The gothic anxiety about the monstrous “Other” is fore-grounded when the apparent simplicity of the self/other relationship as a clear binary breaks down into something more complex under close examination. The self experiences immense fear, not only towards the failure of containment of the “other”, but also in having identified latent similarities between itself and its evil twin.
As noted in Chapter Two, Victor Frankenstein fears most what he cannot control -- that part of himself most closely allied to his monster. Each of his attempts to seize control fails; each failure contributes to his fear. That which Victor fears yet toward which he is obsessively drawn has been usefully outlined by Nietzsche as a dichotomy between Apollo and Dionysus (binary of Apollonian/Dionysian), that is, between rational thought and everything that escapes or exceeds rationality. As Victor discovered, what exceeds rationality appears monstrous.
In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, fear stems from recognition of the horror within, one that lies latent, repressed, concealed but emerges with retaliative violence, destruction and evil when permitted to surface. Notably, Jekyll is an apparent respectable man who contains within him a potential for profound wickedness that is released in the shape of Mr Hyde. His desire to “upgrade” himself, in want of respect, honour, and distinction in Victorian society, spurs him to conceal any irregularities in his life. It is in the unveiling of this corollary—the greater the bourgeois aspirations towards good of Jekyll, the greater the monstrosity of Hyde—that the self recoils in horror.
Courtesy of Anne Tng, 2006, National University of Singapore class: EN 4223 - Topics in the Nineteenth Century: The Gothic and After, Gothic Keywords project .