Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 40

“A metaphysical detective story is a text that parodies or subverts traditional detective-story
conventions - such as narrative closure and the detective’s role as surrogate reader - with the
intention, or at least the effect, of asking questions about the mysteries of being and knowing
which transcend the mere machinations of the mystery plot. Metaphysical detective stories often
emphasise this transcendence, moreover, by becoming self-reflexive” (Merivale and Sweeney,
1999, 2)
Jekyll, then, can be classed as the predecessor of a metaphysical detective who is ‘asking questions about
the mysteries of being and knowing’. While his detective work remains interior, as opposed to Utterson’s
exterior hunt for Hyde, he finds answers to philosophical questions such as:. 'What is in your soul?',
'Should we be good?', 'Should evil be allowed in moderation?' The novella also cleverly subverts the
traditional detective story by not having a successful detective. Utterson never figures out the truth about
Hyde comma as his theory that Hyde was going to kill Jekyll for his will was wrong all along, and Jekyll
undertakes an act of self-detection which, while resulting in the splitting of the soul, ultimately results in
his death. We must also consider that Jekyll wants his detection of self to be known. He leaves Utterson
the letter explaining what he has achieved and what has gone wrong. To this effect, he is inviting Utterson
to question what Utterson’s own Hyde might be or do. This also has a similar effect on - the readers, as
the novel invites us to question what we might find if our own souls were split.
Additionally, the metaphysical detective may not allow narrative closure. Consider that we never
hear Utterson’s reaction to Jekyll’s letter or the social aftermath of the discovery of this soul splitting
science. The structure of the end of the novella is purposely ambiguous in order to put all of the concluding
thoughts on the shoulders of the reader and to make them consider the resonating effects of the concept
of splitting one’s souls. As the novella sets the reader up to hate Hyde and identify with or admire Jekyll,
the news that they are the same person can come as a shock and asks moral questions of the reader.
Ultimately, the novella asks the reader to consider the role of society in creating virtuous and monstrous
individuals, whether self-detection will result in evil; or whether Jekyll, symbolic of the bourgeoisie, was
the corrupt factor; and finally if monstrosity can reside in all human beings.
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