Jekyll and Hyde Quotations Flashcards
Who wrote the novella and when?
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
What is it called when a character’s name is used in a book title?
An eponym
“He was austere…
“He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone to mortify a taste for vintages.”
- This is the first time the idea of temptation is introduced, in the first page of the novella. Here, however, we see that Utterson is strict with himself, and resists the temptation of drinking wine when alone; this will-power is part of his personality. This will later contrasts with Jekyll’s behaviour of falling to temptation.
“I incline to…
“I incline to Cain’s Heresy, […] I let my brother go to the devil in his own way” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- This introduces the theme of religion, alluding to the Bible, and demonstrates how Utterson favours not interfering in other people’s matters. We see him push this reputation throughout the novella as he pushes Jekyll for information, and goes to investigate the mystery behind Hyde.
“The door, which…
“The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained.” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- Doors are often used as symbolism for how one presents themselves to the outer world, as well as symbols of opportunity. The fact that the door has ‘neither bell nor knocker’ gives an uninviting air to this building, one that is closed-off and isolated.
- This door, we will soon see, is a representation of the character Hyde, and the choice of the adjective ‘blistered’ is particularly apt for this purpose, since it is something that would be commonly used to describe human skin. This subtle personification of the door gives it a symbolic importance that allows us to wonder what secrets and complexities it may reveal.
“I was coming home from some place…
“I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- Here, we may become suspicious of what Enfield may have been up to. Link to the context of the Victorian gentleman, and the idea of Enfield having a hidden side to himself being relevant to the theme of duality.
“A little…
“A little man who was stumping along” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- Animalistic imagery is used to describe Hyde.
- The adjective ‘little’ is the antonym of how Jekyll is described.
“The man trampled… It sounds… It wasn’t like…
“The man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- ‘Trampled calmly’ is an oxymoron, showing just how unfazed Hyde is of his own violence; he is inhumanly indifferent to it.
- We already have had the two adjectives ‘hellish’ and ‘damned’, which both have direct denotations of hell and the devil. Right from the start, Hyde is continually associated with the devil, hinting that he is in fact pure evil.
- By saying Hyde wasn’t like a man again dehumanises him, especially with the simile comparing him to a ‘Juggernaut’, which is a huge wagon carrying a Hindu procession, which often ran over worshippers. This attributes its overwhelming force and indifferent, inhuman violence to Hyde, making him already a feared character.
Others’ reactions to Hyde:
“I had taken a loathing…
“I saw that Sawbones…
“[The women] were…
“I had taken a loathing to my gentleman at first sight”
“I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with a desire to kill him”
“[The women] were as wild as harpies”
- Ch1, Story of the Door
- This concept of hatred ‘at first sight’ could be in accordance with the popular belief of the time of physiognomy (the idea that criminals could be identified by their facial features, due to them being less evolved) which was developed by psychologist Lombroso. With this belief, it would seem more credible for a person to be distrusted base on looks alone.
- It is ironic that the doctor (‘Sawbones’) was the one with a desire to ‘kill’, since it is common for doctors to be of a more caring nature. This demonstrates just how extreme the reaction is that Hyde can evoke from people, and helps to convey to the reader just how evil he is through is actions.
- Again, Hyde’s evil is presented through the extreme reactions of others, as the women were ‘wild as harpies’. In the Victorian era, at the time of publication, women had very little rights, and the gentlewoman was expected to be quiet and obedient. The women being described as ‘wild as harpies’ directly subverts this expectation, showing that Hyde’s evil is so powerful that it can enrage quiet, subservient women into the crazed creatures of death that ‘harpies’ are.
“Ten pounds in gold and…
“Ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance on Coutts’s, […] signed with a name that I can’t mention” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- ‘Coutts’s’ was a respectable bank for only the very wealthy – this is not what is expected from this evil unnamed figure. This heightens the sense of mystery and tension in the novella.
- The cheque was signed by another unnamed character, this time deliberately unnamed. This withholding of information creates extreme tension for the reader due to the lack of understanding of what’s going on, as we now have two unnamed characters within the first chapter.
“He must be deformed…
“He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point.” - Ch1, Story of the Door
- Deformity, according to physiognomy, would be a sign of criminality and regression. This adds to Hyde’s sense of evil.
- The fact that you can’t tell where Hyde is deformed adds to the sense of mystery surrounding him, building tension. Furthermore, if his deformity is so unspecific, maybe it is not in fact physical, but a deformity of the mind. This foreshadows what we later find out, which is that Hyde is in a sense a deformation of Jekyll.
“I am ashamed…
“I am ashamed of my long tongue. Let us make a bargain never to refer to this again”
“With all my heart”
- Ch1, Story of the Door, leading into Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- Structurally, as this occurs at the end of the first chapter, with so much withheld information and a sense of mystery, this anticlimax after all this action of Utterson vowing never to talk about any of this again leaves the first chapter with a great sense of tension and mystery. However, this is immediately subverted, as the next chapter is called ‘Search for Mr Hyde’, indicating that Utterson is in fact taking further interest in the matter. In addition, since we already know Utterson is known for keeping out of others’ businesses, this is a surprising contrast to what we thought his character was. This other side to him further reinforces this growing theme of duality, adding to Enfield having a mysterious outing at 3am.
“This was a hearty…
“This was a hearty, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman […] at sight of Mr. Utterson, he sprang up from his chair” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- Compare this with Lanyon’s description later on to show the drastic change of appearance.
“It is more than ten years since…
“It is more than ten years since Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong, wrong in the mind” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- The anadiplosis of ‘wrong, wrong in the mind’ signifies this viewpoint Lanyon has on Jekyll. ‘Wrong’ is very equivocal and unspecific, leaving it a mystery what Jekyll has done.
“Unscientific…
“Unscientific balderdash” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
“The figure […] haunted…
“The figure […] haunted the lawyer all night” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- The verb ‘haunted’ has supernatural connotations. Throughout the novella, the line between science and supernatural is blurred, and here is an example of Stevenson suggesting that the character Hyde may be a supernatural entity, causing fear and tension within the reader.
- Nightmares and nocturnal events are key within the gothic genre. Stevenson uses these ideas to build the gothic atmosphere of mystery and tension.
“It was but to see it glide more stealthily…
“It was but to see it glide more stealthily through sleeping houses, […] through wider labyrinths of lamplighted city[…]. And still the figure had no face” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- ‘Glide’ is not just animalistic imagery, something Stevenson uses to present Hyde as devolved and dangerous, but also denotes movement more agile and controlled than that of the average human, making Hyde seem a more dangerous character.
- ‘Labyrinths’ don’t just denote something complex and maze-like that one may become lost in, but also imply an intellectual element. This perfectly portrays Utterson’s current mental state as he tries to decode this unusual information he is being fed about this ‘figure’. However, the adjective ‘wider’ does not only denote size, but increase in size, which demonstrates the hopelessness of Utterson’s current position. The labyrinth is too complex; he sees no way out.
- The fact that, even though we know this is Hyde, Stevenson chooses to refer to him as a ‘figure’ lends him an extra aspect of anonymity which adds to the atmosphere of mystery and tension. The fact that Utterson still cannot put a face on the figure troubles him, and the reader too, for people are more naturally afraid of what they cannot see. This adds to the gothic atmosphere of mystery and tension in the novella.
“Hyde shrank…
“[Hyde] snarled…
“Hyde shrank back with a hissing intake of breath”
“[Hyde] snarled aloud into a savage laugh”
- Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- ‘Hissing’, ‘snarled’ and ‘savage’ are animalistic, further presenting Hyde as something atavistic and devolved.
“The door of this, which wore a great air of…
“The door of this, which wore a great air of wealth and comfort, […] was now plunged in darkness” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- Compare with Hyde’s door. Since the ‘wealth and comfort’ is representative of how Dr Jekyll is, we are inclined to wonder if the fact the the door was ‘now plunged in darkness’ could be also further symbolism, creating the idea of a dark mystery surrounding his character.
“It must be that; the ghost…
“It must be that; the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace: punishment coming.” - Ch2, Search for Mr Hyde
- ‘Ghost’ has gothic connotations, as well as ‘sin’ having connotations of evil and the devil.
- It is ironic that although in this instance they are talking about blackmail, these statements still happen to be somewhat true.
- ‘Punishment coming’ is very definitive and sinister foreshadow of Jekyll’s demise.
“Dr Jekyll…
“Dr Jekyll was quite at ease”
- This is contrary to our current expectation of Dr Jekyll; up to this point he has been assumed to be being blackmailed, yet the chapter we are first introduced to Jekyll is literally titled as that he was ‘quite at ease’.
- The fact that we do not hear of Jekyll until chapter two, then not see him until chapter three creates a great air of mystery about him, especially since the novella is eponymous of him.
“A large…
“A large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness.”
- Jekyll’s description is contrastingly the polar opposite to that of Hyde: where Hyde is ‘small’, Jekyll is ‘large’; where Hyde gives the impression of ‘deformity’, Jekyll is ‘well-made’; where Jekyll has ‘every mark of capacity and kindness’, Hyde has ‘Satan’s signature upon [his] face’, further linking to physiognomy. The way Jekyll is first described leads us to think he could possibly be a foil character of Hyde.
- ‘Slyish’ is the only contrasting adjective in this description, implying something cunning about Jekyll’s character.
“Hide-bound…
“Hide-bound pedant” - Ch3, Dr Jekyll was quite at ease
- This expression ‘hide-bound’ is interesting; it could very well be Stevenson trying to warn the reader through this word play that Jekyll may in fact be the one that is ‘Hyde-bound’.
- The choice of the criticism of ‘pedant’ is also interesting because a ‘pedant’ denotes someone being annoyingly or unnecessarily accurate or precise, but here it is strange nevertheless they are being accurate, and surely it is a scientist’s job to be accurate and precise.
“What he called my scientific…
“What he called my scientific heresies” - Ch3, Dr Jekyll was quite at ease
- ‘Heresies’ is an interesting word choice because it has religious denotations. Although Jekyll is a scientist, all of his work seems to be being given religious labels – although we do not yet know Hyde to be Jekyll’s creation, Jekyll himself in fact, we have had him describes as ‘Satan’s signature’ and ‘hellish’, turning women ‘wild as harpies’. This is relevant, as at the time, scientific breakthroughs were contradicting what was being taught by the church, and was becoming increasingly religiously controversial. Whereas Lanyon’s practice is ‘pedantic’, so accurate, Jekyll’s is ‘fanciful’ and seems to go against religion.
