Ch 6 Quotes Flashcards
“I am the chief of sinners,I am the chief of sufferers also”
Stevenson uses parallelism, in the quote, to present the contrasting ways in which the character might be judged. The reference to suffering elicits sympathy from the reader and we later discover the conflicting feelings that led Dr Jekyll to create Mr Hyde and his struggle for control. However, the reference to sin reminds the reader of his immorality and the crimes he has committed; a reader at the time the novel was published, when Victorian values were a dominant social factor and religion was a stronger part of everyday life, might be particularly inclined to condemn the character of Dr Jekyll. In addition, the use of the conjunction ‘if’ creates a negative view by implying either that he does not see himself as immoral or that he believes his difficulties excuse his actions.
