45 minutes; 1 question; 40 marks; 20% of GCSE
Respond concisely…
The narrator reflects on being born into a life of privilege, with a large fortune and natural talents that predispose him to an honourable and distinguished future.
Despite high aspirations, he struggles with an impatient and light-hearted disposition, which he finds difficult to reconcile with his public image of seriousness and propriety.
To maintain this public image, he begins to conceal his pleasures, developing a double life driven by a sense of shame and his exacting aspirations.
He acknowledges that his duplicity is not the result of particularly degrading faults but a consequence of his conflicting desires for respectability and indulgence.
The narrator reflects on the duality of human nature, describing it as a profound divide between good and ill within himself, a division sharper than in most men.
His scientific studies, which focus on mysticism and transcendence, bring clarity to his awareness of this internal conflict.
He discovers that humanity is not a singular entity but a duality, composed of two natures that coexist and contend within the same consciousness.
The narrator fantasises about separating these two natures into distinct identities, believing this separation would relieve the struggles of conscience and allow each nature to exist independently and freely.
He describes the internal conflict as a "curse of mankind," with these opposing natures bound together and locked in perpetual struggle.
His reflections lead to experiments in his laboratory, where he begins to perceive the body's immateriality and transient nature.
Through his experiments, he discovers agents capable of transforming the body, revealing its physical form as merely an expression of the spirit's powers.
He compounds a drug that allows him to suppress his natural body's dominance and assume a second form, one that reflects the baser elements of his soul.