Jekyll + Hyde quotations

“I am ashamed of my long tongue”

Said by Mr U in chap 1

Demonstrates that he feels guilty for meddling in matters that are not his own - he is aware of Victorian societal standards

“Make his name stink from one end of London to another”

Said by Mr Enfield - importance + power of reputation

Shows the fragility of Jekyll’s reputation due to Hyde’s actions

“Equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained”

Where Hyde lives - doors symbolise concealment, strange that there isn’t a knocker, something unnatural

“some place at the end of the world”

“about three o’clock of a black winter morning”

Mr Enfield - why is he out at this time of night?

Demonstrates that everyone is affected by societies expectations, Mr E must be out enjoying pleasures that are frowned upon

“Such unscientific balderdash”

Said by Dr Lanyon in chap 2

He doesn’t support Jekyll’s metaphysical experiments - a conflict between science + religion

“He began to go wrong, wrong in the mind”

Dr Lanyon - foreshadows the fall of Jekyll, early signs of Jekyll’s evil side, losing control

Significance of Blackmail as a symbol throughout the novella?

The frequent use of blackmail within the novella highlights the fragility of reputation due to human behaviour + actions + dark secrets that threaten to destroy lives

“Pale and dwarfish”

Description of Hyde

Connotes that Hyde is something sickly, displeasing, he is stunted in growth, strange - lack of colour could suggest lack of morality, emphasises his malevolent nature

“Murderous mixture of timidity and boldness”

Use of murder foreshadows events in chapter 4, juxtaposition of timid + bold amplify the unexplainable nature of Hyde in that his qualities are perplexing - he is devolved

“Displeasing smile”

Smiles evoke warmth and safety, the contrast with the adjective “displeasing” suggests Hyde is animalistic, he is not used to human cues, unnatural

“Low growl”

Animalistic, monstrous nature

“He is hardly human”

Mr U + Mr E don’t want to believe he is a human, contradicts a quintessential Victorian gentleman, they are uncomfortable and disgusted

“Something troglodytic”

Darwin’s theory, “devolution”, link to apes and cavemen, unsettling to reader, terror

“I read Satan’s signature upon a face”

Hyde is inextricably linked to evil, he is amoral, he creates an unsettling atmosphere wherever he goes, the link to Satan is powerful because it dissolves any pity that could be felt for Hyde

“A black sneering coldness like Satan”

Chap 4

His nature, physicality makes people feel unsafe

Use of sibilance “sneering” - links to animalistic features

“The man trampled calmly”

Chap 1

The use of restrained formal tone forces the reader to imagine and embellish the events themselves - leading to more horrific images

“Calmly” + “Trampled” could be seen as a reflection of good and evil, Jekyll’s goodness versus his alter ego and repressed desires

“Something displeasing”

There is a lack of description which emphasises the extent of the affect Hyde’s actions has had on Mr E + Mr U - they can’t describe it because it is so strange and peculiar

“downright detestable”

Chap 2

“detestable” - intense dislike

Hyde is hated, he is pure evil

“A strong feeling of deformity”

Deformity suggests unhuman features, monstrous qualities, like a wild animal

What is physiognomy?

Facial features, physicality, personality

There is a stark contrast between Jekyll + Hyde’s physiognomy

“A large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty”

Chap 3

Victorians were encouraged to conceal their true nature, and instead put on a pristine public façade, suggesting Jekyll constructed his face + personality to fit within societies standards + be accepted

“With something of a slyish cast”

Suggests Jekyll’s façade is not as good as he might think, repression has consequences

“but every mark of capacity and kindness”

Jekyll is the pinnacle of a quintessential Victorian gentleman

“The moment I choose, I can be rid of Hyde”

Jekyll has a false sense of control which leads to the escalation of his repression + consequently Hyde’s amoral actions

“My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring”

The pressures of reputation ruined Jekyll and led to his downfall

Everyone has a “devil” no matter how good or bad - what Stevenson is trying to convey

“The balance of my nature might be permanently overthrown”

Repression led to the imbalance of his good and evil, his evil grew and his good lost the battle to fight

“I concealed my pleasures, I seemed to live laborious days”

Societies expectations were tiresome, he needed to have fun as well

“Gloating on my crime”

Is Jekyll really sorry, where is his remorse?

He is proud of his crimes?

Not normal human nature - link to Hyde

“Glorifying and trembling”

He was excited by his actions, he killed people and used sheer violence, he shouldn’t be proud - reader has almost no pity for him

“Broke out in a great flame of fury”

“Flame” - out of control, animalistic qualities

“Broke out” - sudden and unpredictable

“Audibly shattered”

Visceral fear of Hyde’s pure strength, a normal human being wouldn’t be capable of such atrocities

“incredibly mangled”

The extent of Hyde’s capabilities and violence are highlighted - Jekyll’s repression has led to unimaginable events

“Mangled” - unrecognisable, almost like an animal - animalistic, monstrous, amoral, demonic

“Ape-like fury”

Links to Darwin’s theory of evolution but also the possibility of devolution - a great fear during the Victorian era

Hyde’s fury is animalistic, uncontrollable - no human can relate to him - reader develops a feeling of detest just like the other characters

“Unimpressionable Enfield”

Chap 1

Enfield is seldom to be affected by anything - amplifies the uneasiness Hyde creates to all

“Cavendish square, that citadel of medicine”

Dr Lanyon - Chap 2

He is respectable, likeable, prestige

“The geniality”

Dr Lanyon is very cheery + friendly - contrast to chap 6

“He had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face”

Hyde’s appearance has sentenced Lanyon to death - he cannot live anymore

“deep-seated terror of the mind”

Hyde has almost infected Lanyon with fear, he can’t be rid of it

“He thought of him quietly but his thoughts were disquieted and fearful”

Chap 6 - Mr U’s feelings towards Jekyll have changed, struggling to come up with excuses for Jekyll

“The packet slept in the inmost corner of his private safe”

“Slept” suggests Jekyll’s secret is going to awaken

“Sit and speak with its inscrutable recluse”

Jekyll is now impossible to understand as has turned away the company of other people

By the end of chap 6 - Jekyll is confined to his laboratory, he is a prisoner trapped by evil

“A great chocolate coloured pall lowered over heaven”

Chap 4 - after Carew is murdered

Connotations of funerals, coffins, Hyde’s actions = highlights London’s own duality, Carew’s murder + link to “pall”

“His imagination was engaged, or rather enslaved”

“The face of Hyde sat heavy on his mind”

“Haunted the lawyer all night”

Chap 2 - Mr U’s curiosity is killing him, Lanyon didn’t help with finding anything out about Hyde

“I think there has been foul play”

Poole is so frightened - dramatizes the events, Poole is used as a reflection of how the reader must be feeling - panicked

“That thing in the mask was never Dr Jekyll”

Chap 8 - Poole

“Do you think I do not know my master after 20 years?

Chap 8 - Poole

“Crystalline salt” “Blood-red liquor” “pungent” “volatile”

Chap 9 - used to describe the potion - the potion mirrors the duality of good and evil

“Great muscular activity”

Hyde is odd - doesn’t look very healthy or robust but moves about a lot - almost twitching

“Some nobler hinge than the principle of hatred”

The notion of evil is disgusting, big message Stevenson is trying to convey - there has to be consequences for evil actions - we are not like Jekyll

Said by Dr Lanyon - rejection of Jekyll’s experiments

Importance of moral principle over scientific curiosity

“Effervesce audibly” “the ebullition ceased” “changed to a dark purple, which faded more slowly to a watery green”

Descriptions of the potion support the ideas of duality and disgust

“To stagger the unbelief of Satan”

Hyde tells Lanyon that he will see something so amazing that it would shake even the devil’s lack of belief

“Behold”

Hyde is boasting

“He reeled, staggered, clutched”

Hyde is going through transformation, it is painful to watch, animalistic manner

“The features seemed to melt and alter”

Fluidity between good and evil

“My mind submerged in terror” “O God” “My soul sickened at it”

Affect on Lanyon

“My life is shaken to its roots” “Sleep has left me”

Chap 9

“The deadliest terror sits by me at all hours of the day and night”

“I shall die incredulous”

Lanyon wants to die, he physically can’t bring himself to believe what he has seen

“Moral turpitude”

Lanyon describes both Jekyll + Hyde as having wicked and depraved behaviour

“Already committed to a profound duplicity of life”

Chap 10

Speaking and acting in two different ways

“My imperious desire to carry my head high”

Reputation - chap 10

“Hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame”

Repression - chap 10

“Man is not truly one, but truly two”

“This too, was myself”

“Provinces of good and ill” “divide and compound a man’s dual nature”

“Lies at the root of religion” “Most plentiful springs of distress”

“Perennial war among members”

Battles + wars to illustrate and allude to the internal conflict between Jekyll’s alter ego

“Indescribably new” “Indescribably sweet” “Younger, lighter, happier in body”

“Delighted me like wine” “heady recklessness”

He is excited almost intoxicated by his experiments of Hyde - excited about the possibilities of what evil holds

“Wholly evil” “pure evil” “With streaming tears of gratitude and remorse” “Fallen upon his knees” “Lifted his clasped hands to God”

Some small remorse - recognises Hyde is evil

“The spirit of hell awoke in me and raged” “Cold thrill of terror” “Lust of evil”

“It turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to Henry’s beside”

Highlights the criminality of Hyde’s actions - Mr U thinks Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll

Shows how much Mr U cares for Jekyll

“I cannot say that I care of what Hyde becomes; I am quite done with him” “This hateful business has rather exposed”

Expresses a sense of detachment, reflects Jekyll’s attempts of distancing and separating himself from the darker aspects of his personality embodied by Hyde

Also highlights a sense of finality and resolution, as if Jekyll is determined to sever ties with Hyde - reader can feel a small amount of pity, Jekyll wants to regain control over his identity from the grip Hyde

Suggests Jekyll’s association with Hyde has brought distress and undesirable consequences, threatening his reputation as it highlights the shame and guilt Jekyll feels for having links with Hyde. Shows Jekyll has some remorse, his experiments are destructive to all and he needs to face the consequences