Friendship Flashcards
“Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me”
Lanyon says “Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me” and thus seems more preoccupied with worrying about his friend’s wellbeing than the fact he is acting immorally. Stevenson’s use of temporal deixis “became” emphasises the extent of their disagreement and suggests the distance grew between them over time. Meanwhile the fricatives in “fanciful” imply falsity. Here, Stevenson could be implying that Lanyon should be interpreted to be a false friend
“Now that that evil influence had been
withdrawn, a new life began for Dr Jekyll. He came out of his seclusion”
Ironic as the evil influence is in fact coming from within, showing that even Utterson has a tendency to overlook the truth. The idea of him coming out from seclusion shows that he is at heart a sociable man, it also has as caveman like connotations, traits commonly attributed to Hyde.
“even [Utterson’s] friendships seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good nature”
The narrator observes that “even [Utterson’s] friendships seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good nature”. The verb “founded’” evokes connotations of security, longevity and reliability all traits of a good friend. Stevenson’s reference to “catholicity of good nature” has religious connotations which add to the reader’s impression of Utterson’s morality, implying that he is a good person and therefore a good friend. The religious connotations of “catholicity” implies however, that many of Utterson’s friendships are based on shared values, making his relationship with Jekyll stand out as different.
“I feel as if the presence of a friend might do him good”
This subverts the reader’s expectations by explicitly defying the typical gothic theme of isolation as well as highlighting Utterson’s concern for his friend.
“The lawyer listened gloomily; he did not like his friend’s feverish manner”
Despite it being evident that Utterson is unhappy about what Jekyll is doing; “the lawyer listened gloomily; he did not like his friend’s feverish manner” Stevenson’s use of the noun “friend” emphasises to the reader the relationship the two have despite their disagreement. By using a separate clause to refer to Utterson’s job it implies that either he cares for Jekyll
despite their professional relationship or he cares for him in both a personal and professional sense.
