“我们干脆在银行里等他”：《化身博士》与信用经济

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

史蒂文森《化身博士》中的双重并不仅仅是双重人格的图解,它是维多利亚时期信用经济的产物。《化身博士》中海德使用杰基尔签名的支票支付赔偿金是破解小说种种谜团的金钥匙。虽然杰基尔可以通过神奇的药物在杰基尔和海德之间切换,但银行支票上的签名却意外地将杰基尔和海德的同一关系暴露无遗。正是签名这个信用经济的游戏规则,让杰基尔永远都无法摆脱海德的阴影。双重性和同一性的张力无法调和,最终导致了杰基尔悲剧的发生。

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.