Enfield Flashcards
It is Enfield that sees “two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street”
This emphasises the idea that Enfield has a passive, yet observant, set of qualities which adds to the plot of the novella, however juxtaposes the portrayal of Enfield as refusing to get involved with gossip.
“I am ashamed of my long tongue. Let us make a bargain never to refer to this again.”
The metonymy “long tongue” for story shows that he feels comfortable using informal
language around Mr Utterson, which demonstrates their familiarity with each other. It shows his flaws also - he is criticising himself for gossiping despite claiming that it is his moral rule not to care nor do it.
“And you never asked about – the place with the door?’ said Mr Utterson. ‘No, sir: I had a delicacy,’ was the reply. ‘I feel very strongly about putting questions; it partakes too much of the style of the day of judgment. You start a question, and it’s like starting a stone. You sit quietly on the top of a hill; and away the stones goes, starting others; and presently some bland old bird (the last you would have thought of ) is knocked on the head in his own back garden and the family have to change their name. No, sir, I make it a rule of mine: the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask.”
Enfield is clearly a very intelligent man, however lacks curiosity. He values remaining safely in his comfort zone over discovering more about Mr Hyde. This relates to earlier in the chapter where he reveals that he witnessed the attack at “about three o’clock of a black winter morning”, neglecting to explaining his own activities at this time of night - this concealment of the truth highlights the dual lives lived by members of the Victorian elite. His self imposed rule of not engaging in matters which could be incriminating for other people may initially seem admirable but also shows that if Utterson did not defy societal expectations by investigating, Jekyll would have been totally isolated.
“‘God forgive us, God forgive us,’ said Mr Utterson. But Mr Enfield only nodded his head very seriously, and walked on once more in silence.”
This implies that Enfield is in shock over the event he has just witnessed, to the extent that it has left him speechless. Enfield’s silence also highlights his inaction, which reinforces Utterson’s admirable traits.
“I make it a rule of mine: the
more it looks like Queer
street, the less I ask.”
Whilst his self imposed rule may initially seem admirable, it also shows that if Utterson did not defy societal expectations by investigating, Jekyll would have been totally isolated. Enfield acts as
a foil to Utterson here.
“three o’clock”
Enfield in an allegorical way is used by Stevenson to make the reader feel sympathy for Mr Hyde, and in turn creating a sense of inspection to see who is really the guilty criminal in the first chapter of the novella: the person who trampled over a young girl or a the ‘gentleman’ who blackmailed Hyde. Enfield helps to create a sense of sympathy and forgiveness for Mr Hyde, by using the phrase to describe the time” three o’clock”. The number “three” in this quote has connotations to the witching hour, which in there 19th century was believed to be from 3 to 4 and when many supernatural and evil beings such as witches and demons came to life and existence in public areas such as “streets”. The witching hour was also symbolic for women turning into witches, and thus a common practice was that women walking between this time period in public would be executed for ‘practicing black magic’. Therefore, this link to the context of normal behaviors in Victorian London and other places in the 19th century helps to allude that Hyde was actually trampling over the girl, in a (hyperbolised) effort to prevent her from ‘practicing black magic’. Therefore, an alternative but slightly controversial analysis of Enfield could be that his need to blackmail Hyde was not only wrong in the moral and legal sense (as blackmailing even today is illegal) but Enfield could also be presented in an ambiguous way of promoting black magic and evil. Enfield also aids to build a sense of empathy and sympathy for Hyde, due to Hyde’s use of simple sentences with a very short syntax which in turn connotes that Hyde has been made fearful to the point of not being able to speak, due to Enfield’s response to his collision with the girl (despite this not being a hugely maniacal crime) by saying “desire to kill him”.
