jekyll and hyde quotations

“lean , long, dusty, dreary” (1) - UTTERSON, DUALITY, REPRESSION

“lean , long, dusty, dreary” (1) - UTTERSON, DUALITY, REPRESSION

• AO2 – Asyndeton 

• AO2 – Promotes Utterson as an average, unremarkable man 

  • Displays Utterson as a reliable, yet dull narrator 

    • Places Utterson in direct contrast with the chaos and violence of the rest of the novella 

• AO2 -  "Lean" - suggests physical thinness but also a metaphorical lack of indulgence, construing Utterson as a man of restraint, both habitually and emotionally 

• AO2 - "Long" - suggests physical stature but also an enduring sense of monotony, reflecting Utterson's steady and unchanging nature 

• AO2 - "Dusty" - evokes imagery of age, neglect or a lack of vitality, suggesting that Utterson is a more, old-fashioned, traditional character, firm in his ideologies 

• AO2 - "Dreary" - creates a sense of gloom and monotony, mirroring the dark and oppressive nature of the novella 

• AO1 – Description placed early in novella to contrast Utterson's dull nature to the more dynamic and dangerous characters such as Hyde. 

• AO3 – His reserved nature reflects the Victorian ideals of propriety and repression 

“I incline to Cain’s heresy […] I let my brother go to the devil” (1) - UTTERSON, RELIGION, DUALITY, FRIENDSHIP

• AO1 - statement reflects Utterson's moral dilemma regarding Jekyll's mysterious relationship with Hyde

• AO2 - "Cain's heresy" - suggests a deviation from moral and ethical conventions

  • Biblical parable illustrates how Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy

  • Utterson's use of imagery indicates a recognition of wrongdoing and a failure to intervene in the face of evil

    • The statement draws upon biblical allusion, invoking the idea of sin and moral failure

      • This enhances the gravity of Utterson's concern, framing Jekyll's interactions with Hyde as a profound transgression against natural and social order

• AO2 - "I let my brother go to the devil" - Utterson acknowledges his own inaction and his anguish over allowing Jekyll's tragic demise

  • His feelings of helplessness underscore the tension between loyalty to a friend and the need to confront that friend's destructive behaviours

“unscientific balderdash” (2) - LANYON, SCIENCE, FRIENDSHIP

• AO2 - emotive language

• AO1 – reflects Dr Lanyon's and wider Victorian society's disdain for Jekyll's morally ambiguous approach to science, viewing it as unorthodox

  • Highlights the tension between Lanyon and Jekyll, foreshadowing the catastrophic consequences of Jekyll's experimentation

• AO2 - "Unscientific" - word emphasises Lanyon's strict belief in the importance of rationality and logic

  • Describing his work as "unscientific" portrays Jekyll's work as deviating from acceptable, venturing into the realm of the supernatural and unethical

“strange preference or bondage” (2) - JEKYLL, DUALITY, REPRESSION, SECRECY

• AO2 - links to themes of supressed sexual perversion

• AO1 – Utterson's reflection on Jekyll's inexplicable attachment to Hyde. Utterson is puzzled by Jekyll's fondness for Hyde

  • Utterson ponders whether the relationship is a "strange preference" (voluntary compulsion) or "bondage" (involuntary compulsion)

  • Highlights the mystery surrounding their relationship and foreshadows the revelation of their true connection in the final chapter: Henry Jekyll's Full Statement

• AO2 - "strange" - suggests the abnormal and supernatural, reflecting the unsettling nature of Jekyll and Hyde's connection

• AO2 - "preference" - implies that their connection is willing, posing questions to the audience about Jekyll's morality and ethics

• AO2 - "bondage" - connotes a lack of control, suggesting Jekyll is trapped by the compelling freedom of Hyde

  • It introduces the idea of addiction or obsessions, delving the novella into the baser, more primal human instincts

• AO2 – Juxtaposition of "preference" and "bondage" creates ambiguity, reflecting the wider themes of duality and conflict between free will and determinism

“the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr Hyde” (3) - JEKYLL, DUALITY, REPRESSION, SCIENCE

• AO2 - dramatic irony

  • Quotation reflects Jekyll's hubris, believing he has control over his darker, more primal nature (Hyde)

• AO2 - "The moment I choose" - Conveys Jekyll's arrogance and belief in his own agency and scientific capabilities

• AO2 - "choose" - Use of specific verb highlight the illusion of control Jekyll believes he possesses over his dual identity

• AO2 - "I can be rid"- implies Jekyll views Hyde as an entirely separate being, easily discarded at his own will

  • This reflects his denial of the fact that Hyde is an intrinsic part of Jekyll, an embodiment of his repressed desires and instincts

“ape-like fury” (4) - HYDE, DUALTY, SCIENCE, VIOLENCE

• AO1 - Links to wider themes throughout the novella of the hidden animalistic nature of humanity, the loss of control and Victorian anxieties about evolution and degeneration

  • AO3 - 1859 released of Charles Darwin's book: 'On the Origin of Species'

• AO1 - Hyde is described with animalistic features during his violent outbursts

  • Emphasises Hyde's primal and savage nature

  • AO3 - Contrasted with civilised and restrained nature of Victorian society

• Ao2 - "Ape-like" - simile compares Hyde to an ape, implying a primitive and uncivilised nature

  • AO3 - It reflects the Victorian fear of human regression and degeneration, falsely influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution, which suggested humans evolved from apes

    • This comparison dehumanises Hyde, portraying him as an indulgent creature driven by instinct instead of rationality

• AO2 - "Ape-like fury" - highlights the duality between rational, controlled persona of Jekyll and the wild, animalistic nature of Hyde

  • This enhances the mystery around their connection

“great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven” (4) - SETTING, GOTHIC, SECRECY

• AO1 - Stevenson utilises the setting to reflect the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the novella

• AO2 - "chocolate-coloured pall" - refers to the polluted foggy skies of London

  • The symbolism of the pollution reflect the moral corruption and secrecy pervasive in the novella

  • AO2 - The imagery mirrors the duality of the protagonists, as the natural world is obscured and tainted

  • AO3 - pollution and fog in London during the 19th century were largely caused by outputs of factories and transportation due to the Industrial Revolution

• AO2 - "great" - emphasises the all-encompassing nature of the fog, creating a sense of suffocation or oppression within the chapter

• AO2 - "chocolate-coloured"- brown colour suggests pollution, reflecting the physical and moral corruption of Victorian society

• AO2 - "pall" - object symbolises death and mourning, foreshadowing the violence and death associated with Hyde

• AO2 - "lowered over heaven" 2 phrase suggests obscurity, symbolising a loss of purity, morality and divine order

  • Reflects the idea that Jekyll's experiments and Hyde's actions have disrupted natural and moral balance

“inscrutable recluse” (6) - JEKYLL, SECRECY AND REPUTATION, DUALITY, MYSTERY, FRIENDSHIP

• AO1 - links to the co-mingling of Jekyll and Hyde's personalities

• AO1 - signals to Jekyll's growing shame for Hyde

  • Reflects Victorian concern of maintaining public respectability while hiding private sins

• AO2 - "Inscrutable" - adjective enhances the mysterious and enigmatic nature of Jekyll's true character

  • Signals how Jekyll is impossible to read, even to his closest friends

• AO2 - "recluse" - signals to themes of isolation, emphasising Jekyll's physical and emotional withdrawal from the social world

“trees were lashing themselves along the railing” (8) - SETTING, VIOLENCE, GOTHIC

• AO2 - Personification

  • Further heightens the uncomfortable nature of the chapter

  • Violent nature of the trees' actions mirrors the uncontrollable savagery of Hyde

• AO1 - description appears during one of the most turbulent scenes in the novella

  • Mirrors the psychological and moral turmoil of the characters involved (Poole, Utterson, Jekyll, Hyde)

    • Stevenson utilises this violent chaos to reflect the disruption of natural order Jekyll's 'immoral' experimentation has caused

• AO2 - quotation aligns with Gothic tradition of using nature to mirror the emotional or moral state of protagonists

• AO2 - "Themselves" - reflexive pronouns emphasises the trees' autonomous action, suggesting a world where even nature has become wild and unnatural, like Hyde

• AO2 - "along the railing" - the railing represents civilisation and order, a man-made boundary

  • The violent interaction of the trees with the structure symbolises the inherent conflict between nature and civilisation (Jekyll and Hyde)

“one of those maladies that both torture and deform the sufferer” (8) - UTTERSON, JEKYLL, DUALITY, SCIENCE

• AO2 - "maladies" - medical term suggests infirmity, implying that Jekyll's condition is both physical and psychological

  • This frames Jekyll's transformation as a sickness, rather than a moral failing, adding a scientific dimension to his suffering

• AO2 - "torture" - powerful verb emphasises the pain experienced, adding an ongoing, active aspect to this form of state

• AO2 - "deform" - verbs implies physical transformation and degradation

  • AO3 - connects to Victorian fears of degeneration

“body of a self-destroyer” (8) - JEKYLL, HYDE, DUALITY, REPRESSION

• AO1 - phrase utilised after Jekyll's death, reflecting the destructive consequences of Jekyll's dual life and his inability to reconcile with his two identities

• AO1 - phrase serves as a critique of unchecked ambition and the dangers of tampering with or repressing human nature

• AO2 - "Body" - emphasises the physicality of Jekyll's demise, drawing attention to the tangible consequences of Jekyll's moral and psychological struggles

• Ao2 - "self-destroyer" - compound noun highlights the self-inflicted nature of Jekyll's demise

  • Reflects themes of moral self-destruction due to Jekyll's indulgence in his primal instincts

• AO2 - entire phrase encapsulates Jekyll's tragic arc

  • AO1 - Construes the novella as both a morality novel and a tragedy

“malefactor” (8) - HYDE, DUALITY

• AO2 -  Progression from 'benefactor' to 'malefactor'

  • Precise antithesis of each other

    • Duality

    • Degradation of Hyde's character

• AO2 - "malefactor" - negative connotations suggesting criminality, immorality and evil

  • Emphasises Hyde's role as a villain within the novella and the threat his existence poses to Victorian society

  • Term also implies a deliberate and conscious choice to commit wrongdoing, aligning with Hydes actions throughout the novella

    • AO3 - links to the moral and legal judgement of Victorian society

“I shall die incredulous” (9) - LANYON, SCIENCE, SUPERNATURAL

• AO2 - Symbol for a Victorian society's unbelieving nature and the limits of human understanding

• AO2 - phrase spoken by Lanyon, a rational and scientific character, reflecting his inability to reconcile what he has witnessed with his understanding of the world

  • AO1 - highlights the novella's exploration of the conflict between science and the supernatural

• AO2 - "I shall die" - emphasises the finality of Lanyon's experience

  • Suggests the shock of the witnessed reversal of nature had a lasting psychological and physical toll on Lanyon

• AO2 - "incredulous" - adjective conveys disbelief and an ability to accept what was witnessed

  • Reflects the limit of human understanding and the challenge of reconciling scientific knowledge and supernatural phenomena

“two natures that contended in the duality of man” (10) - DUALITY, REPRESSION, VIOLENCE

• AO2 - "two natures" - suggests each person contains inherent duality, both good and evil

  • Raises the question about moral responsibility: if everyone contains duality, can we be held accountable for our actions?

• AO2 - "contended" - portrays this conflict between natures as an ongoing struggle

  • This struggle is portrayed as a universal human experience, making the theme relatable to readers

  • Imagery creates a sense of battle and violent conflict

“lower elements in my soul” (10) - JEKYLL, HYDE, DUALITY REPRESSION

• AO2 - Jekyll acknowledges his darker impulses

  • AO3 - Victorian society was characterised by strict moral codes and a strong emphasis on respectability

    • AO1 - Jekyll's admission reveals the tension between societal expectations and the reality of human desires

• AO2 - "lower elements" - suggests every individual has a capacity for violence and immorality

  • Aligns with the central theme of duality

  • Phrase implies that these darker aspects of an individual are often repressed to conform to societal standards

    • AO1 - Stevenson portrays the consequences of Jekyll's experimentation as the moral consequences of psychological repression

  • Jekyll confronts the idea of moral responsibility in the phrase, pondering whether he can be held accountable for Hyde's actions

  • Imagery evokes a sense of degradation and baseness, suggesting these darker experiences are a fundamental aspect of human life

• AO2 - "soul" - Jekyll's reference to his soul signifies that within humanity's moral core, there is an intrinsic darker element

“solution of the bonds of obligation” (10) - HYDE, JEKYLL, REPRESSION, DUALITY

• AO2 - "bonds of obligation" - suggests the moral constraints that Victorian society places on individuals

  • AO1 - Jekyll feels trapped by these "obligations", leading him to seek a "solution" through his experiments

• AO2 - "solution" - implies a desire to resolve the internal conflict of human duality, foreshadowing the tragic consequences of the separation of contrasting natures

  • Jekyll's attempt to dissolve these "bonds" leads to his loss of control over Hyde, illustrating the dangers of trying to compartmentalise aspects of one's identity