“we Have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank”: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Credit Economy

Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2019, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (5): 90-100.

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“we Have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank”: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Credit Economy

Wang Weixin

Published:2022-05-23
About author:Wang Weixin is a professor at the College of Foreign Languages, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (Shanghai 201620, China). His major research interests are British literature and interdisciplinary studies in literature and economy. Email: wilson69@163.com
Supported by:
“A History of the Scottish Novel”（15FWW001）, sponsored by National Social Science Fund of China.

Abstract

Abstract: Stevenson’s use of the double in his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is more a product of credit economy during the Victorian period than a mere illustration of double personalities. Hyde’s unwitting use of the cheque with Jekyll’s signature to pay the ransom is the golden key to various puzzles of the novel. Jekyll is able to transfigure between Jekyll and Hyde by drinking the magical potion, but the signature on the cheque inadvertently reveals the doubling transformation between Jekyll and Hyde. It is the signature, one of the ground rules for credit economy, that makes it impossible for Jekyll to discard Hyde’s shadow once for all. The irreconcilable tension between duality and oneness results in the tragic end of Jekyll’s life.

Key words: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, double, credit economy, banking, signature

Wang Weixin. “we Have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank”: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Credit Economy[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2019, 41(5): 90-100.

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“we Have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank”: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Credit Economy

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