think about the harm the 'evil' side would cause? What if while the evil side was active he or she decided to go on a massacre or become a serial killer or...What if while he was Hyde he never turned back to Jekyll? Where would this have left Muriel?

Eh, it's part of Mad Scientist 101, from Victor Frankenstein to Anthony Stark, they trespass on God's domain with a God's egotism. He is always right, everyone is wrong. They will stop at nothing to achieve their objective. They believe everything will work out, they can control the situation. Unfortunately, they are not God. They possess human vulnerabilities that screw everything up. Jekyll believed that he gives up the potion, he gives up Hyde as well. I'm sure anyone in that position would think it that simple.

As for Ivy, Jekyll is human. He is a man with a normal (at least in 21st century terms) sexual feelings stuck in an era where such feelings were considered wrong and corrupt. He is passionate for Muriel, and she feels the same, but General Carew refuses their need to satisfy their urges until their wedding (and that's almost a year off) feeling it indecent, and the Victorian convention is on his side. And here is Ivy giving herself to him. Under such frustration, of course Jekyll would be tempted! Of course, I could argue that even if Lanyon didn't interrupt, Jekyll might have resisted after the kiss.
A theme of the movie is that Jekyll is not the extreme 'Good Guy'. He is a normal person with both good and evil inside him. Hyde is merely expressing his own wishes. Jekyll wants to strangle the old man: Hyde mortally clubs him. Jekyll wants Muriel passionately: Hyde kisses her naked back. Jekyll wants Ivy: Hyde takes her. When Lanyon makes his accusation, Jekyll glares at him with Hyde's eyes.