*Hyde as an outsider Flashcards
In Chapter 1, Enfield reports seeing Hyde trample on a young and innocent girl.
Hyde “trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming”.
The oxymoron “trampled calmly” indicates how Hyde feels no remorse for his crimes, and how the act of violence is a habitual event that he fulfils without much contemplation.
Hyde commits two crimes of violence against innocent and helpless citizens: first, a little girl, and second, an elderly man.
The violence in the novel centres on Mr Hyde, and raises the question of whether or not violence is an inherent part of man’s nature.
It is shocking how much pleasure Hyde gets from the murder of Carew - he feels “glee” and tasted “delight from every blow” as he attacked him.
The theme of violence ties into the theme of science and dual personality. Hyde is the only violent character, acting with “ape-like fury” and feeling “glee” at his brutality.
Complete these quotations showing the pleasure Hyde gets from murdering:
1
“G
2
“Delight from every
1
“Glee”
2
“Delight from every blow”
In Gothic novels like this one, the idea of ‘doubles’ or ‘two’ characters existing within one entity was common.
The authors let their character personify the unchecked and darker side of the human consciousness and allow them to commit violent and evil acts.
Acts of violence in the novella are against innocent people and provoke horror in the characters around them. This would have linked to the context of Victorian crimes in London, and the fear that some invisible force was driving evil into its citizens.
Hyde is described as “Satan’s signature upon a face”
This shows how he is an embodiment of evil and how he epitomises everything that citizens feared at the time.
How do Hyde’s acts of violence link to the context of crime in the Victorian era?
1
Acts of violence in the novella are against innocent people and provoke horror in the characters around them.
2
This would have linked to the context of Victorian crimes in London, and the fear that some invisible force was driving evil into its citizens.
URBAN TERROR HYPERLEARNING
