Jekyll And Hyde (Detail) Flashcards
Story of the Door:
“Cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable.”
Interpretation:
This description of Utterson introduces a stereotypical 19th Century
British gentleman - private and unemotional with a reserved personality.
Techniques:
Alliteration; Language; Adjectives.
Analysis:
• The alliteration of the “I” and “d” sounds are deep and heavy, mimicking the dull, tedious personality of Utterson.
• The adjecives used ro destibe Uiterson emphasise the sort of lie Jek)!
later rejects - they have associations with a boring, lacklustre lifestyle where the current way of life is never questioned.
“Cold” and “embarrassed in discourse” highlight the value placed on privacy
- it is this cloak of secrecy that allows Jekyll to experiment uninterrupted.
Use in essays on…Secrecy; Repression; Utterson; Society.
Story of the Door:
“The man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground…it wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.”
Interpretation:
We have the first depiction of Hyde’s evil nature, and Stevenson deliberately inflicts it on a child to increase the reader’s fear of Hyde’s character.
Techniques:
Juxtaposition; Imagery; Oxymoron.
Analysis:
• The contrasting “man” against “child” is threatening, but the oxymoronic
“trampled calmly” shows Hyde is naturally comfortable with violence.
• Referencing the “child’s body” dehumanises the victim, and the image of her “screaming” is a powerful sensual depiction of Hyde’s cruelty.
“Damned” refers to Hyde’s sinful nature, with the image of “Juggernaut” suggesting a violent, powerful force surging forwards in an unstoppable
manner.
Use in essays on…Good and evil; Religion; Violence; Innocence.
Search for Mr Hyde:
«…A volume of some dry divinity on his reading-desk, until the clock of the neighbouring church rang out the hour of twelve, when he would go soberly and gratefully to bed.”
Interpretation:
Utterson contrasts with Jekyll, as he rigidly sticks to structure, order and rationality, maintaining a routine and socially acceptable lifestyle.
Techniques:
Adverbs; Language; Alliteration.
Analysis:
• The heavy, dull alliteration of “d” in “dry divinity” refers to religious restrictions and lack of vibrancy that typifies Christianity in the 19th Century.
• Utterson’s reading material is a “volume”,suggesting many more volumes offering rules and restrictions as to how one should live.
• The church dictates when Utterson sleeps, which is without enthusiasm for a new day (“soberly”), and he is relieved the day is over (“gratefully”).
Use in essays on…Religion; Desire and repression; Utterson.
Dr Jekyll was quite at Ease:
“The large handsome face of Dr Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll’s cheerful and pleasant demeanour rapidly disappears when he is questioned about his will - the change from good to evil is disturbingly quick.
Techniques:
Juxtaposition; Colour; Language.
Analysis:
The juxtaposition of Jekyll’s “handsome” face with his pale lips and black eyes shows that man’s dual nature is not just a mental conflict, but also a physical one.
“Pale” has associations with the death that comes later in the novel. The
“blackness” of “his eyes” alludes to the darkness of Hyde’s soul.
Since Jekyll’s lips “grew” pale, and blackness “came…about” his eyes, the reader gets a sense of evil spreading over him uncontrollably.
Use in essays on…Duality of Man; Good and evil; Jekyll.
The Carew Murder Case:
“And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway.”
Interpretation:
Brutal, animalistic violence and evil fill this image - the almost inhuman destruction of another human life highlights the power of evil.
Techniques:
Simile; Language; Metaphor.
Analysis:
• The simile “ape-like” gives Hyde strong animal characteristics but also suggests he has not yet evolved from animals, and as he inflicts a metaphorical “storm of blows” he is also seen as a brutal force of nature.
• Hyde’s victim becomes totally dehumanised - he is nothing more than “his victim”, “bones” and a “body” rather than a person, and is “shattered”.
• The swiftness of these actions is frightening - it all occurs in a “moment”.
Use in essays on… Violence; Good and evil; Innocence.
Incident of the Letter:
“A yard which had once been a garden, to the building which was indifferently known as the laboratory or the dissecting-rooms…and his own tastes being rather chemical than anatomical…”
Interpretation:
Jekyll inhabits a highly scientific environment, rejecting the simple pleasures of the old garden - he prefers the appeal of chemistry to the natural world.
Techniques:
Setting; Language; Adverb.
Analysis:
• This was once a “garden”, a natural, wholesome place of relaxation, but has been replaced by the scientific experimentation of “the laboratory”.
• Science was a threat to religion in the 19ch Century as it often contradicted religious teachings. Jekyll’s “tastes being rather chemical” refers to the fact that he desires scientific exploration over Utterson’s “dry divinity”. - talk about Darwin’s theory of evolution
The adverb “indifferently” reinforces ideas of privacy and secrecy - Jekyll commits horrific acts as people are “indifferent” to his actions.
Use in essays on…Science; Religion; Secrecy.
Remarkable Incident of Dr Lanyon:
“He had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face. The rosy man had grown pale; his flesh had fallen away.”
Interpretation:
The reader is graphically shown the transformation of Lanyon and the physical deterioration of his person when he discovers Jekyll’s secret.
Techniques:
Juxtaposition; Alliteration.
Analysis:
• “Rosy man” has associations with vibrant colour and a natural, healthy lifestyle, which juxtaposes “pale” and its deathly connotations.
• The alliteration of the fluid “P’ sound underlines the fact that Lanyon’s flesh is literally slipping from his bones, much like when Jekyll turns into Hyde.
• A “death-warrant” is an official document ordering an execution. Whilst
“death-warrant” foreshadows the deaths of Lanyon and Jekyll, it also reminds us of the sins committed and the justice that must come.
Use in essays on…Duality of Man; Good and evil; Lanyon.
Incident at the Window:
«The smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll no longer controls Hyde’s appearances, and Jekyll’s sudden transformation causes extreme physical reactions from Utterson and Enfield.
Liminal space
Techniques:
Sibilance; Language.
Analysis:
The sibilance in “smile was struck” quickens the pace with which the pleasant “smile” is replaced by “abject terror and despair”
Mimica snake with represents evil in bible
• “Smile” is a gentle image, and is removed forcefully and violently when it is
“struck out”. Hyde causes a physical reaction in all he meets, and “froze the very blood” of two men we know to be sensible, rational gentlemen.
“Succeeded” has associations with victory - there is a clear sense of a battle between good and evil, and here evil is victorious.
Use in essays on…Good and evil; The Supernatural; Violence.
The Last Night:
«When that masked thing like a monkey jumped from among the chemicals and whipped into the cabinet, it went down my spine like ice…I give you my bible-word it was Mr Hyde!”
Interpretation:
Science and religion clash in a destructive manner - Hyde is animalistic, surrounded by science, and Poole turns to religion to make sense of it.
Techniques:
Simile; Imagery; Language; Setting.
Analysis:
• Hyde is a non-human “thing” and is “masked”, hidden from society. Fear would be increased for 19th Century readers - he is “among the chemicals”, dangerous scientific experimentation that could challenge religion.
• The simile “like a monkey” reinforces Hyde’s animalistic nature and troglodyticand again he has a physical effect on other people (“down my spine like ice”).
• Religion is needed to try to make sense of this; Poole gives his “bible-word”.
Use in essays on… Religion; Science; The Supernatural; Secrecy.
The Last Night:
“One lay beside the tea things open, and Utterson was amazed to find it a copy of a pious work for which Jekyll had several times expressed a great esteem, annotated, in his own hand, with startling blasphemies.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll is often seen as a character who embraces science, which is dangerous enough - here we see an explicit, blasphemous rejection of religion.
Techniques:
Symbolism; Language; Juxtaposition.
Analysis:
• The “tea things” are a traditional symbol of British manners - taken at a set time, it is a calm, gentlemanly occasion of respectability.
• Utterson has “great esteem” for strict, rigid religion - “Pious” links to “dry divinity”. Jekyll rebels against rigidity in religion, shown in Hyde’s scribbles.
• The dual nature of man is evident in the juxtaposition of “pious” with the
“blasphemies” in the book - Hyde startlingly rejects religious teachings.
Use in essays on…Religion; Science; Good and evil.
Dr Lanyon’s Narrative:
“The phial… might have been about half full of a blood-red liquor, which was highly pungent to the sense of smell, and seemed to me to contain phosphorous and some volatile ether.”
Interpretation:
Lanyon’s description of what he finds in Jekyll’s private cabinet is disturbing - Lanyon cannot make sense of it, and it is depicted as clearly dangerous.
Techniques:
Sensual language; Adjectives.
Analysis:
• Fear of science stemmed from its unknown qualities. “A”, “seemed” and
“some” show even Dr Lanyon cannot make sense of Jekyll’s experiments.
• Jekyll’s scientific exploration links to violence. “Blood-red” alludes to Hyde’s bloodshed, and “volatile” mimics the unstable nature of Jekyll and Hyde.
• “Highly pungent” shows Jekyll offending the senses as well as our morals.
His behaviour is literally and metaphorically rotten.
Use in essays on…Science; Violence; Secrecy.
Dr Lanyon’s Narrative:
“There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature that now faced me - something seizing, surprising and revolting.”
Interpretation:
Lanyon struggles to articulate exactly what Hyde is - even standing in front of him, the description is clearly not human.
Techniques:
Sibilance; Tri-colon (or list of three); Imagery; Repetition.
Analysis:
• The sibilance in “something seizing, surprising” is a traditionally gothic sound, creating a sinister tone of fear, terror and menace.
• Hyde’s effect on Lanyon is all-consuming - it controls his body (“seizing”), shocks his mind (“surprising”) and disgusts his morals (“revolting”).
• Hyde is impossible to define - Lanyon calls him a “creature”, giving him animal characteristics, but the repetition of “something” demonstrates that Dr Lanyon cannot identify what it is about Hyde that makes him so hideous.
Use in essays on…Good and evil; The Supernatural.
Dr Lanyon’s Narrative:
“A new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall be laid open to you, here, in this room, upon the instant; and your sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan.”
Interpretation:
Having helped a friend, Lanyon is offered a chance to leave Hyde or to observe something staggering and evil. Lanyon, usually so rational, chooses evil.
Techniques:
Religious allusions; Repetition; Irony.
Analysis:
• The repetition of “new” is threatening. It will “open to you” unknown consequences, and with “fame and power” as a motive, it is clearly unethical.
The speed evil consumes good is clear - it will happen “upon the instant”.
Scientitic exploration is as equally devastating as original sin. “New province of knowledge” alludes to the devil tempting Eve, yet Hyde’s evil will
“stagger the unbelief of Satan”
, depicting him as worse than the devil.
Use in essays on…Science; Religion; Desire and repression.
Dr Lanyon’s Narrative:
« ‘O God!’ I screamed, and ‘O God!’ again and again.”
Interpretation:
The level of disbelief in the supernatural events before him, and the evil he is witnessing, leads Lanyon to desperately call out to God to protect him.
Techniques:
Repetition; Language.
Analysis:
• Lanyon, Utterson and Enfield are known throughout the novel as rational, coherent and eloquent. Lanyon’s repetitive cry of “O God!” is both an uncontrolled scream of horror but also a direct plea to God to protect him.
• It is important to remember that Lanyon is desperately seeking support from God and religion in the face of supreme evil, and that God cannot provide it, as Lanyon dies from the horror of what he sees. Essentially, evil defeats religion.
Use in essays on…Religion; Good and evil; The Supernatural.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“My imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public. Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll explains that he has a desperate desire to be socially acceptable and behave in the sombre way society expects, hence he represses his own desires.
Techniques:
Language; Alliteration.
Analysis:
• The alliteration of “head high” stresses the fact that society demands people maintain their reputation and dignity. For Jekyll this is stifling.
• The idea that Jekyll would “wear” a socially respectable persona has associations with a costume. He is acting a part as Jekyll, and his true character is actually Hyde - this is where his “pleasures” lie.
• “Concealed” has associations of being hidden away, straining to break free.
Use in essays on…Duality of man; Good and evil; Desire and repression.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll is explicit - he was equally himself when he was submitting to his desires and committing dreadful acts as he was when he was engaging in good.
Techniques:
Juxtaposition; Alliteration.
Analysis:
• Alliteration in “no more myself’ stresses the word “myself” - Jekyll’s self is dual and features both “shame” and “knowledge”.
• “Laid aside” and “plunged” are active, dynamic descriptions - Jekyll vigorously pursues “shame”, yet doing good is “laboured” and tiresome.
Good takes place in “the eye of day” - evil is for night. Evil brings “shame” but sibilance stresses good can bring “the relief of sorrow and suffering”.
Use in essays on…Duality of man; Good and evil; Desire and repression.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll is convinced that man has a dual nature, that we are both good and evil - however, he acknowledges that this realisation is a dangerous one.
Techniques:
Repetition; Imagery.
Analysis:
• Jekyll’s conclusion is correct - “steadily”, “truth” and “discovery” convey rational analysis and show his conclusions are accurate, not blasphemous.
• The repetition of “truly” links to “truth” earlier in the statement - Jekyll is indeed correct, and should not be judged for his discovery; it is simple truth.
• Jekyll’s conclusion is “a dreadful shipwreck”, with associations of fear and danger, and he is “doomed”, which suggests religious judgement from God.
Use in essays on…Duality of man; Good and evil; Science; Religion.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“Before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements.”
Interpretation:
Whilst Jekyll becomes a slave to Hyde, he began his “course” with the intention of simply separating the two sides of man, not the pursuit of evil.
Techniques:
Imagery; Language.
Analysis:
• Jekyll discovers Hyde, not creates him. “Scientific discoveries”, “possibility” and “suggest” show Hyde already existed - Jekyll simply uncovers him.
• Jekyll’s intentions were pure. The image of a “beloved daydream”, “miracle” and “pleasure” allude to wholesome motives, not the pursuit of horror.
• The description of man’s dual nature as “elements” has scientific associations - Jekyll’s motivations were scientific, not anti-religious.
Use in essays on… Desire and repression; Science; Religion; Innocence.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“The trembling immateriality, the mist-like transience, of this seemingly so solid body in which we walk attired.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll considers a further aspect of the dual nature of man. Whilst humans may seem strong, we are in fact insignificant and temporary in this world
Techniques:
Sibilance; Imagery; Language.
Analysis:
• The sibilance of “seemingly so solid” stresses the irony of the human condition. We are anything but solid, but don’t wish to accept this truth.
• The image of humans being “attired” has dramatic associations. We wear costumes to hide vulnerabilities, and our “walk” is simply a performance.
• Jekyll embraces human frailty. The image of “trembling immateriality” highlights physical insignificance, and “mist-like transience” emphasises our fleeting impact on the world. Jekyll’s aim is to explore these ideas.
Use in essays on…Religion; Science; Duality of man.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
«The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll’s description of his transformation to Hyde is both gruesomely painful, but also alludes to something disturbingly natural and powerful.
Techniques:
Language; Allusions; Imagery.
Analysis:
• The physical agony (“racking pangs” and “grinding”) makes clear Hyde is the unnatural state, yet allusions to “death”, “birth” and the associated
“nausea” could suggest that Hyde and evil are part of the human life cycle.
Turning into Hyde is not just physically destructive - he also destroys the
“spirit” with his “horror”
• “Succeeded” is a subtle use of language - evil is associated with victory.
Use in essays on… Good and evil; Duality of man; Violence.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil; and the thought, in that moment, braced and delighted me like wine.”
Interpretation:
Jekyll’s first transformation to Hyde confirms instantly that Hyde is evil - however, the reader is disturbed to see Jekyll’s confession that it was a delight.
Techniques:
Simile; Sibilance; Allusions; Repetition.
Analysis:
• Repetition of “wicked” and “tenfold” leaves no doubt as to Hyde’s evil nature, and “delighted me like wine” refers to evil’s intoxicating effect.
• “Sold a slave” stresses the word “slave”, suggesting evil entraps Jekyll, reinforced by the use of “braced”.
• “My original evil’ again references Eve’s original sin, suggesting sin is a natural part of man, but “new life” has a tone of excitement and potential.
Use in essays on… Duality of man; Good and evil; Religion; Desire and repression.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“The drug had no discriminating action; it was neither diabolical nor divine;
it but shook the doors of the prison-house of my disposition.”
Interpretation:
It is not the drug that created Hyde - Jekyll makes clear that the drug simply releases whatever is inside man, and in this case, that was Edward Hyde.
Techniques:
Metaphor; Alliteration.
Analysis:
• The alliteration of “diabolical nor divine” supports the idea that nothing is purely “diabolical” (meaning of the devil) or purely “divine” (meaning of God) - most things are a combination of both.
• 1y Century society, and the way it forced people to conform, is a “prison-house” - it is nothing more than a jail in which people are repressed.
• The events of the novel are not the fault of science - the drug was not the cause of the horror, it simply “shook” the natural behaviours inside Jekyll.
Use in essays on…Desire and repression; Science; Religion; Duality of man.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“I was the first that could thus plod in the public eye with a load of genial respectability, and in a moment, like a schoolboy, strip off these lendings and spring headlong into the sea of liberty.”
Interpretation:
The socially acceptable way to behave is tedious and restrictive - Jekyll sees his discovery as a way of unburdening himself and becoming free.
Techniques: Simile; Metaphor; Alliteration; Juxtaposition.
Analysis:
• The dull “p” sound and link to “plod” shows the heavy, tiresome manner in which one had to behave, juxtaposed with a dynamic freedom in “spring”.
• “Like a schoolboy” conjures images of youth, excitement and vitality, and a sense of freedom unburdened by adult conventions.
• The removal of “lendings” means Jekyll is no longer acting a part, with the scale of freedom when embracing desires emphasised by a “sea of liberty”.
Use in essays on…Duality of man; Good and evil; Desire and repression.
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case:
“His every act and thought centred on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another; relentless like a man of stone.”
Interpretation:
Hyde’s wickedness extends beyond simply harming others - he is selfish, takes joy in the suffering of others, and displays no compassion for humanity.
Techniques:
Simile; Sentence structure; Language.
Analysis:
“Every act and thought” affirms Hyde is entirely evil in both body and soul.
• “Drinking”, “pleasure” and “avidity” (greed) have associations with wild over-indulgence, linked with the animal, “bestial” nature of his conduct.
• “Man of stone” suggests Hyde is hard, unmoving and soulless - the use of semi-colons to create a list of his faults, alongside his “relentless” pursuit of
“torture”,
, creates a truly terrifying depiction.
Use in essays on…Good and evil; Desire and repression; Violence.
