secrecy + reputation Flashcards
overview
Secrecy is important to the novella because it is the backbone of the plot. This is because Victorian gentlemen were sinning in private to uphold their good reputation because they believed that they had to live a perfect life to compensate for original sin and get into heaven. This meant that many people were vulnerable to manipulation because they had so many secrets that they feared would get out. Secrecy is used to build up suspense for the reader and Stevenson does this by withholding information.
ch1
– E and U are on a walk and go past a house that ‘showed no window.’ The building is personified so that it sounds like it’s holding secrets as if there are no windows no one can see inside and information can be withheld.
- E tells U a story about how he witnessed H trample a young girl and how he planned to ‘make his name stink.’ This suggests how he planned to ruin H’s reputation which would make his name ‘stink’ through blackmailing him. Blackmail was common during this time because many Victorian gentlemen withheld information to protect their reputation and were vulnerable to blackmail. Therefore, H is ‘helpless.’
- E tells U that H gave a cheque that was signed by J. Because of this information U realises that it is J’s house that H entered. Therefore, J lives in ‘blackmail house’ and is tied to H which puts his reputation at risk.
- So E says ‘the more it looks like Queer Street the less I ask’ meaning that the stranger something looks the less he wants to know. This suggests how E and U are wary of investigating further because gossip can ruin someone’s reputation and the innocent people around them. Therefore, they promise not to gossip.
ch2
– U wonders how J and H are tied together and assumes that it must be ‘the ghost of some old sin.’ This suggests how U believes that it is something that J had done in his past that causes the link between H and J. The word ‘ghost’ suggests how it has come back to haunt J and therefore your reputation is fragile because it can be shattered by something you did a long time ago.
ch3
– U confronts J about his relationship with H but when he sees him there is a ‘blackness about his eyes.’ This suggests a physical change from the last time U saw J because of the mention of H who threatens to ruin his reputation. He doesn’t want to talk about H.
- J says that he is ‘painfully situated.’ This suggests how J is in a difficult situation because he has to withhold information from his closest friend to protect his reputation. The word ‘painfully’ emphasises his struggle.
- J finally says to U ‘I beg of you to let it sleep.’ This suggests how J doesn’t want to talk about H so that his reputation can stay safe. The word ‘beg’ emphasises his desperation. This only furthers the viewers belief that J has done something terrible as he withholds information. The metaphor of sleeping suggests how J secret will eventually be revealed when everyone wakes up.
ch5
– U finds a note that has handwriting ‘only differently sloped’ to J’s that is similar to H’s writing. This increases the viewers suspicion of blackmail.
- U tells the servant ‘I wouldn’t speak of this note’ which suggests how U doesn’t want people knowing about it so he can protect J’s good reputation. U thinks that J has forged for H, a murderer, and doesn’t want a scandal. Therefore, he locks the note into his safe. The safe represents secrecy as it is difficult to get into suggesting U wants to keep J’s secrets hidden.
ch6
– J’s repuation improves when H goes missing and he starts a ‘new life.’
- However, L regards J as ‘dead’ because he now hates J. The suspense builds for the reader as they know that something terrible must’ve happened for L to hate J so suddenly therefore secrecy builds. This suggests that J has done something which puts his reputation on the line.
- L gives U his will and it is for U ‘alone.’ This suggests that U has a good and trustworthy reputation because L trusts U to keep the secrets in his will safe.
ch7
– J is spotted at the window of his house by E and U and when he shuts the window he has ‘an expression of such terror and despair’ which suggests he looks fearful. J shutting the window could suggest how he is metaphorically shutting everyone else out and the look of ‘terror’ on his face could suggest his desire to keep his secrets locked away.
- E and U react to this by walking in ‘silence’ after seeing this. This links back to earlier in the story when they promised not to gossip. This suggests how they could be in shock from what they have seen, leaving the reader in suspense as the writer withholds information which builds the secrecy.
ch9
– L reads a letter given to him and only at the end of it does it reveal that J and H are the same person which builds suspense for the reader. Even though J is revealing everything he still wants to keep his darkest secret to himself suggesting that he wants to delay his reputation from being ruined.
- L says in his narrative that he has ‘gone too far’ suggesting that he knows too much now and has put his reputation at risk because he now knows J’s secrets.
ch10
– J tells the reader why he created H because he ‘concealed my pleasures.’ This suggests that he created H because he wanted to keep his ‘pleasures’ a secret because they did not fit what a respectable Victorian gentleman should do.
- J reveals one final secret to the reader which is his philosophy on life that ‘man is not truly one but two’ which suggests that it is not just him that has two sides to him, which is good and evil, but that everyone does.
