The classic monster canon features a diverse roster of supernatural fiends, but you could connect any of them with the virtues and vices of society as a whole. Whether you see our collective god complex in the plight of Frankenstein or our suppressed shame in Dracula, these monsters have always held a mirror up to humanity. Robert Louis Stevenson arguably addressed that theme the best in 1886, with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The story of a man who manifests a repressed personality became the groundwork for all manner of psychological science fiction... though most adaptations have spun that story into a much fantastical metaphor.
If you read Stevenson’s Victorian novella, you’ll find it’s not really about dissociative identities, but the lengths that its well-to-do hero will go to indulge in his conscious vices without impunity. Adaptations of Stephenson’s work ignore that subtext entirely, leaning hard on the transformation between the pious Dr. Jekyll, the evolved man, and his “lesser” form, Mr. Hyde. The 1932 film adaptation starring Fredric March was not the one that started this trend — that honor goes to the 1920 film starring John Barrymore — but it did go a long way in reinforcing the image of Jekyll and Hyde within the zeitgeist.
