Jekyll and Hyde Key quotes

"Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance, that was never lightened by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backwards in sentiment; lean, long dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable."

'Mr. Utterson" originates from the adjective ‘utter’, meaning to cry out. This is exactly what he does; he becomes the storyteller who shares the details of what he knows until the conclusion of the novella, adding to the novella's surprise. He is a lawyer who is presented as intelligent, trustworthy and a reputable witness to the events of this tale. He becomes the credible voice of reason who collects the confusing and misleading bits of information that surround the bond between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in an effort to solve the mystery. Stevenson introduces Utterson as a somewhat boring and uninteresting character. He is an upstanding Victorian gentleman who avoids gossip and is a loyal friend. He believes in reason and common sense and does not let his imagination run amok. This lack of indulgence in vice, while portrayed as morally laudable also seems to be linked to a lack of vitality-'dusty', 'cold' and 'mortify' all furnish this link, a theme explored later with Hyde's evil acts adding to his energy and liveliness. Utterson's own personality traits seem to contradict one another, highlighting the novella's key theme of Duality of man.

"At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye;"

Although Stevenson established a rather professional and blunt facade for Mr. Utterson, it seems that Utterson seemed significantly less prominent and unwavering in attitude when i indulged in wine and was in good company. This connotates the fact that he had two notable sides to his persona: one that maintained a constant professional attitude(which gave him a reputation of being "the last reputable influence in the lives of down-going men"), and also the side that enjoyed mortal pleasures. Moreover, this alludes to the theme of duality in human nature that is constantly referenced and implied throughout the novella, the idea that "man is not truly one, but truly two."

" 'I incline to Cain's heresy,' ... 'I let my brother go to the devil in his own way' "

Cain was the evil brother who murdered his brother Abel over jealously as God favored Abel's sacrifice compared to his. Here, Utterson uses the allusion to make a quip about letting his brother destroy himself without interference. Ironically, we will see that it is the good brother Dr. Jekyll who will ultimately attempt to kill his alter-ego, or "brother" Mr. Hyde. The allusion is not just to Cain's murder however. After the murderer, God asks Cain where Abel is, to which Cain replies "Am I my brother's keeper?" This is once again an example of Utterson's conflicting identity, here he implies that he does not care what happens to others, yet cannot help himself from getting involved with Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

"smiling saleswomen"

Although this street appears attractive, in counterpoint to the house in the following paragraph, it is also duplicitous. The 'air of invitation' it tries so hard to display, is for its owners' monetary gain rather than being a purely virtuous beauty. The duality of the deceptively charming street and the uninvited dilapidated house echoes another duality in the novella, that of Jekyll and Hyde. It highlights the fact that, while Hyde is unquestionably evil, Jekyll is hardly perfect and is far less honest than Hyde in his attempts to maintain an inviting exterior, which touches on the theme of secrecy in the novella.

"the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood"

Stevenson uses layers of contrast here, both emphasizing how abnormally bright and welcoming the street is given its 'dingy neighborhood' and also contrasting the attractive street with the ugly, distained building in the next paragraph.

"showed no window"

You cannot look in. This conveys ideas of secrecy and hidden truths. As we come to find out later in the novella, Jekyll lacks the natural human empathy required to see that Hyde's behaviour, even his existence in the world as a separate being, is unacceptable. The world would not be better off with the 'upright twin' walking off his own way.

"some place at the end of the world"

Mr. Enfield is being unclear with the location at which he was coming from. This, along with the time of night, suggests that he was at a place he was unwilling to divulge, such as a brothel. Linking back to the context of the story, many upper-class and respectable men would often visit unacceptable places and try to desperately hide this part of their lives in order to hold their status. This links to the overall idea of Jekyll's attempt to keep Hyde's relationship with him a secret.

10. "trampled calmly"

This is an oxymoron, as trampling is seen as a violent act but Hyde does this calmly. This shows the naturally violent side of Hyde; he is aggressive and ruthless.

"It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see"

The sight of this man stamping over a young girl was more horrible to witness compared to her screams as it occurred. The adjective 'hellish' begins the trend of hell-related religious language describing Hyde, throughout the novella, fitting since the book was written during the Victorian times and Religion was a big part of people's lives at that time.

"some damned Juggernaut"

The use of this paradox is insightful, for earlier it mentioned that Mr. Hyde was a 'little man', yet this represents him as a strong, unstoppable force. This too highlights the idea of duality of one.

"as wild as harpies"

Harpies in Greek Mythology were birds with women's heads who stole food and carried evil doers to their punishment. This links to the theme of gender equality and how women were portrayed as wilder and less in control of their emotions than men(when they appear at all in the novella). The reference of harpies alternatively could also signal the incoming, inevitable judgement that will fall upon Hyde/Jekyll as early as the first chapter.

"But carrying it off, sir, really like Satan”

Another depiction of hell and the mention of a religious reference continues the motif of darkness throughout the novella. Also, this phrase describes the very nature of Hyde.

"There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why."

Here, Enfield is launching a thought that will carry on through the whole narrative. Hyde is not the opposite of Jekyll, he is the absence of good in him. While Jekyll maintains all the flaws, benevolence and temptations of a normal human, Hyde is pure evil. He is not physically deformed, but balanced people are able to recognize that there is something incongruous about him, even by appearance, and they are naturally repelled by it. In this, Stevenson makes two assertions about the human condition: in the first he proclaims that people are able to detect the physical presence of spiritual afflictions, and by that they are naturally drawn towards good, and away from evil. In the second, we see that those spiritual realm coexist in real individuals, right down to Dr. Jekyll's neurocognitive reflections on his moral self, and himself as Mr. Hyde.

"He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn't specify the point. He's an extraordinary looking man, and yet i really can name nothing out of the way."

This links back to the Gothic genre of the novella as Hyde seems to be an unnatural being. The description of Hyde is somewhat elliptical as Enfield is unable to pinpoint the deformity of Hyde, instead generalizing his appearance as "extraordinary looking".

"No sir, i can make no memory of it; I can't describe him. And it's not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment"

Here, Stevenson is reaching for a deeper understanding of our limits. We can sense evil easily enough, but we cannot define it; even when we recognize evil we do not know what to do about it. His equivocal language,through Enfield, iinvites us to conjure up this evil image for ourselves