Jekyll and Hyde: Repression Quotes -

"He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years."

Utterson is very careful in terms of how he behaves. He only drinks alcohol when alone and has not even been to the theatre for twenty years. It is evident that he is very strict with himself because he liked wine but would only drink gin as it was cheaper.

"You start a question, and it's like starting a stone. You sit quietly on the top of a hill; and away the stone goes" ... "the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask."

Enfield stops himself from asking questions when he is suspicious for fear of what he might find out. He represses this desire to be inquisitive.

"I am ashamed of my long tongue. Let us make a bargain never to refer to this again."

Enfield says he is ashamed of himself for gossiping. He and Utterson agree not to do it anymore.

"I come here at the instance of your colleague, Dr Henry Jekyll, on a piece of business of some moment; and I understood ... " He paused and put his hand to his throat, and I could see, in spite

of his collected manner, that he was wrestling against the approaches of the hysteria—"I understood, a drawer ... "

Utterson is desperate to find out about Dr Jekyll but calmly and politely speaks to Dr Lanyon - he represses his excitement, fear and anxiety.

"Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of me."

Dr Jekyll explains that he repressed his sinful side in public to give the appearance of being respectable which was what was expected of him considering he was a doctor in a position to help people.

"At that time my virtue slumbered; my evil, kept awake by ambition, was alert and swift to seize the occasion; and the thing that was projected was Edward Hyde."

Jekyll explains that the more he tried to repress 'Hyde' within him, the more keen he became to come out.

"It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse; he woke again to his good qualities seemingly unimpaired; he would even make haste, where it was possible, to undo the evil done by Hyde. And thus his conscience slumbered."

Jekyll makes himself feel better by repressing his conscience. He tells himself that it was Hyde who committed those crimes, not himself. Although, Hyde is Jekyll just the side who he often refuses to acknowledge and it is Jekyll alone who is responsible. Jekyll and Hyde are one.

"My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring."

By repressing Hyde as long as he can, Jekyll only makes him more desperate to 'come out'. Jekyll refers to Hyde as an animal and like any animal, the longer they are kept in a cage, the more angry they become.