DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

THE REPRESENTATION OF MELANCHOLIA IN THE PICTURE OF DORIAN

GRAY AND THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

MELİS ERDEMLİ

SUPERVISOR: ASST. PROF. VALERIE JUNE KENNEDY

READERS: ASSOC. PROF.DONALD BRUCE RANDALL

ASST. PROF. MICHAEL JOHN PERFECT

ACADEMIC YEAR 2015 – 2016

03.05.2016

Abstract

This paper analyses the protagonists’ of two Victorian novels, The Picture of Dorian

Gray ‘s Dorian Gray and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s Dr. Jekyll by

focusing on how the relationship between the characters’ id and their superego affects

them, making them experience melancholia and inevitability of the protagonists’

melancholia in terms of factors such as society’s repression, general morality and self

awareness, considering Freud’s analysis of the id, the superego and melancholia.

In the first chapter Dorian Gray’s, and in the second chapter Dr. Jekyll’s id, superego

and melancholia, that is created by the clash previously mentioned two concepts, are

analysed by giving examples from both of the novels, relating them to Freud’s analysis

of the id, the superego and melancholia.

In the third chapter, melancholia is analysed by combining Freud’s analysis of

melancholia with the effects of subjects under the names of society’s repression, general

morality and self awareness of the protagonists on melancholia.

The paper concludes that, since both of the examined protagonists experience the

same circle of incidents and same cases with means of melancholia that is defined by

Freud, state of melancholia is inevitable for them and they are led to suicide.

Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................1

Chapter I: The Representation of the Id, the Superego and Melancholia in The Picture of Dorian Gray...................................................................................................................2

The Id........................................................................................................................................3The Superego.............................................................................................................................6Melancholia...............................................................................................................................8

Chapter II: The Representation of the Id, the Superego and Melancholia in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.......................................................................................10

The Id......................................................................................................................................10The Superego...........................................................................................................................14Melancholia.............................................................................................................................15

Chapter III: Inevitability of Melancholia and its relation with Basic Concepts..............17

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................24

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................26

Introduction

Three clashing concepts, the id, the ego and the superego, which are initially

introduced by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud in the early twentieth century did not

only have an effect on the analysis of literary works after being introduced, but also

literary critics to consider earlier literary works. This is likely to be stated considering

according to Freud his idea offers and interpretative model. Furthermore, it is also

possible to state that since the human mind is a spurious form which is the organ that all

mental issues take place, including different types of neurosis such as melancholia,

these three concepts are impossible to be ignored since they form the layers of the mind.

Two concepts, the id and the superego, which compose the main conflict in the human

mind are also the distinction between subconscious and conscious of the individual. The

chaos they create leads to ambivalence and the since they have a vast influence on ego

from opposite sides, individuals seem to be in a constant conflict upon which one to

prefer in action. It is probable to mention that ego works as a balance mechanism in two

opposite ways: while the id forces the individual to satisfy the inner desires which exist

in the subconscious, the superego makes the individual consider his actions in terms of

moral values since it represents the conscious. Literally, this division and struggle

reminds of two famous 19th century novels, which were written shortly before the

structural theory of Sigmund Freud, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Both novels

have protagonists who experience the struggle of the id and the superego and they both

feel the threat of losing the things they are bounded to in their lives. So, the protagonists

of the Victorian novels’, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture

of Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll and Dorian Gray are representations of the struggle between

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the id and the superego which eventually leads them to melancholy by the

repression of superego. Theoretical background of this thesis is suggested by Freud in

his works “The Dissection of the Psychical Personality” and he clearly describes how it

can be distinguished as a neurosis from mourning in “Mourning and Melancholia”.

Therefore, melancholy is an indisputable state for both characters which causes them to

disappear or die for the sake of society, realizing that their deep desires cannot co-exist

with society’s internalized moral values.

Chapter I: The Representation of the Id, the Superego and Melancholia in The

Picture of Dorian Gray

To understand the process which leads protagonists of The Picture of Dorian Gray

and The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll, to

melancholia, first, the analysis of their id and superego, is necessary. In “The Dissection

of the Psychical Personality”, Freud explains that the conflict between the id and the

superego causes the neurosis, melancholia in the individual’s mind since the id is the

unconscious where the inner and unknown desires of the individual exist, and the

superego acts as the observing agency of the ego and controls the actions of the

individual according to moral values. Aside from the id and the superego, the ego is the

part of the mind which tries to satisfy both the id and the superego. Therefore, the

superego’s repression of the ego and indirectly of the id eventually causes the

melancholia attacks since the ego is unable to create a balance between the id and the

superego and cannot satisfy the inner desires of the id as a result of the superego’s

repression. Focusing on both Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll’s mental struggles, the reader

observes through the novels the similar steps the protagonists take towards the same

condition, melancholia.

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The Id

In Wilde’s work, the representation of Dorian Gray’s id plays a significant role since

the id represents the protagonist’s unconscious and causes him to experience

melancholic attacks. In “The Dissection of the Psychical Personality”, Freud claims:

“[the id] is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality; what little we know of it we

have learnt from our study of the dream-work and of the construction of neurotic

symptoms, and most of that is of a negative character and can be described only as a

contrast to the ego” (Freud, “Dissection” 105). Freud’s claim suggests that for the

reader visualize this feature of the psyche in a literary work is challenging because of

the id’s enigmatic status. However, Wilde successfully portrays Dorian Gray’s id by

reflecting it in his portrait. Dorian’s actions, which are affected by his id, are performed

by Dorian Gray himself– but the nature of his actions are reflected by the changes in the

portrait. The lines “The portrait had altered. . . One thing, however, he felt that it had

done for him. It had made him conscious how unjust, how cruel, he had been to Sibyl

Vane. . . ., the portrait . . . would be a guide to him through life” (Wilde, 96) show that

as a symbol, the portrait reflects Dorian Gray’s inner self, his id, and creates a

representation of the id for the reader, making the inner desires of the protagonist clear.

Moreover, he becomes aware of his actions; the portrait makes him conscious. The

choice of words is important since it suggests that he was unconscious of his actions

before he saw his portrait, but the corruption of the portrait makes him realize the nature

of his actions, the product of his id.

Aside from the portrait, the id is also represented by the protagonist’s selfishness

which can be seen in some of his own words. Dorian Gray regards only himself and his

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desires when he breaks up with Sybil. He says: “My God! How mad I was to love you!

What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now. I will never see you again. I will

never think of you. I will never mention your name. . . . Oh I can’t bear to think of it! I

wish I had never laid eyes upon you!” (Wilde, 87). His egocentrism becomes obvious in

Dorian’s repetition of the word “I”. Even in the one sentence where he does not use the

subject, “I”, he uses “me”. This indicates that his only aim is to satisfy his own desires,

ignoring Sybil who tries to explain herself. Freud describes the id’s selfishness,

explaining that its only goal is pleasure: “The id of course knows no judgements of

value: no good and evil, no morality. . .the quantitative factor, which is intimately

linked to the pleasure principle, dominates all its processes.” (Freud, “Dissection” 107).

Dorian does not think about his actions while he is breaking up with Sybil; he does not

consider whether his actions’ consequences are good or bad; he only thinks about

himself and about satisfying his own desires. Aside from his attitude towards Sybil,

which suggests that the id leads the individual as the animalistic desires order him to do;

since Dorian gets engaged to Sybil due to her talented acting skills and breaks up with

her due to her talent loss, it is also possible to state that obsession is also very powerful

in Dorian. Considering Dorian’s obsession for the beauty of art, his obsession also finds

reflections in both the relationship between his engagement with Sybil and her talent as

an actor and his portrait. Dorian Gray’s own portrait becomes an obsession for him; he

thinks “there would be a real pleasure in watching it. He would be able to follow his

mind into its secret places.” (Wilde, 107). Dorian Gray feels pleasure in discovering his

own unconscious mind. He is perfectly aware of the change in the portrait but he wants

to observe himself; in other words, he wants to discover his id because he is curious

about how the portrait changes. Lord Henry Wotton explains to Dorian Gray why he

needs to satisfy his desires in the words: “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to

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yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has

forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous and unlawful” (Wilde, 18). In

these words, Lord Henry explains the repression of the id and how it might affect the

individual’s mind with melancholic attacks. He says that the the hunger to fulfil the

desires as well as having pleasure as doing so is a trait buried in the human nature and

there is no way to escape it. On the other hand, the only influence which is able to make

Dorian Gray resist his id is his superego, to be analysed later in this chapter. According

to Lord Henry, the individual should satisfy his own desires first rather than obeying

society’s moral values, to avoid even a more dangerous situation that is caused by the

repression of the id, melancholia. On the subject of how the id impels the ego to its

demands, Freud claims:

In [ego’s] attempts to meditate between the id and reality, it is often obliged

to cloak the Ucs1. commands of the id with its own Pcs2. rationalizations, to

conceal the id’s conflicts with reality, to profess, with diplomatic

disingenuousness, to be taking notice of reality even when the id has

remained rigid and unyielding. (Freud, “Dissection” 110)

In both Lord Henry’s explanation and Freud’s claim, the id which comes into conflict

with reality, causes melancholia since it is unyielding and since it also demands the

repression of reality and the demands of the superego; therefore, this repression of the

id, when it is not satisfied, as Lord Henry suggests to Gray, is destined to bring the

protagonist unhappiness and dissatisfaction. As a result of Gray’s obsession with artistic

beauty which explains why he fell in love with Sybil’s acting and his obsession with his

own portrait, the reader comprehends that his id pushes him to satisfy these selfish

1 Unconscious2 Preconscious

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pleasures. As Duggan claims: “Wilde uses Dorian Gray not as an advertisement for

aestheticism, but rather, he uses Dorian’s life to warn against aestheticism’s hostility

toward morality when uncontrolled” (Duggan, 63). Thus Dorian’s actions and reactions

are controlled by his passion for beauty. It is this which makes him propose to Sybil in

order to own her as an object, to possess her talent by making her use his name by

marrying him (Wilde, 88), and he becomes obsessed with whether or not his appearance

in his portrait has changed frequently (92). Therefore, his immoral actions for the sake

of the beauty of art reveals Dorian’s id.

The Superego

The superego acts as a counter to the id in the individual’s mind, and it is

represented by Dorian Gray’s thoughts and feelings about the consequences of his own

actions. The protagonist’s superego makes him look at what he has been doing for the

sake of satisfying his own desires from a moral perspective. His thoughts about his

corrupted portrait and about his growing awareness of his selfish actions are represented

in the lines: “The thing was still loathsome – more loathsome, if possible, than before –

and the scarlet dew that spotted the hand seemed brighter, and more like blood newly

spilt. Then he trembled” (Wilde, 228). The words indicate Dorian Gray’s sense of guilt,

and his desire to avoid the portrait, “loathsome” suggests disgust, “scarlet” evokes both

a sense of immorality and the colour of blood, “blood spilt” may cause the reader to

imagine the crime of murder, and “tremble” represents fear and also reflects the

condition of the portrait and Dorian Gray’s realization of the nature of his acts. The way

he trembles when he sees the portrait shows that his own desires frighten him when he

is able to look at from a moral perspective which his superego dictates. Freud defines

the superego’s effect on the ego, therefore how it is not affected by the id as follows:

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On the other hand, [the ego] is observed at every step it takes by the strict

superego, which lays down definite standards for its conduct, without taking

any account of its difficulties from the direction of the id and the external

world, and which, if those standards are not obeyed, punishes it with tense

feelings of inferiority and of guilt. (Freud, “Dissection” 110)

In other words, as in Freud’s comment on the superego, it is clear that Dorian Gray’s

superego controls his ego– which at the same time is frequently affected by the

unyielding nature of Dorian Gray’s id -- since he “trembles” when he sees his corrupted

portrait and his sense of guilt comes after his self-realization, which is caused by his

own superego.

On the other hand, the superego might seem to represent the good in its relationship

with the id, since it is an observing agency and the moral headstone of the ego (which is

forced to satisfy the id’s desires). However, since acting morally might not lead the

individual to happiness, it is very likely that individual will blame the superego as a

leading reason of the melancholia attacks the individual experiences. About this effect

of superego on the ego, Freud says “The superego applies the strictest moral standard to

the helpless ego which is at its mercy; in general, it represents the claims of morality”

(Freud, “Dissection” 92). So the superego actually limits the individual’s happiness

since it indirectly restricts the individual, forcing him to act according to the ethics

internalized by other people or society. Since the superego represents the standards and

norms of the society, the individual should adapt to these norms and moral values in

order to coexist with society. Otherwise society casts the person out considering that he

is unpredictable and he cannot be counted on since the reason behind their actions is not

the moral values or norms of society but desires; as the desires can lead to good actions

or evil actions. On the other hand, to undervalue desires completely and to yield in

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societies’ moral values bring the individual unhappiness since he gets no pleasure in life

as a result of his inability of satisfying his desires. The complexity of this situation is

explained by Lord Henry Wotton in the words “…when we are good we are not always

happy” (Wilde, 78), mentioning the effects of the superego and its lone direct effects on

the human psyche. Moreover, his words might be interpreted to mean that acting only in

favour of moral values of the society, being trapped by the superego and not taking the

desires into consideration, may lead the individual to unhappiness which is possible to

lead him to melancholia as a result of the conflict between the dominant superego and

the unsatisfied id.

Melancholia

After evaluating the representation of Dorian Gray’s id and superego in the novel

The Picture of Dorian Gray and pointing out how the conflict between the id and the

superego might lead to melancholia by oppressing the ego because of the conflict

between desires and moral standards, (the representation of) Dorian Gray’s melancholia

attacks will be analysed. Throughout the novel, the consequences of the conflict

between the protagonist’s id and the superego and Freud’s analysis of melancholia

shows similarities and alikeness frequently. First of all, since two concepts of

melancholia and mourning might be easily confused and since Dorian Gray’s actions,

which might be examples of melancholia, can be distinguished from mourning by

identifying the features of the melancholia; it is necessary to distinct between mourning

and melancholia to identify melancholia. Freud identifies melancholia’s features and

explains the distinction between mourning and melancholia as follows:

The distinguishing mental features of melancholia are a profoundly painful

dejection, cessation of interest in the outside world, loss of the capacity to

love, inhibition of all activity, and a lowering of the self regarding feelings

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to a degree that finds utterance in self-reproaches and self-revilings, and

culminates in a delusional expectation of punishment...The disturbance of

self regard is absent in mourning; but otherwise the features are the same.

(Freud, “Melancholia” 244)

This distinction between Mourning and Melancholia, which is “the disturbance of self

regard” in melancholia, indicates that the neurosis which Dorian Gray experiences

through at the end of the novel is melancholia, since he thinks “But this murder – was it

to dog him all his life? Was he always to be burdened by his past? Was he really to

confess? Never. There was only one bit of evidence left against him. The picture itself –

that was the evidence” (Wilde, 229). He knows that no one is aware of the murder, but

as a result of losing his self-regard at the end of the novel which is followed by

melancholia, he cannot bear the idea of looking at his own portrait, since he will see his

hideous soul revealed in it. Dorian Gray himself might not regret anything he has done,

but the picture is a symbol of the observing agency in his own soul, reminding him that

he is not able to coexist in society with his desires’ selfishness. The picture reminds him

of the nature of his actions and the repression he lives through since he both wants to be

accepted by society and live in accordance with his own desires, even if he needs to

involve in any evil activity which eventually lead him to feel guilt. Later, he decides to

destroy the portrait to avoid the extreme pain of feeling guilt. Furthermore, Freud claims

“In one set of cases it is evident that melancholia too may be the reaction to the loss of a

loved object.…The object has not perhaps actually died, but has been lost as an object

of love.” (Freud, “Melancholia” 245). Dorian Gray’s reaction in the following lines

parallels Freud’s claim: “There was a cry heard, …The cry was so horrible in its agony”

(Wilde, 230), revealing that it is the reaction of an individual with melancholic state of

mind. The reader is able to observe the pain which the protagonist feels through this

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sentence, since all words refer to unhappiness and pain, such as “cry”, “horrible” and

“agony”. Also, these lines occur immediately after Dorian Gray stabs his portrait which

is an object that he has felt pleasure in looking at and observing his soul. (107) He

destroys the portrait he is obsessed with in order to forget the nature of his actions

which are represented in the portrait and also to destroy the only evidence of his actions

which may put his position in society in danger. He loses an object of love because of

the norms of the society therefore his conscious, the superego.

Chapter II: The Representation of the Id, the Superego and Melancholia in The

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The representation of the id in Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde is based on the duality which the conflict between the id and the superego creates

over the protagonist, rather than correlate the novel’s protagonist and an object to define

his state of mind to the reader as Wilde does in The Picture of Dorian Gray. In

Stevenson’s novel, the id and the superego are characterized to the reader by dividing

the protagonist’s, Dr. Jekyll’s, character into two. Mr. Hyde represents Dr. Jekyll’s id,

while Dr. Jekyll is the representation of the superego since Jekyll’s position in the

society is emphasized by his title; he is a doctor. Even though one might claim that both

characters might be the mixture of both id/superego and ego; since the discrete

distinction here is to be evaluated, the effects of mainly superego and id on the ego

might be neglegted to emphasize their effects. Eventually, in Stevenson’s work, Dr.

Jekyll is both Dr. Jekyll’s superego and somehow his mask hiding Mr. Hyde - Dr.

Jekyll’s inner desires- and giving him the opportunity to survive in the society with a

pleasant way.

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The Id

The description of the Mr. Hyde throughout the novel consistently emphasizes the

features of the id. Its unyielding, free, desire-oriented and selfish nature form the

complete personality of the character. Since the id is not related to good or evil but only

desires, it is a state of mind which society would cast out if it were in the form of a

human body. Mr. Hyde is the same as id and its existence as it is mentioned above.

Kahn claims “The id is what Dr. Jekyll’s potion released, and the resulting Mr. Hyde is

a chilling picture of the id run wild” (Kahn, 26). Mr. Hyde, as the representation of Dr.

Jekyll’s id, is proof that the id is repressed and might come to the surface when it is

triggered by some external factors, just as the potion triggers Dr. Jekyll’s id in the novel.

Moreover, Mr. Hyde demonstrates how the coexistence of an individual’s id and laws of

society is impossible. The id “runs wild” and it leads the individual to ignore any

limitations which the moral values of the civilized world dictate. This rebellion of the

individual’s id against the moral values of society makes society exclude the individual,

and since the id is lawless, it is portrayed as a criminal who is a murderer (Stevenson,

22), and this disturbs society (7). Furthermore, Stevenson portrays Mr. Hyde as an ugly

and deformed man (10), using the character as a mirror image of Dr. Jekyll’s

unconscious and his inner desires. Mr. Enfield describes him with the words “[he] left

her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It

wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.” (Stevenson 7), comparing Mr.

Hyde’s appearance with the dreadful sound of screaming. He simply says the fear of

hearing a scream is nothing compared to Mr. Hyde’s appearance. This is a significant

way which Stevenson uses to describe the id, the subconscious of the human mind.

Also, the word Juggernaut indicates the violent and primitive characteristic of Mr. Hyde

since Juggernaut is a Hindu God whose worshippers actually suicide to show their

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devotion. Mr. Enfield specifically choses this Hindu God since firstly, it is Hindu,

which means it belongs to “uncivilized” East which Britain brought its so called

civilization and secondly, its worshippers need to be violent enough to end their own

life, so it shows the violence of this God. The narrator describes Mr. Hyde later in the

novel in detail,

Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity

without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had

borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and

boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken

voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could

explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr.

Utterson regarded him. (Stevenson, 16)

The word choices are similar to those in The Picture of Dorian Gray3 while describing

the figure which represents the id. While in Wilde’s work, Dorian Gray’s portrait, which

represents the protagonist’s id, is referred to as “disgust, loathing and fear”, in

Stevenson’s work, Mr. Hyde who is the representation of Dr. Jekyll’s id is described as

loathsome. Mr. Utterson here might be defined as the society and its moral values since

he is a lawyer and a very conventional man. While knowing all the rules and applicable

legal legislations of society, he is also well-accepted by the public as being popular. So

basically, his thoughts upon Mr. Hyde that are mentioned above as the quote poses a

significant definition upon how superego would define id. Mr. Utterson’s thoughts

about Mr. Hyde parallel Dorian Gray’s thoughts about his portrait; in both novels, the

character representing the id is described as loathsome. The id is represented as ugly

and corrupted which should be kept away since it is the subconscious part of the mind

3 See page 6.

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and what is buried hidden under this subconscious is not clear for both society and

individual himself. This creates a fear of the unknown which makes people describe the

id as evil, it cannot even be categorized as good or evil in particular; it is only led by

desires.

The distinction between the repression of the id and the events which occur when the id

is not repressed by moral values is well explained by Dr. Jekyll: “I felt younger, lighter,

happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered

bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul” (Stevenson,

57). He emphasizes both how he felt physically when he was without moral values and

the repression he felt as a result of the same moral values and the psychology the

character is in as a result of their absence. Since as Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll’s subconscious

comes to the surface and he is able to satisfy his inner desires without any feeling of

regret or guilt caused by the superego, he feels free of all the responsibilities which the

society obliges him because of his profession and position. The clash between the id and

the superego ends with id winning in the end from time to time and this creates

happiness as a result of satisfying inner desires with a guilt-free state of mind, without

any repression of charges. Aside from the freedom and happiness the id provides, Mr.

Hyde, as Dr. Jekyll’s id, is also the worst case scenario of the action of the id without

the repression of the superego. Kahn claims “Mr. Hyde presents us with the evidence

for the necessity of repression. Because the id is a cauldron of impulses, many of them

unsocialized, we would be in serious trouble without some optimal amount of

repression” (Kahn, 28). Since the id is unconscious, usually the individual is not aware

of the desires; its impulses are foreign to the individual and not externalized; in other

words, as Kahn claims, they are unsocialized. Therefore, when these unsocialized

impulses of the id come to the surface, as Mr. Hyde represents, they cannot adapt with

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social norms and the moral values which are necessary for the individual’s social

interactions with other people, in other words the individual’s social life. Hence, this

suggests the importance of the repression of the id in the individual’s mind, for

sustaining the social life of the individual.

The Superego

Focusing on Dr. Jekyll’s superego throughout the novel often makes the reader meet

with the other characters’ and the narrator’s comments on Dr. Jekyll’s position and how

he is expected to behave and internalize Societies’ moral values as his own ambition by

the society except the last chapter. His title of “Dr.” obliges Dr. Jekyll to act as a model

member of society. As the superego, which works as an observing agency of the ego,

Dr. Jekyll is seen as the protector of the moral values of society, the last person who

should lost control of his desires, and no one in society expects him to violate its values.

So in the beginning of the novel, Mr. Enfield emphasizes both Dr. Jekyll’s position and

the situation Dr. Jekyll might be in to support an evil man, Mr. Hyde, financially with

the words,

Yes it’s a bad story. For my man was a fellow that nobody could have to do

with, a really damnable man; and the person that drew the cheque is the very

pink of the proprieties, celebrated too, and (what makes it worse) one of

your fellows who do what they call good. Blackmail, I suppose; an honest

man paying through the nose for some of the capers of his youth.

(Stevenson, 9)

These words show the clear distinction between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the society,

and in what circumstances an upper class man with education and a profession, in other

words, an expectedly honest and honourable man might help an evil man such as Mr.

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Hyde in the novel. Dr. Jekyll’s superego is mostly associated with his position, and Mr.

Enfield’s speculation about the relationship between two characters being based on

blackmail indicates the power of Dr. Jekyll’s superego because Mr. Enfield, a character

who represents society, thinks that a man like Dr. Jekyll would only act against

society’s norms when his reputation was in danger, explaining to Mr. Utterson the

commitment of Dr. Jekyll to the society they all belong to.

Aside from the other characters’ comments on Dr. Jekyll’s morality, Dr. Jekyll is

also sure of himself in terms of his attachment to the social norms. He says “the moment

I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde” (20). Dr. Jekyll himself is sure of his conscience and

his morality; he is aware of his responsibilities and what he represents in society and he

shows his superego’s ability to repress his id. However, Freud claims: “Sensations of a

pleasurable kind generate no pressures at all; unpleasurable sensations, on the other

hand, exert pressure to an extreme degree. They press for change, for release…” (Freud,

“The Ego and the Id” 113) and at the end of the novel, the reader observes how Dr.

Jekyll’s psychology is divided into two within him as a result of his position in the

society which is disturbing for Dr. Jekyll since it imposes him to act responsibly

(Stevenson, 55). He seeks a release from the repression of his superego due to the non-

pleasurable sensations which his superego causes by dictating moral values to him and

the pressure and unhappiness that his superego creates, which later on shows him

accepting the duality and acting in accordance with it might provide him with this

pleasure he seeks. He says: “With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the

moral and intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial

discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one,

but truly two.” (55). With the realization of his dual nature as a result of the pressure

that his superego makes, he becomes excited about his duality, in other words his inner

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desires which his id leads, and he becomes aware that letting his duality take the stage

might bring him the pleasure he seeks by saving him from the responsibilities and

repression.

Melancholia

Melancholia in Stevenson’s work mostly occurs in the scenes where Dr. Jekyll

finds himself in a conflict between his position in society associated with his ego and

superego and his double, which represents his id, and which brings him happiness and

freedom since he represents the release of Dr. Jekyll’s subconscious who possess his

inner desires. Dr. Jekyll describes the conflict he’s going through to Mr. Utterson in the

words: “…You do not understand my position…I am painfully situated, Utterson; my

position is a very strange—a very strange one. It is one of those affairs that cannot be

mended by talking” (Stevenson, 20). Dr. Jekyll points to the dissonance between his

position in society and his state of mind. While his superego which forces him to obey

and act in conformity with the moral values since Dr. Jekyll is a man of reputation, his

inner desires try to find a crack in his superego shell. The pressure of this conflict makes

Dr. Jekyll unsocial and he doesn’t share any of his thoughts or the psychological state

he is in because he is unable to reveal his inner desires, knowing that they will not be

accepted. Freud claims: “In melancholia the relation to the object is no simple one; it is

complicated by the conflict due to ambivalence…. [which] proceeds precisely from

those experiences that involved the threat of losing the object” (Freud, Melancholia,

256). As an individual, Dr. Jekyll, according in Freud’s terms, is threatened by losing

either one or the other: either his freedom which is provided by his id, or his position

and reputation which his superego makes him to survive in the society. So, the fear of

losing his freedom or reputation makes Dr. Jekyll experience ambivalence which leads

him protagonist to melancholia.

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Throughout the novel, the relationship between melancholia and violence is also

portrayed through the conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde’s violent

acts prevent Dr. Jekyll’s Mr. Hyde form to suicide. This is why Dr. Jekyll committed

suicide at the end of the novel (Stevenson, 70) since he cannot bear to satisfy Mr.

Hyde’s sadistic desires any more due to the repression of superego and states that he is

unaware of Mr. Hyde’s future, stating that he only knows about his death but not Mr.

Hyde’s. The distinction between Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll is the lack of sadism in Dr.

Jekyll’s state of mind and this might be undergirded by Freud’s words on melancholia

and sadism; “It is the sadism alone that solves the riddle of the tendency to suicide

which makes melancholia so interesting – and so dangerous.” (Freud, Melancholia 252).

Freud’s ideas about Melancholia and his definitions of sadism relevancy suggest Mr.

Hyde’s sadistic nature, in other words the id’s selfishness, saves him from suicide.

However, Dr. Jekyll and his superego cannot approve this sadism and selfishness since

he is bounded by moral values, leading him to suicide. This shows that sadistic

ideologies are more acceptable to id, compared to superego since the representative of

superego, Dr. Jekyll commits suicide but the representative of id, Mr. Hyde does not.

Chapter III: Inevitability of Melancholia and its relation with Basic Concepts

This chapter intends and inclines to examine and evaluate the inevitability of

melancholia in both Victorian novels analysed, considering the effects of Society’s

pressure, General Morality and Self-Awareness.

Before moving on to their evaluation, first all there concepts that are mentioned

above should be defined in short forms. Society’s pressure might be defined as the

responsibilities attained to individuals considering the moral values and general and

legal rules, according to which people should portray socially acceptable members.

Hence, the repression that is created by the mentioned rules might be names as

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Society’s pressure. Not only the general norms but also the professions and societal

statuses have this effect of repressing individuals so in general this concept is the

forcing power of every dictation among the society.

General norms might be defined as not only moral values but also the values that

conscious of the people foresee and force them to act in accordance with. By this, moral

values, ethical norms, humane morals and every other general norm as the humanity

considers are meant to be evaluated in this category.

On the final state, self-awareness is the awareness state of the individual, who is

able to understand his own desired while also balancing his inner instincts with society

norms.

Acknowledging that the superego is an observing agency of the ego and the

superego consists of moral values and society’s expectations (which are necessary for

an individual to be coexist in the society), the subject of beauty, which is emphasized

and praised by Lord Henry throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, has the role of

repression on Dorian Gray throughout Wilde’s work. Since Lord Henry has a huge

influence on Dorian Gray from the beginning of the novel on words, he triggers the

protagonist’s id by presenting his words as if they were society’s ‘real’ expectations. At

the beginning of the novel he expresses his ideas on beauty to Dorian Gray by stressing

Dorian Gray’s worst fear as a handsome and beautiful man, losing his beauty, whether

intentionally or not, with the words:

“People say sometimes that Beauty is only superficial. That may be so. But

at least it is not so superficial as Thought is. To me, Beauty is the wonder of

wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The

true mystery of the world is visible, not invisible…When your youth goes,

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your beauty will go with it…Every month as it wanes brings you nearer to

something dreadful.” (Wilde, 22)

Lord Henry argues that society might seem to value morality, but what seems actually

important is beauty, which is not superficial as thought since it is obvious, visible and

does not depend on the aspect of different people in society. Therefore, if an individual

is beautiful, it is certain that he is appreciated by all people in society. Lord Henry’s

inference about beauty later frightens Dorian Gray since the protagonist’s beauty

attracts even Basil Hallward, an artist, since Dorian Gray is described as “a figure

representing the sacred virtues of art” (Bloom et al. 148) and the man who tries to

defend morality against Lord Henry throughout the novel. Hallward describes his

attraction to Dorian’s beauty and personality (Wilde, 10) and he later confesses how he

treats Dorian Gray unintentionally since he’s impressed by his beauty as a painter:

“I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully. I find a strange

pleasure in saying things to him that I know I shall be sorry for having said.

As a rule, he is charming to me, and we sit in the studio and talk of a

thousands things. Now and then, however, he is horribly thoughtless, and

seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. Then I feel, Harry, that I have

given away my whole soul to some one who treats it as if it were a flower to

put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a

summer’s day.” (11)

The feelings of Basil Hallward indicate the power of beauty since he is considered as

the representation of morality and society through the novel. The main logic behind it is,

beauty is the key of many things throughout the novel and according to the definition all

through it, beauty might even be considered as a virtue. Also Basil’s words imply that

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Dorian Gray is aware of his beauty and using it on Basil since Basil still talks to him in

despite of his dreadful attitude towards Basil. Realizing that his beauty makes people

tolerate his attitudes leads to be addicted to his beauty and keep it by doing anything he

can. He feels pleasure because of this exceptional treatment of society; moreover,

keeping and protecting it becomes a desire for him. On the other hand, the same society

which praises his beauty limit Dorian Gray with moral values, avoiding him to protect

his beauty on his hands since his superego is associated with the same moral values and

corrupts his portrait as long as he acts depending on his id. Society’s pressure in both

ways, both praising his beauty and avoiding him to protect it, creates the fear of losing

the loved object, his beauty or the representation of his beauty, his portrait, through the

novel, and this feeling makes him experience melancholia as Freud suggests in his work

Mourning and Melancholia (Freud, Melancholia 245)

Considering the general morality in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray

knows what he should do in a moral sense, but he is not passionate about adapting them.

The protagonist adapts them just because it is the general morality of the society which

he knows it is essential for him to coexist with the society. Therefore, the morals of the

society repress his ego which is compressed by his id and this creates the neurotic mind

of his: melancholia. Wilde reveals Dorian’s thoughts with the words:

For every sin that he committed, a stain would fleck and wreck its fairness.

But he would not sin. The picture, changed or unchanged, would be to him

the visible emblem of conscience. He would resist temptation. He would not

see Lord Henry no more – would not, at aby rate, listen to those subtle

poisonous theories that in Basil Hallward’s garden had first stirred within

him the passion for impossible things. He would go back to Sybil Vane,

make her amends, marry her, try to love her again. (Wilde 92)

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The reader observes two conflicting decisions, representing melancholia which Dorian

Gray experiences, throughout these words. Firstly, two words, considering the difficulty

to accomplish the action they mean together, “to resist” and “temptation” are

contradictory since temptation is directly related with the individual’s desires, that is to

say, the id which is unyielding as it is mentioned in the first two chapters and the

observation of the superego is the only way to resist it since it creates a sense of guilt on

the ego and evaluates the individual’s conscience to avoid actions which conflicts to

general morality of the society. Unfortunately, this repression of superego dominates the

ego and the ego which cannot satisfy the desires of the individual’s unyielding id creates

melancholia attacks as Freud suggests (Freud, “Dissection”, 92). Secondly, it is obvious

that his decision about the subject of his reunion with Sybil is made by Dorian Gray

thinking on it logically. Throughout these words he is not emotional or desire oriented

but the reader observes him as a chess player, like he is an individual who plans his life

to organize it logically. He tries to eliminate his desires which conflicts with general

morality to coexist in the society, forcing himself to be led by only his conscious.

Self-awareness of Dorian Gray as the third factor of melancholia through Wilde’s

work is mostly represented by revealing the protagonist’s thoughts and reactions to his

thoughts. He might try to convince himself to act in terms of general morality for time

to time but especially at the end of the novel, his assuredness is obvious since he knows

what he would do or not by answering his own questions with his body language.

Dorian says: “Confess? Did it mean that he was to confess? To give himself up, and be

put to death? He laughed…His sin? He shrugged his shoulders” (Wilde 229). He laughs

and he shrug his shoulders which imply the reader his self awareness on these: firstly,

following desires should not be considered as sin and secondly, considering it as a sin

seems as a joke to him. This devil may care attitude of the protagonist reminds Freud’s

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claim: “Feelings of shame in front of other people, which would more than anything

characterizes this latter condition, are lacking in the melancholic, or at least they are not

prominent in him” (Freud, Melancholia, 247). Therefore, his self-awareness is a proof

of him experiencing melancholia since he does not feel any regret or shame when he

considers his actions and other people. He mentions the word “confess” which means to

reveal other people his actions and later he “laughs”, questions himself by asking “His

sin?”. He mocks the idea of the other people who consider his actions as sinful.

Society’s pressure in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is represented by

emphasizing Dr. Jekyll’s titles and his position in the society which brings him

unhappiness since he feels responsible towards society. Stevenson urges upon the titles

of Dr. Jekyll and mentions them in his work one by one: “Henry Jekyll, MD, DCL,

LLD, FRS, &c” (Stevenson 11). This forms the understanding that Dr. Jekyll

endeavoured intensely to reach his current position in society since they are all related

to his profession, education and society. Stevenson’s emphasis makes reader

comprehend the difficulty for Dr. Jekyll to abandon his position in society.

Additionally, in the last chapter of the novel, Dr. Jekyll explains his position in detailed:

I was born in the year 18 – to a large fortune, endowed besides with

excellent parts, inclined by nature to industry, fond of the respect of the wise

and good among my fellow-men, and thus, as might have been supposed,

with every guarantee of an honourable and distinguished future. (Stevenson

55)

In short, the superego of Dr. Jekyll is so powerful as a result of his position in the

society which makes him feel society’s pressure. Freud explains the melancholia attack

which is occurred because of this dominant nature of the superego in his work “The

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Dissection of the Psychical Personality” (Freud 90-92). Therefore, his ego has no

chance to satisfy his unyielding id for time to time to keep the balance between the

superego and the id. Hence, he experiences duality and his unconscious become another

identity, Mr. Hyde, to satisfy Dr. Jekyll’s desires.

Dr. Jekyll not just struggles with society’s pressure but also general morality of

himself which is again internalized by his superego. The duality he experiences through

the novel gives him another alternative personality which he can blame, Mr. Hyde.

Because of the power of the superego within Dr. Jekyll, he cannot take the

responsibility of the criminal actions actually done by him and blames Mr. Hyde, the

one who is free to satisfy his desires.

It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse;

he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even

make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde. And thus

his conscience slumbered. (Stevenson 60)

These words give the reader clue about how Dr. Jekyll externalizes his superego and

denies his id, giving him another identification as a result of struggles of moral values

and desires within him. Since his ego which is repressed by his superego cannot co exist

with his id anymore, he decides to destroy himself, his ego, to set free his id which

makes him happy but also he does not approve. “The analysis of melancholia now

shows that the ego can kill itself only if, owing to the return of the object-cathexis, it

can treat itself as an object”. He destroys his conscious so that he will not able to know

the consequences of accomplishing his desires and mentally he will concentrate on the

personality which makes him happy, saving his ego’s which experiences the struggle

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between the superego and the id. This melancholia attack leads him to destroy his ego

and the superego, therefore his Dr. Jekyll personality in the end of the novel.

Focusing on the self-awareness of Dr. Jekyll reveals the conclusion which Dr. Jekyll

himself came, meaning that he is aware that he will never be happy with the life which

is controlled by moral values of the society. However, he cannot accept the actions of

Mr. Hyde, his id since his internalized moral values still repress his ego. He says:

Will Hyde die upon the scaffold? Or will he find the courage to release

himself at the last moment? God knows; I am careless; this is my true hour

of death, and what is to follow concerns another than myself…I bring the

life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end. (Stevenson 70)

He stresses indirectly that Mr. Hyde represents his unconscious by mentioning that

he won’t be able to know what Mr. Hyde will be doing after Dr. Jekyll’s death, but he

also emphasizes that he was aware that he was unhappy while he was living in terms of

general morality and society’s pressure. He is aware of what does not bring him

happiness. So he decides to get rid of the ego of Dr. Jekyll which is repressed by the

superego and sets Mr. Hyde free, considering that he saves Dr. Jekyll’s reputation. But

as Thomas claims “the attempt to separate the ‘criminal aspects of the mind from its

“virtuous" aspects constitutes Jekyll’s crime and costs him his humanity” (Thomas

239). He kills his ego, leaves his respected position in society and sets free his pleasure-

seeker id, which is represented by Mr. Hyde.

Conclusion

To sum up, both Victorian novels, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Strange

Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have protagonists, Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll, who fit

the claims of Freud on melancholia. Considering the ego, which is often dissolved

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between the unyielding nature of the id and the observing and repressing model of the

superego, is one of the main reasons of melancholia since both protagonists try to

satisfy their desires with the repression of moral values of the society. Moreover, both

Dorian Gray and Dr. Jekyll are frightened because of the possibility of losing the object

of love in their life and what is interesting is that both experiences melancholia because

of the fear of losing objects which are praised by society. Dorian Gray is frightened to

lose his beauty, protecting his beauty becomes an obsession and a desire of him but on

the other hand he is limited in terms of protecting it by moral values of society and can

not act in any way he wants for the sake of protecting it. Dr. Jekyll is frightened to lose

his position in the society but the responsibilities of his position in the society limits him

in terms of satisfying his desires, so, this makes him unhappy and his ego which is

effected by the freedom of his id is repressed by his superego, which controls Dr. Jekyll

himself so powerfully since Dr. Jekyll had to suicide to free his pleasure seeker Mr.

Hyde side eventually, paralleling to Freud’s claims on the relationship of killing the ego

and return of the object-chatexis, which is Mr. Hyde and the happiness and freedom it

brings to Dr. Jekyll. Hence, the melancholia is inevitable for the both protagonists and

both of them consciously suicides as a result of knowing that it is not possible for the

society to understand their desires and accept them.

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