jekyll and hyde - crime and toboo sexuality Flashcards
the animal within me licking the…
(bravo and homo)
chops of memory - the zoomorphic metaphor is used to convey the primal, instinctive nature of hyde.
shows jekyll loved killing carew. Hyde is Jekyll’s bravo, so the sins committed by Hyde are also Jekyll’s sins. This makes us question if Sir Danvers Carew’s death had a motive. I believe the motive was that Sir Danvers was an MP, and in 1885 the government passed legislation to criminalise homosexual relationships — something Sir Danvers would’ve supported. The novel is set in 1885, showing that Hyde is carrying out Jekyll’s suppressed desires. This links to the duality of man, as Jekyll uses Hyde to act on feelings he can’t express publicly, keeping his respectable image intact while indulging in violent, possibly emotionally driven sin.
stevenson did not specifically mention this as this was a crime too great at the time
henry jekyll forge for a murder… he locked the note in his safe
juxtaposition - this represents uttersons internal conflict and the theme of homosexulaity. Stevenson uses juxtaposition between the shocking act of “forging a murder” and the calm, restrained action of “locking the note in his safe” to emphasise the contrast between moral corruption and social respectability
This mirrors Utterson’s dual nature — while he is outwardly respectable, he chooses to conceal a crime, possibly driven by an emotional attachment to Jekyll that he cannot express openly due to Victorian society’s strict views on sexuality. this can be seen as all the character are un - married men and uttersons obsession with jekyll.
If he be Mr. Hyde… I shall be Mr. Seek
Utterson’s pun, “If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek,” shows his intense emotional investment in Jekyll’s secret life. A queer reading suggests that Utterson’s pursuit is not just moral or professional, but personal — driven by a desire to uncover a hidden identity in a society where certain desires, like homosexuality, had to be concealed.
