Characters Flashcards
Hyde
Mr Hyde is described as devilish, evil, and a criminal mastermind. His first appearance in the novel shows him violently trampling a young girl. His violence continues, and he eventually murders Sir Danvers Carew.
Hyde and Jekylls links
Hyde is Jekyll’s evil side made flesh. He is smaller and younger than Jekyll suggesting that Dr Jekyll’s good side is larger than his bad and that his evil side develops later in life than the good.
Stevenson on Hyde
Stevenson makes Hyde more mysterious by only hinting at his physical appearance. We know that people are deeply affected by his appearance though.
There is something wrong with his appearance; something ………, something …….. ……………. I never saw a man so disliked.
displeasing
downright detestable
Hyde is unforgiving and doesn’t repent for his crimes or sins. He is selfish and wishes for complete dominance over Jekyll
“he broke out in great ……. of a……. carrying on like a mad man”
flame
anger
Description of Hyde murdering Sir Danvers Carew. Shows Hyde’s lack of self-control.
“with ape-like …., he was trampling his victim under foot and ……. down a storm of blows”
fury
hailing
Shows the brutality of Hyde’s attack.
“I never saw a man I so ….. and yet I scarce know why.”
disliked
Enfield’s description of Hyde’s physical appearance.
“He must be ……., he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point…”
deformed
Enfield cannot put his finger on what it is about Hyde that is “deformed”.
“Mr Hyde shrank back with a ….. intake of the breath…”
hissing
The word “hissing” again shows Hyde’s animalistic qualities.
“Mr Hyde was pale and ….., he gave an impression of d……. without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing ……”
dwarfish
deformity
smile
Utterson’s description of Hyde echoes Enfield’s description. The characters that meet Hyde are all convinced that something is “wrong” with him but cannot pinpoint what it is.
“unknown disgust, …… and …..”
loathing
fear
Again, Utterson reacts to Hyde in a similar way to Enfield. The reaction of disgust is common to all who meet Hyde.
Dr Jekyll
Dr Jekyll is a well-respected, intelligent doctor and experimental scientist. We know that he is wealthy and respectable but also that he was a bit wild in his youth. In truth he struggles to reconcile his serious public side with his “concealed pleasures” and it is this struggle that leads to his famous experiment.
Jekyll and Hyde
Jekyll seeks to separate the “evil” side of his nature permanently which he hopes will lead to “the furtherance of knowledge and the relief of sorrow and suffering”.
Jekylls experiments
His experiments cause him to become
erratic in his behaviour and become
alienated from his friends Utterson and Lanyon. This only gets worse as his experiments go wrong and he loses control over the transformations. He struggles to contain the Hyde persona and remain himself and this ultimately leads to his death.
“a large, well-…., smooth faced man of ….”
made
fifty
Physical description of Jekyll which is in stark contrast to Hyde.
“but every mark of …… and k……”
capacity
kindness
Shows Jekyll’s personality.
“the moment I choose, I can be rid of …..”
Mr Hyde
Jekyll reassures Utterson about Hyde, it is also ironic that Jekyll returns to Hyde often as he cannot overcome his own temptation.
“I bind my ….. to you that I am done with ….. in this world.”
honour
him
Jekyll promises Utterson that he is done with Hyde. He will later break this promise.
“I ……. my pleasures”
concealed
The beginnings of Jekyll’s concerns with the duality of human nature. He suppressed what he thought to be wrong.
Utterson
Utterson is Jekyll’s loyal friend and it is through his perspective that we understand most of the novel. His loyalty to, and concern for, Jekyll are shown often.
His actions
When Sir Danvers Carew is murdered, Utterson protects his friend Jekyll by not mentioning their relationship to the police. Utterson is a lawyer and therefore a respectable, wealthy man in Victorian London.
Utterson and the victorian gentleman
He is calm and rational and rather like a scientist in his approach to life. He likes to weigh up the evidence. He is also curious and persistent which we see in his quest to uncover the true reality and motives of Mr Hyde.
“If he shall be ……., he had thought, I shall be M. ……..”
Mr Hyde
Mr Seek
It is this curiosity and persistence that eventually sees him uncover the truth about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’s relationship.
“lean, long, dusty, …… and yet somehow lovable”
dreary
Utterson is a serious-minded man with a respectable and serious profession. He is still “lovable” though.
“He had an approved ……. for others…”
tolerance
This shows Utterson to be a tolerant person willing to consider and appreciate views and ideas that he considers wrong.
“the last reputable acquaintance and the last good ….. in the lives of down ….. men”
influence
going
Utterson, by reputation is a loyal friend willing to help those around him.
Lanyon
Dr Lanyon is a genial man and was once a great friend to Dr Jekyll. Lanyon is passionately attached to his scientific certainties and disagrees with Jekyll’s theories which Lanyon describes as “scientific balderdash”.
Jekyll and Lanyon
In contrast Jekyll considers him “hidebound” (conventional and unadventurous) in his attitude towards medical science. This causes the men to fall out and not talk for over ten years.
Lanyon and Hyde
When Lanyon witnesses Hyde’s transformation back into Jekyll he cannot cope with the fight between his sensible, rational view of the world and what he sees before him. This is more than his mind can bear and he falls ill ultimately never to recover.
