Question

Read the excerpt from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

To cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die to those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper. To cast it in with Hyde, was to die to a thousand interests and aspirations, and to become, at a blow and forever, despised and friendless.

What is the conflict in this excerpt?

Mr. Hyde is hiding from authorities after a violent act.
Mr. Hyde is fighting his own guilt and self-loathing.
Dr. Jekyll is torn between the two sides of his identity.
Dr. Jekyll is struggling with his friend Mr. Utterson.

Answer 1

Dr. Jekyll is torn between the two sides of his identity.

He must choose between remaining respectable (Jekyll) or giving himself over to his darker urges (Hyde), losing different parts of himself either way.