Dr. Jekyll observes that he feels "younger, lighter, happier in body" when he becomes Edward Hyde. Later, he observes that Hyde is "smaller, slighter and younger". What does Dr. Jekyll surmise accounts for these differences? How might they also be connected to his feeling of experiencing an "unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul" when being Hyde? Reference: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson

 

The "younger, lighter, happier in body" when Dr. Jekyll becomes Edward Hyde accounts for a more wicked and evil self. The observation that Hyde was "smaller, slighter and younger" made Dr. Jekyll think that this is his evil side of nature, to which evil is only a small portion of his personality but very dangerous indeed. Dr. Jekyll thought that "his life of effort, virtue, and control" took much of his personality, which makes his evil self "less exercised". This is connected to his feeling of experiencing an unknown freedom of the soul by thinking that Hyde was a more expressed version of himself. His evil side tolerates and gives justice to his undignified pleasures. He was no longer happy with his good side, which he calls Henry Jekyll, and this can be observed from his line, "that incongruous compound of whose reformation and improvement I had already learned to despair". Dr. Jekyll felt happy that he can now express his evil side and experience an "innocent freedom of the soul".

Step-by-step explanation

Dr. Jekyll found an innocent freedom when he became Edward Hyde because he can now justify his undignified pleasures. By dividing his two personalities-good and evil, he now has two characters and appearances. He found the drug as an "angel" as he call it. Since he also stated that he "learned to despair" Henry Jekyll, his good side, it can be inferred that he might have been tired of upholding effort, virtue, and control. His less exercised evil self was smaller compared to his good side but it was very evil and dangerous. Despite Dr. Jekyll's gentleman persona, he was hiding something bad deep within. His transformation of Edward Hyde made this hidden desires come to life.