Jekyll And Hyde:general Flashcards
Contrast
“A great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven” - The use of guttural alliteration emphasise the overshadowing power of the pall, and demonstrates it’s symbolic masking effect. covering the city highlights duality through setting as the pall is washing over the “heaven” symbolically representing how Jekyll may be trying to hide his transgressions as Hyde from God (Victorian societal belief in Christian god) and wider society. However, he cannot hide from God. Contextually, it also further adds to the imagine of Soho and how it is a frowned upon area of London with extensive notoriety. furthering the display of Hyde as an immoral character as he associated with this area and reader from the time will be able to recognise this.
Lanyon: Jekyll
“Jekyll became too fanciful for me” and “unscientific balderdash”. The use of a voiced bilabial stop in “balderdash” symbolically represents Lanyon blocking (or rejecting) Jekylls ideas about “transcendental medicine”. As well as creating a harsh tone towards Jekyll. Furthered more the use of the fricative “fanciful” helps to emphasise this harsh tone. Lanyons avid rejection of Jekyll’s idea is purposely employed by Stevenson. Lanyon is used as construct to contrast Jekyll and highlight his absurdities n
Jekyll: Devil
“My devil had long been caged, he came out roaring”
“Furious propensity to ill”
This quote references the inner “devil”, which is a manifestation of Jekyll’s deepest desires in the form of Hyde. The notion of “devil’ through religious allusion denotes a stark contrasts with Christian ideas of morality.
Furthermore, the verb “roaring” has connotations of an animalistic, uncontrolled, agitated and deadly expression of his repressed elements in Hyde. The phrase “Propensity to ill” indicates a deeper, now natural tendency and inclination to immortality.
Impurity:
“First batch was impure”
It highlights how Jekyll desire (manifested through Hyde), where born out of impurity. Symbolically it represents the immoral and impure nature of Hyde, but now that Jekyll turns into Hyde sporadically it can be seen as Stevenson making a commentary on natural evil and lombroso theory vs strain theory. As what once, a response to societal pressure (strain theory) is now of his very essence and natural within him (lombroso)”
Freudian analysis of Jekyll
Dr Jekyll can be viewed as symbolising the ego - a balance between man’s basal instinct and moral through eventually falling into a wholly id-controlled mind with Hyde
Sir Carew:innocent
“An aged and beautiful gentleman with white hair”
“White hair” is a symbol of distinguishment and purity alongside “aged” which perpetuates Carew as frail and therefore a victim. Therefore, even more emphasising the immoral nature of hydes actions.
Jekyll: Hiding
“Many(…) would have even blazoned such irregularities “
“hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame” “ high views that I had set before me”
Societal commentary on repression and how due to his societal status (“high views) Jekyll had to repress his desires. Further commentary can be made on how the society caused the action of Jekyll/hyde
Jekyll: triad
“I felt younger,lighter, happier in body.”
Stevenson uses triadic structure to show how burdensome the restrains of society are on Jekyll. The focus particularly on the emotive aspect, can be seen through a Freudian analysis as society almost being the superego - telling its members how to act and behaviour. As a result, Jekyll is constructed to free himself from this repression. Stevenson may have employed this to speak about the societal consequence of repression and paint Jekyll as victim of society.
Enfield: Long tongue
The metonymy “long tongue” shows that he feels comfortable using informal language around Mr Utterson, demonstrating familiarity. It also shows his hypocrisy as he previously says that he doesn’t gossip. (“The more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask”)
Talk about: Hyde/Jekyll being a product of society as it was actually full of hypocrisy.
Utterson: Dual Nature
“Rugged”, “backward in sentiment” “Austere with himself”
- archetypal male qualities. The use of the adjective “sentiment” combined with the lexical choice of “backwards’ depicts him as stereotypical stoic man. Furthermore, the adjective “austere” describes how he doesn’t not give in his “pleasures” and overall is a archetypal Victorian gentleman.
Utterson:dual nature
“Austere with himself; drank gin(…)To mortify a taste for vintages”
Highlights his hypocrisy he views wines (“vintages”) as a weakness but instead decided to drink gin. This is ironic, as Stevenson depicts him as an austere, upright archetypal Victorian but this displays him as giving to something even stronger. Highlighting even in the most respectful levels society, that duality and hypocrisy was rampant.
Utterson: dual nature
“He enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years” - Highlights his being a Victorian gentleman is intrinsically dual natured, as it involves hiding one’s true self. Utterson although the enjoys the theatre, due to the fact he is “austere’ has to conceal “his pleasure”. Furthermore, it can be said it is also partially to do with fact that theatre has an air of femininity and due to Patrichial societal pressure has to hide his true self. Displaying a repressed and dual nature.
Utterson:hypocrisy and repression
“Approved tolerance for others, sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds” The phrase “High pressure of spirits” combined with the adjective “envy” and verb “wondering” depicts Utterson as viewing their “misdeeds” (sins/wrong doings) and noticing the excitement or feeling of relieve and elation they get from being able to transgress societal expectations. The use “wondering” and “envy”, depicts Utterson as almost yearning for the excitement they experience. It hints at his hypocrisy, as he dreams for the excitement they get from committing sin (“misdeeds”) but he does not as he has to attain his Victorian status.
Utterson: Societial construct
Can be seen as representing the majority of Victorian men and by extension it is them who face these desires due to society.
Utterson
“I incline to cains heresy” “I let my brother go to the devil in his own way”
