Ch1 Quotes Flashcards
“his affections like ivy were the growth of time”
Simile - Utterson is not selective or discriminative of his friends, but he becomes attached to people he is around for a long time, presenting Utterson as a loyal friend
“The man trampled calmly over the child’s body”
Oxymoron - depicts the inhuman and callous nature of Hyde, showing no remorse. However, it could be argued Hyde’s actions were merely spontaneous
The doctor “had a desire to kill him”
This is the antithesis to a doctor, whose job is to save lives. This suggests that even the respectable Victorian job of a doctor has a dual nature
“some damned juggernaut”
The adjective Juggernaut is contrasted with adjective of damned emphasizing the power of Hyde’s evil to Enfield, this is ironic as Hyde is only ‘little.’ Stevenson is being ironic here, he has been portrayed as incredibly evil but all he has done is knock over a girl and it was insignificant as Enfield said it was ‘nothing to see’. Stevenson could be doing two things, he wants everyone to see how evil Hyde is or could be showing Hyde lacks sympathy but is not evil at all. The real evil is the reaction to Hyde. Through the christian allusion of damned, Stevenson suggests that religion is the problem. Instead of the world which is a battle between good and evil, perhaps he is implying that Hyde’s desires are simply natural. He implies evil is caused by christian suppression of natural desires.
“I am ashamed of my long tongue, let us make a bargain never to speak of this again”
The metonymy “long tongue” shows that he feels comfortable using informal language around Mr Utterson, demonstrating their familiarity. It also shows his hypocrisy as he previously says that it is his moral rule not to care nor do it.
“something distasteful, something downright detestable”
Enfield describes Hyde as physically repulsive. Therepetitionof thepronoun‘something’shows how difficult it is forEnfield to pin down exactly what is is that repels him. Enfield’s lack of eloquence sets a pattern for the novel, as no one(from Utterson himself, to witnesses describing Hyde to the police) can come up with an exact description of the man. .
Most people merely conclude that he appears ugly and deformed in some indefinable way. These failures of articulation create an impression of Hyde as an uncanny figure, someone whose deformity is truly intangible, mysterious, perceptible only with some sort of sixth sense for which no vocabulary exists. It is almost as if language itself fails when it tries to come to grips with Hyde; he is beyond words, just as he is beyond morality and conscience. As a supernatural creation, he does not quite belong in the world; correspondingly, he evades the conceptual faculties of normal human beings.
‘emulously hoping to do better’
In Chapter 1, Stevenson describes the area in which Dr Jekyll lives as being clean, tidy and well-kept, symbolising respectability. The inhabitants are ‘emulously hoping to do better’, with the adverb suggesting that they all follow good middle-class values in order to keep improving their lives.
The attractiveness of the shop fronts is conveyed using the simile ‘like smiling saleswomen’, but this could also be interpreted as linking to superficiality (trying to ‘sell’ an appearance of respectability).
There are suggestions that Dr Jekyll is encircled by corruption. The local shops are contrasted with the ‘dingy’ surrounding neighbourhood while, in Chapter 2, the houses on either side of Dr Jekyll’s are ‘decayed from their high estate’ and sometimes rented out to
‘shady lawyers’. This could present Dr Jekyll as a figure of superiority, it could link to the way in which he is tempted by immorality or it could emphasise how he keeps his own lack of propriety hidden.
“lean, long, dusty, dreary yet somehow lovable”
xpansive list of adjectives display Utterson as the perfect narrator, as he is trustworthy. The repetitive predictability of “I” and ”D” emphasises the dullness and dependability of his character. Alternatively, the double use of “I” and ”D” subtly introduce the idea of duality. Despite his dry description, Stevenson uses the “conjunction “yet” to indicate there is more to even the most monotonous of characters; as he is also someone who is “lovable”. Stevenson could be commenting on how the mundane, repressed nature of Utterson, makes him the model of a Victorian gentleman, hence he is a reputable character. The belief of physiognomy, that a person’s character could be accessed by their outward appearance, would encourage that Utterson is a trustworthy character.However, it is subtly hinted here that despite his admirable reputation, even he has a dual nature, which is repressed by society. Moreover, in the beginning of the novel, Utterson is presented as the epitome of a trustworthy, well-regarded gentleman, yet there is an undertone of dual nature even within him.
‘a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street’
Stevenson’s description of the side entrance to Jekyll’s house, foreshadows many of Mr Hyde’s unfavourable characteristics. As this is the part of the house that Hyde uses, the adjective ‘sinister’ implies that he too is menacing and disturbing. The house is personified as strong and aggressive through the verb thrust’, similar to how Enfield later describes Hyde knocking down the young girl in the street. In addition, the image of this part of the house thrusting ‘forward its gable on the street’ suggests something intrusive or out of place, matching how Hyde’s strange appearance and ungentlemanly behaviour does not conform with middle class victorian society.
