I used roots, stemming from the foot of the centermost figure to the lower two figures, to delve into a deeper dimension of instability. Just like roots ground a plant, the lower two figures tie down and control the centermost figure; they are, like Garret’s essay suggests, the insatiable foundation of the exterior figure that encapsulates Jekyll/Hyde. I would now like to differentiate between the lower two figures, and bring to light another element of instability that Garret raises - the asymmetric relationship between Jekyll and Hyde. While Hyde is an entirely evil person that did not retain any characteristics of Jekyll (at least on the surface), Jekyll is not an entirely isolated version of good, and in fact, shared in Hyde’s adventures. The split between good and evil in Jekyll is represented by the half shaded, half blank head of the leftmost figure (note that it is helpful to think of this as the evil and good parts of the brain, split down the middle in a sort of co-consciousness). The overpowering evil in Hyde is represented by the entirely shaded head of the rightmost figure. In his essay, Garret notes the two different uses of “I” in the novella: “I” as in Jekyll, who wants to dissociate from Hyde; and “I” as in Hyde, who creates tension by taking over Jekyll. I chose to reflect this in the way in which the roots connect to each figure differently. While the roots merely reach the head of the rightmost figure, they violently wrap around the leftmost figure. This depicts the way in which instability is such a powerful feature of the novel, as Hyde, the cause of such instability, ultimately overtakes Jekyll and minimizes Jekyll’s presence in favor of his. Thus, as the leftmost figure representative of Jekyll shrinks and is strangled by the roots (embodying the foundation of instability), the rightmost figure representative of Hyde becomes more powerful, and more of an influence in the centermost figure that is projected to the world.
The final dimension of instability in this artwork can be seen in the left and right side of the drawing, and the way in which they interact with the centermost figure. This aspect of instability has to do with Hyde’s relationship to society in the novella, and pertains to the notion of the “English gentleman”. While almost all people in the novella have a deep and unexplained hatred for Hyde - all these people embodying the English-gentleman - they are all deeply affected by Hyde; in fact, Hyde breaks down a “civilized” decorum of politeness and gentleness of the English-gentleman, and brings out each person’s subconscious, nearly evil self. Because of the lower two figures Hyde is the overpowering one, the centermost figure may now be seen to embody mostly Hyde (recall this is a dynamic drawing that can evolve with new understandings of added dimensions). The centermost figure, now Hyde, is shut out by the figures to the right of him - which embody the English-gentleman and suppressed subconscious - and yet simultaneously reflects the group of figures to the left - which embody the broken down Englishman and unleashed subconscious. Overall, this drawing is meant to portray the dynamic and powerful notion of instability at the heart of Garret’s essay. Most importantly, it is meant to reflect the ever-evolving relationship the reader has with the text and its character(s).