Dr. Jekyll quotes

subthemes of : inner evil (Hyde), transgressive science, loss of control and repression

blackness (inner evil)

a blackness came about his eye

• the colour black connotes corruption and evil and could be viewed as a physical glimpse of Hyde, as throughout the novel while in Jekyll form as Hyde grows more powerful we see glimpses of him

• The evil being in Jekyll’s eyes could be interpreted as Hyde possibly gaining control of Jekyll’s body and functions as by the end of the novel Hyde seems to have total control over Jekyll

grew pale (inner evil)

his face grew pale to the very lips

• the adjective ‘pale’ presents Jekyll as sick and malnourished, which could be viewed as Hyde sucking out the health and liveliness out of Jekyll as he grows more powerful

• the verb ‘grew’ expresses how Hyde is slowly infecting and tainting Jekyll from within like a disease

seized (inner evil)

seized with a qualm of faintness

• the violent verb ‘seized’ displays how Hyde is aggressively taking control of Jekyll and is much more obvious than earlier on in the novel where there was just ‘a blackness about his eye’, as we time passes Hyde, as Jekyll’s inner evil grows more powerful

dark purple, watery green (transgressive science)

compound changed to dark purple, which faded again to watery green

• purple is associated with not only evil but also Royalty, which could present the power and ambition of Jekyll’s transgressive science

• green is associated with evil and disease and so portrays how transgressive science is plaguing to people and infects their minds and bodies. People like Hyde, Jekyll and Lanyon, who have all witnessed transgressive science end up dead

blood (transgressive science)

blood red liquor

• the mention of blood could be a reference to the unethical/harmful side of transgressive science

deadliest terror (transgressive science)

the deadliest terror sits by me

• the adjective ‘deadliest’ highlights how dangerous and harmful transgressive science can be, and that as a whole transgressive science is not helpful and will not progress the science of the 19th century in a good/moral way

grew pale → deathly sick (loss of control)

his face grew pale to the very lips → Jekyll looked deathly sick

• the growing illness of Jekyll could be interpreted as Hyde draining the life out of Jekyll like a parasite

• the growing sickness of Jekyll could also be interpreted as a physical showing of Jekyll’s mental distress and that his mental turmoil is now visibly showing in his appearance

choose → prisoner (loss of control)

the moment I choose I can be rid of Mr. Hyde → like some disconsolate prisoner

• at the start of the novel Jekyll had full control over Hyde and he was the dominant one, but near the end of the novel there has been a role reversal and now Jekyll feels more like a prisoner/slave, and with that has lost control and happiness

• the simile of a prisoner helps portray the lack of freedom Jekyll feels, Hyde is no longer a solution to his worries or an escape, but now is his constant torment

• perhaps presenting Jekyll as a prisoner helps show how he’s a sinner and that his suffering is a way for him to pay for his crimes of using transgressive science

bed (loss of control)

I had gone to bed Henry Jekyll, I had awakened Edward Hyde

• the action of going to bed could be an interpretation of Jekyll becoming dormant and now losing the dominant role in his body

• the verb ‘awakened’ could be viewed as Hyde now being in control, it’s the start of a new stage with Hyde as being in control

morbid sense of shame (reputation)

I hid them with a morbid sense of shame

• shows how as a Victorian Gentlemen, Jekyll has to constantly repress and hide natural parts of him, afraid that his precious reputation could be devalued and his place in society would be lost

innocent (reputation/freedom)

an innocent freedom of the soul

• the adjective ‘innocent’ creates sympathy for Jekyll and portrays him as an innocent victim to Hyde’s terror

tortured (repression)

I was tortured by longings

• the violent verb ‘tortured’ presents the severity of Jekylls repression. Its a haunting pain he has to deal with constantly, and the temptation of feeling free of that pain through Hyde is hard to resist

• Perhaps Jekyll has a sort of addiction into turning into Hyde and it’s hard to stop despite him knowing the consequences

my devil (repression)

my devil had been long caged, he came out roaring

• references his inner devil ‘Hyde’, which is a manifestation of Jekyll’s deepest desires

• The noun ‘devil’ connotes Christianity and beliefs about morality, and so calling Hyde the ‘devil’ presents him as immoral and unethical

• the animalistic verb ‘roaring’ has connotations of beastly, uncontrollable, and deadly which correctly represent the elements of Hyde

• the imagery of a cage portrays Hyde as a confined dangerous animal, that has been long repressed inside of Jekyll, and as a result is now bursting out violently

spirit of hell (repression)

the spirit of hell awoke in me and raged

• the noun ‘spirit of hell’ opposes the holy spirit from Christianity and perhaps displays how Jekyll’s science is challenging God but also presents how the repression has fuelled Hyde

• the violent verb ‘raged’ portrays Hyde as barbaric/uncivilized and full of hatred