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Jekyll and Hyde revision

Hyde:
Stevenson includes Hyde to symbolise the beast within us —> the dark side of humanity and to
expose the savage and primal side of us
...
Hyde also represents the ‘ID’ part of us
which wants and wishes for instant gratification

- Hyde presents Mr
...

-Hyde described with ‘ape like fury, he was trampling his victim under his foot and hailing down a
storm of blows’ The simile ‘ape’ like reinforces Hyde’s strong animalistic characteristics as it
suggests he has evolved from animals
...
This links to the idea of Darwinism, and the idea that we are all
developed from animals
...
This reinforces the idea that Stevenson focuses on us having an animalistic side, in which we
are all shown to have a ‘beast within’, to reveal the savage and dark side of humanity
-Hyde shown to have inflicted a metaphorical ‘storm of blows’
...
In addition, the swiftness of these
actions are frightening, as all of this is shown to have occurred ‘in a moment’ —> reinforces his
aggressive and violent personality
...
This suggests that
Hyde’s wickedness extends beyond simply harming others, as he is selfish and takes joy in the
suffering of others
...
The words ‘Drinking’, ‘pleasure’ and ‘avidity’ are in a semantic field of greed, as they all
have associations with wild over-indulgence, linking with his animal, ‘bestial’ nature
...
Hyde as a ‘man of stone’, this suggests that Hyde is hard, unmoving and
soulless
...
Hyde as a frightening character through presenting him to be a fearful
and inhumane character
Stevenson deliberately has Hyde inflict violence on the child to increase the reader’s fear over his
character
...
Enfield describes Mr
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The contrasting depiction of a “man” violently
clashing with a ‘child’ is threatening enough as it creates a great sense of fear of Hyde, but the
oxymoronic ‘trample calmly’ shows Hyde is naturally comfortable with violence in a society which
fears it, in which he shows no guilt and remorse
...
This gives off an impression
that Hyde doesn’t even see her as a human, let alone an innocent child
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This is reinforced by the
fact that Hyde is described as a ‘damned juggernaut
...

Dr
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As they spend a lot of time cultivating a reputation, causing
them having to repress duality
...


‘One day beside the tea things open, and Utterson was amazed to find it a copy of a pious work for
which Jekyll had several times expressed a great esteem, annotated, in his own hand, with
startling blasphemies’
...
Jekyll rebels
against rigidity in religion, shown in Hyde’s scribbles
...

-‘My imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave countenance
before the public
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Jekyll explains that he has a
desperate desire to be socially acceptable and behave in the sombre way society expects, hence
he represses his own desires
...
This also demonstrates the debilitating effects of society, in which
social pressure leads Jekyll to complete his experiments and transform into Hyde
The alliteration of ‘head high’ stresses the fact that society demands people maintain their
reputation and dignity
...

The idea that Jekyll would ‘wear’ a socially respectable persona has associations with a costume
...

‘concealed’ has associations of being hidden away, straining to break free
“The large handsome fact of Dr Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about
his eyes” Jekyll’s cheerful and pleasure demeanour rapidly disappears when he is questioned
about his will - the change from good to evil is disturbingly quick
-the juxtaposition of Jekyll’s “handsome” face with his pale lips and black eyes show that man’s
dual nature is not just a mental conflict, but also a physical one
-“pale” has associations with the death that comes later in the novel
...
The physical agony makes clear that Hyde is the
unnatural state, yet allusions to “death”, “birth” and the associated nausea could suggest that Hyde
and evil are part of the human life cycle
Turning to Hyde is not just physically destructive - he also destroys the “spirit” with his “horror”
-“succeeded” suggests that evil is associated with victory
Utterson
Through Utterson’s ‘eyes’ as the narrative
...
He is logical and methodical —> can’t
comprehend the supernatural
...
When Jekyll is
revealed to be Hyde, he reacts emotionally, in which he can’t comprehend what he had read
- utterson as narrative —> helps to build up tension so the reveal would be more suprising
- curious and concerned
“the fact is, if I do not ask you the name of, the other party, it is because I know it already’
- smart and clever lawyer
- reflects victorian society’s belief of presenting yourself as respectable and not gossiping
- symbolises conventional victorian society and the repression of society as he restricts himself
from what he wants

“cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and
yet somehow loveable’ —> description of Utters introduces a stereotypical 19th century British
gentlemen - private and unemotional with a reserved personality
-the alliteration of the “I” and “d” sounds are deep and heavy, mimicking the dull, tedious
personality of Utters
-The adjectives used to describe Utters emphasise the sort of life Jekyll later rejects - they have
associations with a boring, lacklustre lifestyle where the current way of life is never questioned
-“cold” and ‘embarrassed in discourse’ highlight the value placed on privacy - it is the cloak of
secrecy that allows Jekyll to experiment uninterrupted
“…A volume of some dry divinity on his reading-desk, until the clock of the neighbouring church
rang out the hour of twelve, when he would soberly and gratefully go to bed”
-utterson rigidly sticks to structure, order and rationality, maintaining a routine and socially
acceptable lifestyle
-the heavy, dull alliteration of ‘d’ refers to religious restrictions and lack of vibrancy that typifies
Christianity in the 19th century
‘volume’ —> suggesting how many more volumes offering rules and restrictions as to how one
should live
-The church dictates when Utters sleeps, which is without enthusiasm for a great day, and he is
relieved the day is over
link to the idea of repression
Dr
...
Lanyon represents the traditional and orthodox approach to science
...
He is a symbol of a conventional Victorian gentlemen
—> represents part of society that cannot understand the supernatural
...
In a victorian society = gentlemen wanted
to live in a world where everything is clear and logical
-science
-conservative
-belief of supernatrural
He doesn’t agree with Jekyll’s experiments and thinks they are radical and unnecessary
...
Refuses the accept the
idea that some experiences cant be explained —> like utterson, he’s a logical person
...
The rosy man had grown pale; his flesh
had fallen away” (SCIENCE)
“rosy man” has associations with vibrant colour, and a natural, healthy lifestyle
...
He physically
cannot comprehend and or understand Jekyll’s experiments
“hide bound pedant”—> narrow minded and pedantic about small things
...
“A”, “seemed” and “some” shows that Dr
...
“ Blood-red” alludes to Hyde’s bloodshed, and
“volatile” mimics the unstable nature of Jekyll and Hyde

- “Highly pungent” shows Jekyll offending the senses as well as our morals, his behaviour is
percieved to be literally and metaphorically rotten

Enfield reperesents the double side of Victorian life —> reminder of double lives of Victorian
society
...
They are juxtaposed with
Hyde to reinforce evil and violence, and the theme of good and evil
...
Through Jekyll’s failure of separating the two sides to our characters, Stevenson
conveys to idea that is pointless to separate our two sides of character, as it can destroy us
...
he is also
interested in revealing the duality in victorian society and to explore its hypocrisy
symbols:
Jekyll’s house : “ Large, low roofed, comfortable hall, paved with flags
...
Physical decency represents
the individual’s moral degeneracy
The house could symbolise good and evil
...

ID, ego and superego:
-Hyde represents the ID of human nature as he acts on impulses with no care for moral judgement
or those around him
-Jekyll represents the ego and superego of human nature as he has a moral conscience and he
cares about the impact he has on others
reputation:
Reputation and status were very important in Victorian society
...
Appearance was
more important than reality
Hyde represents the dark and savage side of humanity and the beast within that is repressed
...
They
appear to be respectable but this may not be reality
Stevenson makes the dual nature of man explicit through his physical description of characters “
the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and
despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen”
Along side the physical portrayal, a mental awareness of man’s dual nature seemed to be
portrayed as deeply enticing
“before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of
such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the
seperation of these elements
“A new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall be laid open to you,
here, in this room, upon this instant; and your sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the
unbelief of Satan”
Once the dual nature of one’s personality is embraced, it is portrayed as liberating
“ I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a
slave to my original evil; and the thought, in that moment, embraced me and delighted me like wine

“I was the first that could thus plod in the public eye with a load of genial respectability, and in a
moment, like a schoolboy, strip off these lending and spring headlong into sea of liberty”
Science
Stevenson includes the theme of science as it was relevant at the time e
...
Darwin’s theory of
evolution was a controversial topic regarding the church and religion as well as the hypocrisy of
victorian society
...
-> rapid
development in science at the time so Stevenson explores the implications of science and the
relationship between science and society
...
g
...
Moreover, it goes against religion
...
He uses bestial imagery to describe Hyde
—> explores the controversial idea of us being developed from animals
- Hyde represents the savage side of humanity —> we all have a beast within us —> would’ve
frightened contemporary readers
“A yard which had once been a garden, to the building which was indifferently known as the
laboratory or the dissecting-rooms…and his own tastes being rather chemical than anatomical…”
—> desires scientific explorations over Utterson’s dry divinity
...
it went down my spine like
ice”
—> Hyde is a non human thing masked from society
...
Explores the effects of Jekyll’s radical experiments, —> physical effect (“down my spine
like ice”)
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We are all both good and evil
...
Perhaps his moral is that we must accept both sides
Jekyll: “He’d always been known for charities” —> kind and generous
The very pink of the properties” —> highly respected in a society and who is well known
Hyde: “human juggernaut
Jekyll dies as Hyde, shows evil is more powerful than good
Hyde is small, that could represent that there is a small part of evil in all of us —> represents the
beast within us
reactions to Hyde:
Enfield: “turns sick and white with desire to kill him”
Utterson:”Satan’s signature upon face”
Poole:” the hair stood upon my head like quills”
Dr
...
Stevenson is perhaps criticising the
repression that this obsession with respectability caused, as it lead to society being damaging, in
which Stevenson examines the dark, underbelly society

symbols(keys and sealed envelopes): Idea of hiding things: appearance and reality
...

secrets being revealed: “A new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall
be laid open to you, here, in this room, upon this instant; and your sight shall be blasted by a
prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan” The repetition of new is threatening
...

“you start a question, aha it’s like starting a stone
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Not to ask question —> maintain order os
society as it is terrible to lose reputation
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In which when Jekyll is going to
transform, he seeks isolation and solitude —> he doesn’t want to deal with judgements of society
...

“slatternly passengers” suggests and idea of class, which links back to the victorian value of
showing face
...
“Lurid brown” —> suggests that there is a lack
of clarity, reinforces idea of secrecy
...
evening” suggests covering all the bad things this
side of town “conflagration” links back to the idea of everyone having their vices and flaws,
revealing true nature
...

Setting:
The setting is aimed at creating suspense and mystery and heightens the character’s feelings in
the novella making them seem more intense
...

Jekyll expresses how ‘he’, ‘ the child of hell had nothing human; nothing lived in him but fear and
hatred’—> referring Hyde as ‘child of hell’ continues Hyde’s association with the devil and his
diabolical behaviour
...

The noun “weaths’ in also in the semantic field of death, helps to reinforce the tense and fearful
atmosphere
...
It isolates them, restricts their views
Darkness:
“toiling in mere darkness and besieged by questions”
intimaditng, terror, also displays the dark personality within us all
-less respectable - conceals emotions, and visible objects, thus creating mystery
London:
London is also a place duality
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However, on the darker side, London is dark and frightening- in

which is maze —> associated with darkness with evil/frightening acts
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Soho was known for its large areas of slums and the
widespread outbreaks of fatal diseases Also a place for respectable gentlemen to indulge in their
dark desires
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The darkness of the London streets
reflects the darkness within mankind
“Stevenson describes there to be ‘a great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven’, as there
would be a glow with of a ‘lurid brown’, like some ‘strange conflagration’
...
In addition, the color ‘brown’ suggests a lack of clarity, as the
noun ‘conflagration’ links back to the idea of everyone having their vices and flaws, in which shows
that soho is a place of poverty and full of vice
...
The phrase ‘changing circumstances’
reinforces the feeling of deception of secrecy and ambiguity, Moreover, the adjective ‘slatternly’
links back to the idea of class, and the idea of the victorian value showing face
...
The noun ‘nightmare’ suggests that Soho is a place which evokes fear in people,
as it connotes a feeling that Soho is a surreal and unnatural place
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The fact that
the entire city is painted in dull and sinister colors, helps give the novella its evil-laden atmosphere,
in which further creates an atmosphere of fear and mystery

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