key themes+ context

Question 1

fog

Answer 1

• pathetic fallacy
• represents mystery
• utterson is unable to clearly see what is going on

Question 2

secrecy and silence

Answer 2

• utterson is unwilling to take hyde to court as he doesn’t want to ruin jekylls reputation
• locked doors and keys represent the repression felt by victorian gentleman-> at the end of the book hyde is behind a locked door and utterson has to break it down to solve the mystery

Question 3

freudian principle

Answer 3

• id -> primitive + impulsive part of the brain, no conscience or ideas of right/wrong, just wants pleasure. First part of the brain to develop. not affected by logic.
• ego -> mediates between the id and the real world- comprises and finds realistic ways to satisfy the ids demands. no concept of right or wrong. developed to help the id get what it wants. if it fails negative feelings like anxiety are caused
• superego ->controls the ids impulses and punishes the id by making it feel guilt. made up of the conscience and ideal self. behaviour that does not reach the ideal self causes guilt- the superego strives for constant perfection

Question 4

victorian gentlemen

Answer 4

• respectable on the outside, sordid and hypocritical on the inside -> hid violent and sexual urges to appear respectable
• reputation was paramount to everything else
• victorians had a strict code of social conduct

Question 5

darwinism and evolution

Answer 5

-implications of the evolution theory scared victorian britain -> fear of reverting back to their primitive states

Question 6

robert stevenson’s childhood

Answer 6

-raised on the respectable side of edinburgh but spent his youth exploring the darker, more sinister side of town