Tell Me a Story by Author Dina S. Rabadi. The Final Review of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

December 16, 2024

Dear Readers,

I finished the novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this weekend and hope you did too!  I wanted to use this last post on this book as a place for final thoughts and my recommendation.  Please note this is a final blog on this book so I will be discussing the ending!

I can see why this book is a classic.  The main point of the duality of man is provocative.  The author, Robert Louis Stevenson states, "... I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth... that man is not truly one, but truly two."  I agree with that.  I can see that in my own self and I can see that in others.  It is the ultimate split... between the good and bad in us, the parts of us that want to be generous and thoughtful and kind but the other parts that, if not managed, can be jealous, vindictive and unkind.

This theme continues to be referenced even now.  I was watching a movie last night that referenced a family member (he had committed a murder) as being like, "Jekyll and Hyde."  

From a literary point of view, I continue to find character description and character development so strong in this novel.  As an author myself, I find introducing a character and developing its character as one of the most challenging parts of writing a novel or novella.  You need to describe her hair, eyes, etc.  But it is way too boring to say... "She was tall with blonde hair and green eyes."  Maybe in some styles of book that would be enough, but if you are trying to world class literary work-- it needs to be more original and more captivating than that.

I do recommend this book as a must read for the theme and also the elements discussed-- character development and setting.  I do recommend reading this book more than once.  I know I will.  There is a lot here and I look forward to being transported back to London during the Victorian era in which it was written.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Congrats on reading our first novella!

Sincerely,

Dina S. Rabadi