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Sexuality in Jekyll and Hyde Essay Example

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Sexuality in Jekyll and Hyde Essay Example
Sexuality

Human sexuality is one topic that will remain taboo throughout time. Promiscuity is considered very undesirable, and often people who abuse their sexuality are condemned. Indeed, the term "in-between the sheets" refers to a whole new personality which one can become while in the bedroom. Human sexuality is considered an unmentionable public topic. The only time one may feel comfortable exploring sexual ideas or fantasies is with an intimate partner who has similar sexual experiences and standards. Many times after a sexual fantasy is explored, many people feel guilty or dirty after their experience. Even in today's society, women do not want to reveal how many sexual partners they have had for fear of judgment. In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson uses the double characters to pronounce the internal struggle between human impulses, and society's structural norms and expectations. As Dr. Jekyll, the character feels pressured by society to attain a certain public image, one that resembles an ideal and humble man who would never violate or even whisper about sex. Mr. Hyde serves as Dr. Jekyll's alter ego. Mr. Hyde allows Dr. Jekyll to explore and violate social norms without guilt or consequences. If Dr. Jekyll is not responsible for Mr. Hyde's actions, there is no limit to Mr. Hyde's freedom. Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde in order to violate societal norms because without this alter ego, Dr. Jekyll would not be able to explore human sexuality without social punishments. Many of Stevenson's characters in the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pride themselves of being goodly, modest gentlemen. They do not act out of line, do not speak of radical notions, and try their best to fit into society. "One particular element in human nature that was notoriously ignored was, of course, the sexual passion, for there shame, fear and the proprieties united to draw a veil of silence or a gloss of euphemism over

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