The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde and Mary Reilly Paper

Mary Reilly and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are very similar. Mary Reilly is based off the book so it shouldn’t surprise anyone how similar they are. There are only a few differences between the two but I think those differences make the movie better. One difference is the way the two are told. In the movie it is told through following Mary Reilly, one of the maids. In the book it follows many different people to explain what is really happening but also through a lawyer named Mr. Utterson. I think they changed this so it would make it more into a love story but still keeping it a mystery which would make people more intrigued to see what happens. This makes it less boring instead of just having a mystery going on.

You also, get more attached to a character like Mary Reilly if it follows someone more closely rather than a group. In the movie Mary Reilly is the one who sees Mr. Hyde turn into Dr. Jekyll for the last time because Mr. Hyde poisons them, while in the book Dr. Lanyon is the only person other than themselves to see Mr. Hyde change into Dr. Jekyll. I think they changed this because in the movie it just adds to the love story and the horror of having to watch them change right before Dr. Jekyll’s lovers eyes. Another major change between the book and the movie is the language of them. The movie is much easier to understand not only because it gives you a visual of what’s going on but it also is worded much easier than the older novel.

Most people can actually understand a lot better what is going on in the movie since they know what all the words mean unlike in the book where it can use words that are hard to understand for an average reader. I think this helps make the movie more interesting and more entertaining to watch too. Some things the book and the movie Mary Reilly have in common are that Mr. Hyde is presented as an evil person in both and Dr. Jekyll as good or normal. Mr. Hyde is described as being mean and people were fearful of him in both the book and the movie. He is wanted for murders in both and he’s happy to have done them.

In the movie he makes Mary Reilly, the maid, be scarred for life by watching the horrible transition from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll. Also, since the potion was poisoned Mary Reilly watched Dr. Jekyll die right in front of her who she truly adored. Dr. Jekyll is described and shown as a nice trusted man in both the book and the movie. Mary Reilly starts to truly love him in the movie while he is just a friend of Mr. Uttersons in the book. Since Mary Reilly is his maid in the movie and he likes her you get a better detail of him and the way he used to act before he started transitioning to Mr. Hyde once in a while.

This helps create a better visual of how Mr. Jekyll used to be instead of in the book where Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon describe how he used to be to you instead. Mr. Poole is in both the movie and the book as Dr. Jekylls main butler. He is described/shown as a very loyal person in both and wants everything to be right for Mr. Jekyll. He also, does not like Mr. Hyde in both. A difference between the book and the movie is that in the movie they don’t even mention a character like Dr. Lanyon. In the book you meet Dr. Lanyon, Mr. Jekyll’s long old time friend who also worked with him. In the movie however, this character isn’t even mentioned.

I think they did this because once they changed the story being told threw Mary Reilly instead of Mr. Utterson it made it so the Dr. Lanyon character was no longer needed. Overall I think the movie was way easier to understand. It was simpler, gave you a better visual of the characters, and had multiple storylines like Mary Reilly’s life and Mr. Jekyll’s life. If I were to recommend one of the two I would defiantly recommend the movie Mary Reilly over the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.