repression in j&h

Question 1

repression of mans id through jekyll

Answer 1

Stevenson uses the reputable and conformist character of jekyll as a complete juxtaposition from his freudian id in hyde in order to show how the societal pressures to fit into a binary society can build years of repression that will result in a violent outburst like jekylls

Question 2

repression of mans ID through jekyll paragraph

Answer 2

• ‘my devil was long caged he came our roaring’ his devil refers to the freudian id and the need to unleash mans primal instincts, devil is extremist voacbs with links to biblical evil. he warns against the repression of ones id as it will becomes increasingly tempting as age progresses due to its preserved naivity and youth, roaring is animalistic and lionesque. The idea of a cage further plays into the animalistic tendancies of ones primal evil, as soceity is physically locking away any non conformsit traits in men
• he warns that other sin soceity should strive not to ‘conceal their pleasures’ as many gentlemen in soceity were forced to, indeed it stems froma very real prospect at the time of john hunter and jack the ripper who both fall into max nordeaus theory
• he also depicts how then societal pressures to physically conform to the materialistic values is caging and pressurising- hence why someone like jekyll has such a sporadic outburst, indeed upon transformation the reality of jekylls true self shows he has no place in scoeity- ‘my clothes hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs’ hydes power is fed by evil, the more jekyll indulges in the youthful and freeing pleasure of his id the more he grows and becomes less conformist- hence why his mateiralistic items, a symbol of his upper class place, do not fit. hydes limbs are shrunken as he is an avatistic ugly character and also as shse is physically younger as he has been unexercised
• however regardless of the ugliness there is also an aspect of freedom that stevenson is criticising society for focibly depressing, whilst hyde is evil his repression has made him ‘sweeter’ and younger as he has not had the autonomy to grow- making him increasingly tempting upon age- jekyll sees him as ‘smaller, slighter and younger’ this tricolon acentuates the extnet in which jekyll struggles to repress hyde.
• similarly he is a ‘child of hell’ theres a clear moral conflict in jekyll as though hell is a connotation to the worst kind of suffering the oxymoron creates a positive yet unsettling idea, as a child symbolises naivty and purity and yet also so is hyde as he is frozen in a youthful and freeing state

Question 3

repression of victorian gentlemen thesis

Answer 3

Through the charcaters of jekyll and enfield stevenson utilises their normality to represent the fact that even very conformist and average gentlemen are victims to a binary contemporary soctieties pressures to repress any forms of uniqueness or humanity

Question 4

repression of other gentlemen paragraph

Answer 4

-Utterson represent a rare reliable gentleman in the novel who serves as a good anchor for the narration as he is not interested in sceince nor overcome by emtoions, however even he has a juxtaposing appearane to his character, indeed uppon introdution hes seen as of ‘rugged countenance that was never lightened by a smile’ he is rather plain looking and inspectacular, normalises him and shows how he represents the average and hence trustworthy gentleman. as he never smiles his mind is not thrown off my weak emotions hes very set on logic- whilst it also seems to claim he has a hard fact driven persona, claiming he ‘inclines to caines herasey’ by not becoming focussed by others actions. However we see that a man so dictated by society that he has no space for joy has a miscondtruding deeper emotion that is deeply loyal and caring, hence why he spends the novel trying to protect those whom have his loyalty, he has repressed his more compassionate side to let his life be dictated by structure, however stevenson uses utterson to emphasie the importance of humanity.
Utterson also is present in the oxymoron of ‘shady lawyers’ showing how despite their job to retain justice and peace there was a sense of corruption in soceity, something he juxtaposes by being the novellas moral
compass- there is a very strong dual aspect to utterson.
- ‘something downright detestable yet i scarce know why’- rage, even kind and moral anchors like utterson posses a kind of undiscovered primal rage triggered by hydes freudian ID
-enfield backs uttersons character and shows how most men have the same victorian values of a need to be seen and respected through their pointless sunday walks
in the way that he represents every conforming man, he also shows how so many victorian men have immoral inner selves; he is prone to heavily gossiping with utterson and runs into hyde on a ‘black winter morning’ at three am- the source of this walk is likely immoral but unclear. Indeed enfield is interesting- he runs into hyde after returning from ‘some place at the end of the world’ sketchy and vague- he proves that even the most conformist and plain of men have a very dual aspect to their personas