Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde key quotes + analysis

Question 1

“some place at the end of the world”

Answer 1

Mr Enfield reminds us of the duality of human nature - a Victorian society hidden from the face of the public where they lay a world of opium dens and prostitutes. This is the end to the respectable civilised Victorian society. Chapter 1

Question 2

“the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming”

Answer 2

Hyde’s first known crime. The juxtaposition of the brutality of Hyde’s actions with the complacency of his reaction adds to the horror. Chapter 1

Question 3

“it was hellish to see”

Answer 3

Mr Endfield describes to Hyde’s trampling to be evil. Reference to a Satanic act. Chapter 1

Question 4

“like some damned Juggernaut”

Answer 4

Hyde is compared to a large lorry suggesting his strength and brutality. Reference to hell in the sentence again. Chapter 1

Question 5

“He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable.”

Answer 5

Mr Enfield’s physical description of Hyde. He cannot explain the appearance however acknowledges there is something wrong with him. Chapter 1

Question 6

“He must be deformed, he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point…”

Answer 6

Hyde appears to be deformed and again, Mr Enfield can’t explain how. Chapter 1

Question 7

“Mr Utterson sighed deeply but said never a word…”

Answer 7

Theme of secrecy. Mr Utterson does not express his emotions outright and explicitly. Chapter 1

Question 8

“I have seen devilish little of the man.”

Answer 8

Dr Lanyon and Jekyll can’t put their scientific differences aside and do not see each other anymore. “Devilish” and “little” perhaps reflect Hyde. Chapter 2

Question 9

“great field of lamps of a nocturnal city

Answer 9

Setting of London at night - Gothic language. Chapter 2

Question 10

“Mr Hyde shrank back with a hissing intake of the breath…”

Answer 10

Mr Utterson’s first encounter with Hyde. “Hissing” symbolises a snake which could represent the devil. Chapter 2

Question 11

“Mr Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile…”

Answer 11

Mr Utterson’s description of Hyde - echoes previous description by Enfield. Hyde’s appearance bears a mark into the soul. Chapter 2

Question 12

“the man seems hardly human… Something troglodytic…”

Answer 12

Hyde is compared to a thing of degraded, primitive, or brutal character. He is sub-human. Chapter 2

Question 13

“the expense and strain of gaiety”

Answer 13

The Victorian society gentleman find indulging in his own pleasures to be a great effort and slightly amiss. Chapter 3

Question 14

“the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr Hyde”

Answer 14

Jekyll reassuring Mr Utterson that Hyde can be easily removed - yet it is ironic that Jekyll continues to return back to Hyde as he cannot overcome his temptation. Chapter 3

Question 15

“a fog rolled over the city”

Answer 15

Pathetic fallacy of the fog over London. Representation of Mr Utterson’s mind. Chapter 4

Question 16

“he broke out in great flame of anger… carrying on like a mad man”

Answer 16

Hyde has no self-control and is easily angered for no reason. Chapter 4

Question 17

“with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows”

Answer 17

The brutality of Hyde’s murder of Carew. Described in animalistic terms. Chapter 4

Question 18

“Dr Jekyll looking deadly sick…”

Answer 18

Jekyll conversing with Utterson. He appears to be physically deteriorating. Chapter 5

Question 19

“The fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city”

Answer 19

Repetition of the fog. Gothic setting. Chapter 5

Question 20

“his past was unearthed… and all disreputable”

Answer 20

Hyde’s past actions goes against the Victorian society. Chapter 6

Question 21

“Lanyon declared himself a doomed man…”

Answer 21

Due to his lack of belief into the unknown possibility of transcendental science, Lanyon has led himself to his own death. Chapter 6

Question 22

“I have had a shock and I shall never recover…”

Answer 22

Lanyon is intolerant to what he has witnessed and has been defeated by Jekyll. Lanyon knows he cannot comprehend what he has witnessed. Chapter 6

Question 23

“I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.”

Answer 23

Jekyll has realised what he has done and understand only he can deal with it in his letter to Utterson. Chapter 6

Question 24

“like some disconsolate prisoner”

Answer 24

This simile relating Jekyll to a prisoner suggests a state of self-imprisonment. The metaphorical jail, then, is not a physical space but rather a psychological one.

Question 25

“God forgive us! God forgive us!”

Answer 25

Repetition of quote almost shows that Utterson is acting as if he has committed a sin, and the utter shock and state of mind he is in at this point. Possibly what they saw has connotations to the devil, evil and hell, which is why they’re trying to repent for their sins.

Question 26

“a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her”

Answer 26

But it creates a feeling of unearthliness, with strange powers at work. For the moon to have been apparently blown over by the wind, for the night to be ‘wild’ , suggests this will be an extraordinary night. chapter 8

Question 27

“if this was my master, why had he a mask upon his face? If it was my master, why did he cry out like a rat and run from me?”

Answer 27

Poole questioning Utterson about Jekyll - desperation. Chapter 8

Question 28

“I shall consider it my duty to break the door.”

Answer 28

Utterson breaks the door as he believes he has a responsibility to do so (moral or legal obligation). Asserts authority. Chapter 8

Question 29

“that masked thing like a monkey”

Answer 29

The word ‘monkey’ shows how Hyde is animalistic, and is a simile to show that Hyde is primitive. links to darwins theory. chapter 8

Question 30

“the body of a self-destroyer”

Answer 30

Jekyll murders himself through Hyde. could be suicide. Chapter 8

Question 31

“Lanyon, you remember your vows: what follows is under the seal of our profession.”

Answer 31

Hyde reminds Dr Lanyon of his Hippocratic Oath as a doctor. Chapter 9

Question 32

“a clouded brow”

Answer 32

Mr Utterson’s confused mind. Links in with later pathetic fallacy of fog. Chapter 9

Question 33

“O God!… O God!”

Answer 33

Dr Lanyon immediately turns to religion upon witnessing Hyde transform into Jekyll. Chapter 9

Question 34

“I must die ; and yet I shall die incredulous.”

Answer 34

Despite Dr Lanyon seeing the transformation with his own eyes, he is still not willing to accept what he saw and this therefore leads him to his own impending doom. Chapter 9

Question 35

“those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man’s dual nature”

Answer 35

Reference to the theme of good vs evil and duality. Chapter 10

Question 36

“primitive duality of man”

Answer 36

Reference to duality which is “primitive”. Chapter 10
human beings are half virtuous and half criminal, half moral and half amoral. Jekyll’s goal in his experiments is to separate these two elements, creating a being of pure good and a being of pure evi
link to lombrossos theory

Question 37

“the agonized womb of consciousness”

Answer 37

Dr Jekyll describes using a pained metaphor of a pregnant woman. Chapter 10