Throughout the novella, "The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Stevenson explores the idea of evil through the character of Hyde. Hyde is symbolic of mankind's darker nature and allows Stevenson to actualise the idea of man when all morals and reasoning are stripped away leaving only animalistic instinct.

The character of Hyde is first seen in Mr Enfield's retelling of a story, chapter one, the Story Of The Door. Hyde is portrayed as an entity that is both eerie and mysterious as Enfield says he, "trampled calmly". The use of an oxymoron reveals how Hyde is a moral and scientific conundrum. His ability to commit such an atrocious act with no feeling of remorse or sorrow for the pain and suffering he has inflicted on a little girl foreshadows Hyde's violent nature. The oxymoron causes the reader to wonder about the identity of Hyde. Stevenson has made the original introduction to Hyde as ambiguous as possible to highlight the novellas mystery novel as the unknown spikes the reader curiosity. The original readers would have been baffled by Hyde's behaviour as the Victorian society felt honour and respectability in the public eye was important above all else. Perhaps Stevenson has done this to portray Hyde as the novellas gothic monster as no human would be devoid of all emotions, his inability to feel empathetic leads the reader to wonder how far the character of Hyde is willing to go for his means and purposes and whether he truly is evil incarnate.

Hyde's violent nature intensifies as the novella progress this is divulged by Stevenson in chapter four, The Carew Murder Case. Hyde's actions are described by the maid who witnessed Hyde's brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew. She herself was so shocked, that the mere witnessing of the crime resulted in her fainting. When recalling the events she says, "ape-like fury". The use of a simile highlights Stevenson's intention to explore the idea of evil as the animalistic comparison leaves Hyde as a shell of a human. The noun "fury" emphasises Hyde's violence as his actions were with the intention to inflict pain and torment. This reinforces the idea the Hyde is evil as his sadistic character is only growing. Stevenson has done this to show the extreme sides of mans duality as violence and kindness are two sides of the same coin. He intended to shine light on the belief that without the strict social rules enforcing morality upon society characters like hide would commit acts that could only be described as pure evil. The original audience would potentially face their own inter turmoil as Victorian society had such strict rules which everyone had to abide by, that they themselves could relate to the character of Dr Jekyll and wonder if they too have their own Hyde lurking in the depths of their soul. Perhaps this was Stevenson's intention as he aimed to criticise the religious influence on society and have people question their own morality on and individual standpoint. Similarly, a modern day audience would also question their own morality, however, as many things that are now deemed as acceptable today were seen as sinful in the Victorian era that a modern day reader may not be influence at such an extreme extent. Hyde's violent actions would be seen as evil by both the original and modern day reader as murder morally reprehensible.

Similarly, in the extract Dr Lanyon describes his own impression of Hyde upon first encounter. He refers to Hyde as "abnormal and misbegotten". The adjectives used reinforces the idea that Hyde is not truly human as their is an unnerving feeling every time a character encounters Hyde. This feeling of uneasiness is caused by Hyde's lack of humanity the other characters are subconsciously aware of this resulting in their repulsion. Hyde's inability to be human is also seen in the way Dr Lanyon refers to him as a "creature". The animalistic description description highlights Hyde's evil nature. Stevenson has used the theme of science versus religion to further explore the ideas and concept of evil through Hyde. The constant animalistic comparison could be alluding to the Theory of Evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. Perhaps Stevenson is conveying his own belief that humans can be differentiated from animals not only by physical attributes but by our ability to understand the concept of morality. This exploration of evil causes the reader to fear the character of Hyde as without an understanding of good and evil there is no moral line to compare ones actions too.

Dr Lanyon's uneasiness in the presence of Hyde is further explored in the extract as he says," icy pang along my blood". By referring to "blood" Stevenson is insinuating that a repulsion to Hyde is an innate reaction. The description "icy pang" shows how Hyde results in a physical reaction of other characters. Perhaps Stevenson's intention was to show to Hyde's own unfeeling nature could be spread symbolic of the spread of hatred within society. Stevenson has created evil as a living entity through the character of Hyde to show how evil exists within society and why morality is a vital human characteristic. The original readers would have been greatly influenced by Stevenson's thoughts as the idea of human nature and the role of evil was growing in popularity during the Victorian era. While the intense fascination is not as prevalent in todays society, readers of the novella would still feel influenced by Stevenson's ideas as evil is one of humanities greatest fascinations.

Stevenson's intention of using Hyde to explore evil is more apparent when using religious imagery. Throughout the novella Hyde is connotated with Satan by numerous characters. This is first seen by Mr Enfield as he says "really like Satan". The use of a simile to create a direct comparison highlights how Hyde truly is Satan incarnate due to his actions and attitude. The next character to make this comparison is Mr Utterson as he says "Satan's signature upon a face". The use of sibilance creates an eerie tone as the "s" sound is often associated with scheming and evil actions. This quote can also be interpreted as Hyde being a creation of the devil instead of God as a artist always signs their work. A creation of Satan can be nothing other than pure evil reinforcing the idea that Hyde is made only of the negative attributes of humanity. The third time a character makes a similar comparison is Dr Jekyll when he calls Hyde a "child of Hell". The use of a metaphor highlights how devoid of human emotions Hyde is as only a devil has no redeeming qualities. The religious imagery would have created a sense of fear for the original readers as the Victorian society was extremely religious and were taught to fear anything even remotely sinful so a character that embodies the devil himself would have created trepidation. Meanwhile, a modern day reader would not have the same intense reaction as the role of religion within society a diminished however they would still feel fearful of the character of Hyde due to his extreme and volatile behaviour.

Overall, Stevenson has used the character of Hyde to explore the role of evil within society. The ability to split good and evil into two separate entities has allowed Stevenson to create a person lacking morality. This has invited not only Stevenson but also the readers to explore the idea of evil within a person and see how it is reflect in a person's behaviour.