Jekyll

What is his profession?

Doctor

What is his approach to science?

He wants to explore the ‘transcendental’ side of science - supernatural side

What class is he in?

Upper

Is he a Victorian gentleman?

Yes

Adjective - willing to talk and engage in activities with other people

Sociable

Adjective - regarded by society to be good and proper

Respectable

Adjective - having an abundance of money and assets

Wealthy

Adjective - having or characterized by a fundamental weakness

Flawed

Adjective - Excessively proud or confident

Hubristic

Adjective - inclined to conceal feelings and intentions

Secretive

Theme - Repression

Jekylls repressed animalistic instincts (id) take a personified form in Hyde - repressing these urges only makes them stronger
Jekyll must repress his sinful side in order to fit into the rigid Victorian society
Jekyll shows that constant repression is unhealthy - he feels ‘tortured’ by his struggle and eventually surrenders to Hyde

Theme - Duality

Jekyll is a respectable, sociable Victorian man whereas Hyde is his supressed primal instincts
Jekyll is handsome and refined, Hyde is described as animalistic and deformed
Jekylls front door is respectable, the back door (used by hyde) is ‘blistered and distained’

Theme - Secrecy

Hides his primative desires in order to maintain his reputation
His lab which is left locked represents his hidden, dark actions
Hyde uses a seperate house to allow him to use Hyde without ruining his reputation
Jekylls confession is in a letter - a symbol used for secrecy
His secret life as Hyde eventually overcomes in and leads to his death

Theme - Temptation

His repression of his id eventually leads Jekyll to give into temptation and seperate his primative desires, this initial repression stems from a rigid society
His transformations into Hyde become addictive and he loses control
After managing to handle his temptation for 2 months, he gives in and uses the potion, this transformation leads to the murder of Carew

Theme - Reputation

Jekylls obsession with reputation but also his desires to do wrong lead to the creation of Hyde, he has to seperate them in order to fit into Victorian society
Those surrounding Jekyll choose not to get involved in his pursuit of science due to they themselves fearing their reputation will be ruined

Jekyll is a metaphor for all of humanity? How?

He is an exaggerated version of humans and their flaws, his creation of Hyde is a metaphor for humanitys temptation to indulge in sin as it is more appealing than the ‘right path’

Jekyll suffers from overeaching ambition and hubris. What does this lead to him doing?

Pushing scientific boundaries and in doing so he plays God by creating life. This is shown by small details like day becoming night in Chp 4

What does Jekyll show about humanitys choice to sin?

It is our choice how far we let temptation take us but it is natural to be tempted

How does he warn readers of excessive ambtion?

Much like Dr Frankenstein (1818), they are both scientists who push the limits of science. Their reckless actions lead to the downfalls

Why might we feel sorry for Jekyll?

He ends up a prisoner in his own home, enslaved to his own experiments and has a piteous end. This is perhaps the biggest warning Stevenson can give his readers