Duality Flashcards
“she had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy: but her manners were excellent”
Stevenson includes several characters which inhibit a form of intrinsic duality, such as Hyde’s maid. Her description shows a conflict between outward appearance and innermost voice; “she had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy: but her manners were excellent”. This duality of good vs evil is similar to the conflict between Jekyll (one’s desired outermost expression of morals to society) and Hyde (one’s innate repressed desires, that exceed the bounds of society). Yet here the two are bound within the same person.
“about three o’clock of a black winter morning”
Enfield is also potentially involved in dubious activities as he references in the first chapter that he was returning at “about three o’clock of a black winter morning”, contrasting with his reputable portrayal in the rest of the novella- being the epitome of Victorian gentleman. You could also say that this behaviour is happening at night/in the dark which symbolises secrecy through the obscurity of darkness. The reader’s associations with the colour imagery used in “black” would cause them to be suspicious of Mr Enfield who appears to be hiding something under the guise of darkness. This also makes the reader question what he was doing, which heightens the air of mystery surrounding the novella and the plot.
“All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil”.
“man is not truly one, but truly two”
“All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil”. Here, the world “commingled” is the merging of two words ‘combined’ and ‘mingled’ to emphasise how it is impossible for humans to be only good or only evil, there will always be aspects of both in everyone’s personality. Dr Jekyll reflects further on human nature by stating that “man is not truly one, but truly two”
“that child of Hell had nothing human; nothing lived in him but fear and hatred”
Stevensons uses juxtaposing imagery to emphasise the disparity between the morals of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Mr Hyde is described as “that child of Hell had
nothing human; nothing lived in him but fear and hatred”. Here, “child” has connotations of innocence which is juxtaposed with the idea of “hell” which is a cess-pit of sin and is symbolic of corruption and evil. The observation that Mr Hyde “had nothing human” evokes fear and hatred in a contemporary reader who would have been terrified
of the idea of devolution’.
“Yes, I had gone to bed Henry Jekyll, I had awakened Edward Hyde”
While other characters might find the moment when Hyde tramples the little girl to be a clear sign Jekyll has lost control, this is the pinnacle moment when Jekyll himself recognises this fact. It isn’t that he becomes Hyde. It is that he becomes Hyde without his conscious choice.
“Even as good shone upon the countenance of the one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other”
Stevenson shows that the duality of human nature cannot be isolated through his use of antithesis in “Even as good shone upon the countenance of the one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other”. The juxtaposition between good and evil implies that the two elements are in a delicate equilibrium.
“an air of invitation”
“sinister block of building”
Stevenson’s description of London (which is reminiscent of his contemporary Edinburgh) heightens the sense of duality within the text. At the beginning of the novella, there are alternating descriptions of the city. The juxtaposition between the city having “an air of invitation” to buildings being “sinister” creates a backdrop for the conflict between good and evil in the characters.
“man is not truly one, but truly two”
Jekyll is a well-respected gentleman, so he has to keep his sins and desires well-hidden and secret from the rest of society.
The repressive society Jekyll lives in was
likely to convince him that “man is not
truly one, but truly two”. Jekyll is convinced that his medical theories
are correct, and he tries to prove it by
dividing the two states of good and evil.
Jekyll’s struggle with his evil side leads him to creating Hyde, but this experiment does not go to plan and his evil side ends up overriding his good side.
“perennial war among [his] members”
“contended in the field?”
“lurid brown, like the light of some strange conflagration”
Stevenson uses language associated with
battles and wars to illustrate and allude to
this internal conflict within Jekyll. There is a “perennial war among [his] members” and the two sides of nature “contended in the field” of his psyche, like two opposing forces on a battleground. The fog in Chapter 4 is described as “lurid
brown, like the light of some strange
conflagration” The inferno and conflagration in the vapours in the air represents the violent conflict of good and evil.
“savage”
“ape-like?
“mad?”
“my devil had been long caged, he came out roaring?”
Some used Darwin’s theory of evolution to
support this thesis, and so Stevenson
addresses the possibility that every human has an uncivilised and “savage” side to them- that is “ape-like” and “mad”. Without the exercise of restraint and repression, all that is left is a savage animal within. In Chapter 10, Jekyll writes “my devil had been long caged, he came out roaring” this shows how the evil creature within him is released in the cathartic (providing relief) act of transforming into his dark side.
“displeasing smile”
“satanic”
Stevenson wanted to show how Victorian
society was hypocritical - and how there was a void between reality and appearance. This is why characters take so much pride in their reputation, and why they prioritise appearance over honesty. Hyde’s evil nature is shown in his appearance and his actions. He is described as having a “displeasing smile” and a “satanic” face that disgusts the characters, perhaps because Hyde does not hide his appearance. This may horrify Victorian readers because they are being confronted by an image of their own sins.
“the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of... abject terror?”
“abject”
In Chapter 7, Jekyll is described hiding from other characters and he disguises himself from the outside world. His transformation is alluded to when Stevenson writes (of Jekyll): “the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of… abject terror?. The word “abject” shows that Jekyll knows his appearance (as Hyde) will be shocking and unfamiliar to Utterson and Enfield.
