Form: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Form of Narrative

The story is told through multiperspectivity.

The first half of the novel is narrated in 3rd person and is the telling of Mr Utterson's involvement of the story.

Chapter 9 shifts to 1st person , Dr Lanyon in the form of a letter and it remains in 1st person this time narrated by Dr Jekyll in the form of a confession to Utterson.

Structure of narrative

The first chapter features a flashback through Mr Enfields speech , he introduces the character Mr Hyde.

The rest of the novel is told in a linear narrative.

However the last two chapters are non-liner:

i.e. Chapter 9 takes the story back several months where it explains Lanyons death and the truth of Jekyll being Hyde.

Engaging the reader through the form

Stevenson uses 3rd person narrative to establish character, plot and settings, hooking the reader with a series or strange or unexplained events.

-Stevenson controls what the reader knows , the details create tension and/or excitement.

-By withholding certain details ( i.e. Jekyll being Hyde) it creates a sense of mystery.

By changing to first person narrative it creates horror whilst resolving the story and raises questions about humanity and morality.

-This allows the reader to understand his(Jekyll or Lanyon's) conflicting emotions and moral dilemmmas.

heterodiegetic narrator

A narrator who is not an active participant in the story but who tells the story of another character.

Epistolary Form

A novel written in a series of letters. We see through Dr Lanyon's letter and the confession of Dr Jekyll.

Intermediary character (Utterson)

Acts as a link between people in order to try and bring about an agreement.

Catharsis

The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. We see this through Jekyll's confession.

Parallelism

The similarities (often with crucial differences) between two characters or situations - Jekyll and Hyde and also within the descriptions of Cavendish Square and Soho.

Megalopsychia

The 'greatness of soul' that the tragic protagonist should possess - this links to Dr Jekyll's scientific ambition.

Anagnorisis

Recognition of truth about one's self and his actions; moment of clarity. We see this when Dr Jekyll realises that he can no longer control Hyde.

catalyst

An event that makes things happen , or happen more quickly. Hyde's actions are a catalyst for Utterson's desire to find out the truth as are Jekyll's sins a catalyst for the creation of Hyde.

denouement

The final part of a narrative where the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained. We see this through Jekyll's confession.

embedded narrative

A story within a story. The Carew murder is told from the perspective of a maid at a window who is a hidden watcher. The fact that the maid is emotional and is described as "romantically given" pushes the reader to question her account as it is not clear how much we can trust her narrative.

The title

The title of the novella is "The Strange Case…" and informs the reader that it will read like a detective story, full of accounts, documents and different points of view.

Focaliser

Utterson is the focaliser whose thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and memories play an important role because this is how we understand, observe and interpret the trail of events in the novella.