Jekyll and Hyde - Charactacter analysis Flashcards
Who is Dr Henry Jekyll?
Dr Henry Jekyll is a pillar of society
What does Jekyll appear to be?
+Jekyll appears to be a good and respectble man.
+He’s known for his charity work and reads religious texts.
Who does Jekyll socialise with?
+He socialises in upper-class circles and holds dinner parties.
+He’s socialable and friendly with “every mark of capacity and kindness”.
Dr Jekyll is…
+Ambitious:“every guarantee of an honourable and distinguished future”
+Respectable:“well known and highly considered”
+Troubled:“I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end”
How does Jekyll behave?
+Jekyll behaves in a socially acceptable way - he’s very aware of how people see him.
+He carries his “head high” in public and is “fond of the respect” people give him.
What face does Jekyll put on?
Jekyll puts on a false face to appear respectable
What does Jekyll always excessively put on?
+Jekyll always excessively puts on an excessively respectable front - he shows “a more than commonly grave countenance before the public.”
+He worries about his hidden desires - he thinks they’re far worse than they are because he’s obsessed with appearing respctable.
+Theme - Reputation: Jekyll’s excessive sense of guilt for what he sees as his “faults” may be a criticism of the pressures Victorian society placed on people to appear respectable.
How do Jekyll’s hidden desires make him feel?
+His hidden desires make him feel very guilty, so he creates a “deeper trench” than most people between his good side and his bad side.
+He hides his desires with an “almost morbid sense of shame”.
+Theme - Reputation: Jekyll’s excessive sense of guilt for what he sees as his “faults” may be a criticism of the pressures Victorian society placed on people to appear respectable.
What is the result of Jekyll hiding his desires?
+As a result, Jekyll finds himself committed to a “profound duplicity of life”, which is why making a potion to split his two sides appeals to him.
+“Duplicity” is the act of being deceitful.
Who is an ambitiou man of science?
Jekyll is an ambitious man of science
What does Jekyll experiment in?
+Jekyll’s experiments in “transcendental medicine” show that he’s a brilliant scientist.
+However, his research is controversial - he’s lost the respect of Dr Lanyon because of his “unscientific balderdash”.
What work is not seen as respectable?
+Jekyll’s “fanciful” work is not seen as respectable because it crosses the boundary from the science of the material world that Lanyon deals with, into the supernatural and the mystical.
What does Jekyll want to do by splitting his two sides?
+By splitting his two sides, Jekyll wants to rid himself of “the curse of mankind” - the curse that man’s good and bad sides are bound together.
+He’s motivated by ambition and a selfish desire to be “relieved of all that was unbearable” - a guilty conscience.
What did scientific discoveries in the 1800s sometimes challenge?
+Background and Context - Science: Scientific discoveries in the 1800s sometimes challenged religious beliefs.
+Jekyll uses science to challenge the religious belief that people should try to lead a life free from sin.
What is Jekyll so desperate to do?
+Jekyll is so desperate to separate his two sides that he willingly “risked death” by drinking the potion he creates.
+However, instead of splitting his good and bad sides he only succeeds in releasing his bad side.
+Jekyll remains as divided as he always was - like everyone else, he’s made up of good and bad qualities.
What does Edward Hyde embody?
Edward Hyde embodies wickedness
What is Jekyll a mixture of compared to Hyde?
+Jekyll is a mixture of good and evil, Hyde is “pure evil”.
What does Hyde seem to be for the sake of it?
+Hyde seems to be violent for the sake of it - the murder of Carew is an unprovoked and uncontrollable act which he takes “delight” in.
+It’s shocking how much he enjoys violence.
What is Hyde reflected in?
+Hyde is reflected in his appearance - it leaves “an imprint of deformity and decay”.
+Hyde is so evil that it’s obvious for everyone to see - there’s “something wrong with his appearance”.
Edward Hyde is…
+Merciless:“a man who was without bowels of mercy”
+Strange:“he gives a strong feeling of deformity”
+Self-centred:“his every act and thought centred on self”
What is Edward Hyde like?
He’s like an animal
What does Stevenson frequently compare Hyde to?
+Stevenson frequently compares Hyde to animals, particularly apes.
What did Victorians consider their society to be?
+The Victorians considered their society to be civilised - they valued propriety, order and self control - they didn’t like the idea that people might have a primitive, animalistic side.
What did many Victorians try to hide?
+Many Victorians tried to hide what they thought were animalistic desires beneath a civilised exterior - they wanted to appear respectable in order to fit in with civilised society.
What was widely known when the novel was written?
+Darwin’s theory that man evolved from apes was widely known when the novel was written.
+Hyde is presented as Jekyll’s less evolved side - he’s often compared to an ape - and he’s smaller and less respectable, which emphasises the idea that the upper-classes were superior.
+Stevenson’s suggestion that there’s a primitive Mr Hyde within a respectable man like Dr Jekyll forces the reader to consider that there could be a dark, immoral side to everyone.
What feelings does Hyde create?
He creates strong feelings of hatred and unease
Who do people loathe when they meet him?
+People loathe Hyde when they meet him - after Hyde tramples the child, Enfield is shocked that the unemotional doctor looked as though he had a “desire to kill” Hyde.
+This strong reaction shows that the civilised people have immoral thoughts, but don’t act on them.
What can several characters not explain?
+Several characters say that they can’t explain why they dislike Hyde.
+The fact that these characters can’t [or won’t] make any sense of Hyde may reflect the way they’ve repressed their own dark side.
What are people disturbed by?
+People are disturbed by Hyde’s appearance - Enfield says that he is “extraordinary-looking” and Utterson says he can “read Satan’s signature” on Hyde’s face.
+His frightening appearance emphasises his difference from other people - he’s not quite human.
What does Jekyll fancy indulging in?
+“Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil”
+Jekyll fancies indulging his bad side, but Hyde takes sinning to a whole new level.
+No, not cakes - murder and suchlike.
+Keep up - it really makes you think about man’s capacity for evil.
How does Jekyll treat Hyde?
Jekyll treats Hyde like a separate person
What does Jekyll create for his evil side?
+Jekyll creates a completely separate identity for his evil side:
- Jekyll gives his evil side a name - Mr Edward Hyde
- He furnishes a house and employs a housekeeper for Hyde
- Jekyll chooses a house in a different part of town and dresses Hyde”very plainly” - this makes him seem to be of a lower social class.
How does Jekyll often refer to Hyde?
+Jeykll often refers to Hyde in the third person to distance himself from him - for example, “I find it in my heart to pity him”.
+Theme - Dual Nature of Man: Jekyll alterates between referring to Hyde in the first and third person.
+This reflects his hypocrisy - he understands that man has a dual nature, but he has trouble accepting that Hyde is a part of him.
+This is clear when he says “He, I say - I cannot say, I”
What is the first and third person?
+The first person is when you refer to yourself - “I”.
+The third person is when you refer to someone else - “he”
What are two sides of the same coin?
Jekyll and Hyde are two sides of the same coin
What in many ways seems to be the complete opposite of Hyde?
+Jekyll seems in many ways to be the complete opposite of Hyde. Eg:
- Jekyll has “kindness” - Hyde is “callous”
- Jekyll has “a tall fine build” - Hyde is “dwarfish”
- Jekyll has “all men’s respect” - Hyde is “damnable”
But they’re two sides of the same man
What is Jekyll’s obsession with reflected in Hyde?
+Jekyll’s obsession with reputation is reflected in Hyde - when Enfield and others threaten to make a “scandal” out of Hyde trampling the child, Hyde says that “No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene”.
+Hyde has a reputation to protect, but this suggests he’s thinking like Jekyll.
How is Hyde described as quick witted?
+Hyde is “astute” - he’s quick-witted.
+He works out how to get to his drugs when Jekyll turns into Hyde in the park - he isn’t just animalistic and primitive, he’s intelligent like Jekyll.
What does Jekyll increasingly lose control of?
Jekyll increasingly loses control of Hyde
What does Jekyll seem to be in control of at first?
+At first, Jekyll seems to be control of his immoral side.
+However, one morning he wakes up as Hyde without taking the drug and says that he’s “slowly losing hold of my original and better self”.
What does Jekyll become increasingly addicted to?
+Jekyll becomes increasingly addicted to the immoral side of his personality.
+He compares himself to a “drunkard” and even though he tries to stop taking the potion that turns him into Hyde, he doesn’t give up the house in Soho.
+This shows how tempting his evil side is.
What does Jekyll fight to control?
+Jekyll fights to control Hyde, but Hyde just comes out stronger - for example Hyde murders Carew after Jekyll goes for two months without turning into Hyde.
+Background and Context: Victorians repressed their desires in order to maintain respectability - Stevenson may be criticising the dangers of this kind of repression.
What does Jekyll finally lose?
+Jekyll finally loses control completely, which could suggest that evil is the stronger side of our personality.
What does the hatred between Jekyll and Hyde do?
The hatred between Jekyll and Hyde increases
What doesn’t Hyde care about from the beginning?
+From the beginning, Hyde doesn’‘t care about Jekyll - Hyde just sees Jekyll as a place to conceal himself.
+Writer’s Techniques - Language: Hyde has “more than a son’s indifference”, while Jekyll has “more than a father’s interest”.
+This father-son terminology suggests that, as Hyde’s creator, Jekyll cares about Hyde - however, in the end Hyde hates that he needs Jekyll and wants to be a separate person.
