illustration of a face with two separate halves, one good and one evil, located above the fumes of a potion

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Student Question

Why doesn't Dr. Jekyll disclose his scientific discovery's details?

Quick answer:

Dr. Jekyll refrains from disclosing the details of his scientific discovery for two main reasons. Firstly, he believes human nature inherently includes both good and bad elements, and attempting to eliminate the negative aspects might exacerbate them. Secondly, he acknowledges that his experiment was incomplete and unsuccessful in achieving his goals, prompting him to discourage others from attempting similar endeavors.

Expert Answers

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Dr. Jekyll explains that there are a couple of reasons why he will not tell exactly how it was that he was able to turn into Mr. Hyde.

First, he says it is because people are the way they are -- they have to have bad luck and bad aspects to them.  If they try to cast off the bad stuff, he says, it will come back to them, but worse than when it left.

Second, he says that he did not really complete his work.  He did not really manage to do what he wanted as well as he wanted.  So he does not want other people to try.

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