nov mock quotes Flashcards
j+h and lotf
“If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek.”
Hyde’s name is clearly a reference to the way that he is hidden, though his hiding is symbolic in a number of ways: in one sense he represents the id, and is hidden in our subconscious, kept far away from the judgement of the super-ego. In another sense, he represents the poor and dejected working class, who celebrated many of the things that Hyde also enjoyed, but are hidden away from civilised society. He is everything that exists, but which Victorian England wanted to turn away from. Essentially, ‘Hyde’ is a homophone for Jekyll’s darker, elusive side of his personality.
At one point in the book, Utterson suggests that if Mr Hyde will remain hidden, that he will be “Mr Seek.” Through this pun and clever wordplay, Utterson is taking on the role of the detective, just like Scotland yard. This sets up a detective story, in which the search is not for the killer, but for the inner self; the monster at the heart of us all.
“pale and dwarfish”
Hyde is described as “pale and dwarfish.” These adjectives both relate to him being weak or deformed. Also, although “pale” relates to a lack of life or vigour, it also has horrific connotations which link him to vampires, or anyone else who spends no time around sunlight. And “dwarfish” although linking him to being short, could also suggest that he is below other people socially as well as physically; that he is less developed – or less evolved – than the civilised “upstanding” Victorian gentleman.
‘’no nameable malformation’’
‘‘odd, light footsteps drawing near’’
He is also described as having no ‘’nameable malformation’’ which is indicative of his strange appearance of being incomprehensible by others. Stevenson would also have been aware of Darwin’s Theory Evolution which coins the idea of the “survival of the fittest”. Hyde therefore seems less manly or less evolved, which creates mystery due to expectations of what Victorian gentlemen should be like- especially because Jekyll is archetypal Victorian gentleman yet his ‘’good friend’’ is Hyde.
Hyde also has ‘odd, light footsteps’’ which emphasises his stand out characteristics- feeling of the uncanny, very gothic- almost ghost like
‘‘strange feeling of deformity’’
linking to Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal: the idea that specific facial features can create an evil character. This would be uncanny as he looks unsettling, yet oddly familiar.
‘’three dusty windows barred with iron’’
symbolises Freud’s theory of personality with the id, ego and super ego (the three agencies that make up somebody’s personality, and the fact that you can’t have one without the other implies that Jekyll cannot be Jekyll secretly without Hyde too.
‘‘barred with iron’’ suggests that Jekyll does not want anyone to know so he has ‘‘barred’’ himself into his house like a prison in order to maintain his secrecy and reputation.
‘‘windowless structure’’
The laboratory is further described as a windowless structure which infers that Jekyll does not want the inside or even outside to know what is really going on. In Victorian England, servants would often maintain the secrets of their masters, it is clear that Jekyll kept the truth from Poole.
