Jekyll & Hyde

"A man of a rugged countenance."

Character: Mr Utterson

Themes: Reputation, repression, secrecy

Analysis: The adjective "rugged" suggests Utterson is serious, unemotional and self-controlled, embodying Victorian values.

Context: Victorian gentlemen were expected to be respectable and reserved.

Links to: Appearance vs reality, repression.

"Inclined to help rather than to reprove."

Character: Mr Utterson

Themes: Friendship, loyalty, morality

Analysis: The contrast between "help" and "reprove" shows Utterson's compassion and sense of duty.

Context: Victorian society valued loyalty and social responsibility.

Links to: Utterson's investigation of Hyde.

"If he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek."

Character: Mr Utterson

Themes: Mystery, secrecy

Analysis: The pun lightens the mood but also foreshadows Utterson's role as a detective figure.

Context: Stevenson was influenced by popular Victorian detective and Gothic fiction.

Links to: Investigation and suspense.

"The street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood."

Character: Narrator

Themes: Appearance vs reality, duality

Analysis: The contrast between "shone" and "dingy" symbolises the coexistence of good and evil.

Context: Victorian London had wealthy areas beside impoverished districts.

Links to: Jekyll and Hyde representing two sides of humanity.

"The door... blistered and distained."

Character: Narrator

Themes: Secrecy, evil, appearance

Analysis: The negative adjectives make the door seem neglected and sinister, symbolising hidden corruption.

Context: In Gothic literature, settings often reflect characters' inner states.

Links to: Hyde's hidden identity.

"Trampled calmly over the child's body."

Character: Mr Hyde

Themes: Violence, evil, inhumanity

Analysis: The adverb "calmly" is shocking because it suggests Hyde feels no guilt or remorse.

Context: Victorian readers would be horrified by violence against a child.

Links to: Hyde as the embodiment of evil.

"It wasn't like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut."

Character: Enfield describing Hyde

Themes: Evil, inhumanity

Analysis: The simile compares Hyde to an unstoppable destructive force, making him seem monstrous.

Context: A "Juggernaut" referred to an overwhelming, crushing force.

Links to: Hyde's lack of humanity.

"There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable."

Character: Enfield describing Hyde

Themes: Appearance vs reality, evil

Analysis: The repetition of "something" shows that Hyde's evil cannot be easily explained.

Context: Victorians were interested in physiognomy—the idea that evil could be seen in a person's appearance.

Links to: The supernatural and the unknown.

"Something troglodytic."

Character: Utterson describing Hyde

Themes: Evolution, savagery, evil

Analysis: "Troglodytic" means cave-like or primitive, suggesting Hyde is less evolved and closer to humanity's animal instincts.

Context: Darwin's theory of evolution made Victorians fear that civilisation could regress into savagery.

Links to: The animalistic nature of Hyde.

"Really like Satan."

Character: Enfield describing Hyde

Themes: Good vs evil, religion

Analysis: The biblical allusion directly associates Hyde with the Devil and absolute evil.

Context: Victorian society was strongly influenced by Christianity.

Links to: Hyde as the embodiment of sin.

"The man seems hardly human! Something of a troglodyte."

Character: Dr Lanyon describing Hyde

Themes: Inhumanity, science, evil

Analysis: "Hardly human" suggests Hyde exists outside normal human morality and behaviour.

Context: Fears about degeneration and the darker side of humanity were common in the Victorian period.

Links to: Darwinism and duality.

"I concealed my pleasures."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Repression, secrecy, duality

Analysis: The verb "concealed" suggests Jekyll hides his desires because they conflict with society's expectations.

Context: Victorian gentlemen were expected to be respectable and suppress immoral impulses.

Links to: Appearance vs reality, hypocrisy.

"The moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr Hyde."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Control, duality, arrogance

Analysis: The phrase "I choose" shows Jekyll's overconfidence and belief that he can control his darker side.

Context: Stevenson warns against the arrogance of believing science can fully control human nature.

Links to: The dangers of unchecked experimentation.

"Man is not truly one, but truly two."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Duality, good vs evil, identity

Analysis: The repetition of "truly" emphasises Jekyll's belief that every person has conflicting sides.

Context: Victorian society often forced people to hide parts of themselves to maintain respectability.

Links to: Repression, appearance vs reality.

"I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Duality, secrecy, reputation

Analysis: The phrase "duplicity of life" reveals that Jekyll has been living a double life long before becoming Hyde.

Context: Many Victorians feared the contrast between public respectability and private desires.

Links to: Appearance vs reality.

"Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Evil, morality, duality

Analysis: The absolute phrase "pure evil" presents Hyde as the embodiment of humanity's darkest impulses.

Context: Gothic literature often explores the existence of evil within human beings.

Links to: Hyde as a manifestation of sin.

"The animal within me licking the chops of memory."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Savagery, repression, duality

Analysis: The animal imagery suggests that Jekyll's primitive desires still exist beneath his respectable exterior.

Context: Influenced by Victorian fears about degeneration and Darwin's theories.

Links to: "Something troglodytic."

"I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Good vs evil, loss of control

Analysis: The comparative adjective "better" implies that evil is gradually overpowering goodness.

Context: Stevenson suggests that giving in to temptation can corrupt a person's character.

Links to: Addiction and moral decline.

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

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Repression, evil, duality

Analysis: The metaphor of a "caged" devil suggests that suppressing desires only makes them stronger.

Context: Victorians often repressed emotions and desires to maintain respectability.

Links to: Hyde as the release of Jekyll's hidden self.

"Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me."

Character: Dr Lanyon

Themes: Science, reason, the supernatural

Analysis: "Fanciful" dismisses Jekyll's experiments as unrealistic and dangerous.

Context: The novel explores the conflict between traditional science and radical experimentation.

Links to: Science versus religion.

"My life is shaken to its roots."

Character: Dr Lanyon

Themes: Horror, science, the unknown

Analysis: The metaphor suggests that witnessing Hyde's transformation destroys Lanyon's understanding of reality.

Context: Victorians feared scientific discoveries that challenged accepted beliefs.

Links to: The consequences of forbidden knowledge.

"O God!... O God!"

Character: Dr Lanyon

Themes: Horror, religion, the supernatural

Analysis: The repetition and exclamation marks show Lanyon's complete shock and terror.

Context: Religious Victorians would see Jekyll's experiments as interfering with God's natural order.

Links to: Science versus religion.

"I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end."

Character: Dr Jekyll

Themes: Tragedy, consequences, identity

Analysis: The adjective "unhappy" shows Jekyll's regret and the destructive consequences of his actions.

Context: Stevenson presents the dangers of trying to separate good and evil within human nature.

Links to: The failure of Jekyll's experiment and the novel's tragic ending.