Themes Flashcards
Analysis of the theme: Repression/Secrecy
Much of the suspense associated with the novel is suspenseful solely because it is deliberately kept secret or repressed by the characters. The novel’s secrets come out in spits and spurts; Enfield shares his story with Utterson, but he is only persuaded to share Hyde’s name at the end. Utterson, upon hearing Hyde’s name, does not reveal that he has heard it before, in Jekyll’s will. From that point on, most of the story’s revelations are made not through conversation between characters but rather through a sequence of letters and documents, addressed, sealed and enclosed in safes, so that they need to be put together like a puzzle at the end.
Each man seems to be isolated from the other, and there is a sense that this masculine world has been hushed by the need to maintain social reputation. The men avoid gossip, seem almost to avoid speaking completely about anything of substance, and while many of the men describe themselves as friends, their relationships are most defined by the things they keep secret from each other. There are many occasions in which one man will start to talk and then silence himself and keep the remainder, often the most important or personal detail, to himself. The weight of unsaid information is heavy, which only emphasises that one may be repressing these urges. Furthermore, this suggests that the human composition isn’t double but infact on of repression and darker urges, as if repression only strengthens that which is being repressed; perhaps one cannot live without the other.
Write down quotes for the theme: Repression/ Secrecy
‘Let us make a bargain never to refer to this again.’
Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield do not want to gossip
about the incident. This shows they want to
protect the unknown man’s reputation even though
what has happened was shocking.
“desire to carry my head high…Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures.”
Jekyll has a desperate desire to be socially acceptable and behave in the sombre way society expects, hence he represses his own desires. The alliteration of “head high” stresses the fact that society demands people maintain their reputation and dignity. For Jekyll this is stifling. The idea that Jekyll would wear a socially respectable persona has associations with a costume. He is acting part Jekyll, yet his character is actually Hyde - this is where his “pleasures” lie. “Concealed” has associations with being hidden away, straining to break free.
“my devil had been long caged, he came out roaring” consequences of suppression
“I am ashamed of my long tongue”
‘his death warrant written legibly on his face’ ‘I cannot tell you’’
Concerned at a sudden change in Dr Jekyll (from the
above), Mr Utterson goes to see Dr Lanyon and
finds him looking deathly ill. This creates a sense of
foreboding and the reader questions what terrible
thing has happened. However Lanyon is silent and
refuses to share any information with Utterson to
protect Dr Jekyll’s respectability.
Write down quotes for the theme: Duality
‘man is not truly one, but truly two’
‘all human beings … are commingled out of good and evil’
“If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers”
Write down quotes for the theme:Science VS Religion
when that masked thing jumped from among the chemicals…I give you my bible-word it was Mr Hyde!”
Science/religion clash in a destructive manner - Poole turns to religion to make sense of it. Hyde is non human “thing” and is “masked”, hidden from society. He is “among the chemicals”, dangerous scientific experimentation that could challenge religion as well as certifying that he is anything but natural. Religion is needed to try and make sense of this; Poole gives his “bible-word”, as if turning to religion may save him from the evilness of hyde unleashed, through science, by Dr Jekyll.
“half full of a blood-red liquor, which was highly pungent to the sense of smell, and seemed to contain…some volatile ether.”
Lanyon’s description of what he finds in Jekyll’s cabinet is disturbing - Lanyon cannot make sense of it, and it is depicted a clearly dangerous. The fear of science stemmed from its unknown qualities - “seemed” and “some” show even Dr Lanyon cannot make sense of Jekyll’s experiments. Jekyll’s scientific exploration links to violence. “Blood-red” alludes to hyde’s bloodshed, and “volatile” mimics the unstable nature of Jekyll and Hyde. “Highly pungent” shows Jekyll offending the senses as well as our morals. His behaviour is literally and metaphorically rotten.
Analysis of the theme: Science VS Religion
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde creates a tension between the world of science and religion, and seems to suggest the limits of reason in its inability to understand or cope with the supernatural phenomena that take place. The result of Jekyll’s explorations—Mr Hyde—is something beyond simple religious beliefs, which shocks and overwhelms the sensitive intellectual dispositions of the other characters and leaves Dr. Jekyll permanently removed from his educated, medical self. The laboratory is the main setting of the mysterious events in the story, but far from being a place of science and medicine, the lab is deserted and strange, more Gothic than a place of science. In this setting the novel seems to hint at the insufficiency or even obsolescence of science. Jekyll, once a man of science, is leaving all that behind, leaving it unused, as he seeks new, unknown knowledge and truth
“The trembling immateriality, the mist-like transience, of this seemingly solid body in which we walk attired”
Jekyll considers a further aspect of the dual nature of man. Whilst humans may seem strong, we are in fact insignificant and temporary in this world, and this holds a seemingly deeper inner battle within one’s self. The sibilance of “seemingly so solid” stresses the irony of the human condition. We are anything but solid, but don’t wish to accept this true - we are always dependant on something else. The image of humans being “attired” has dramatic associations. We wear costumes to hide vulnerabilities, and our “walk” is simply a performance. Jekyll embraces human frailty and fragility. The image of “trembling immateriality” highlights physical insignificance, and “mist-like transience” emphasises our fleeting impact on the world. Jekyll’s aim is to explore these ideas.
Analysis of the theme: Duality
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Analysis of the theme: Urban Terror
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Write down quotes for the theme: Urban Terror
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Analysis of the theme: Beast in Man
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Write down quotes for the theme:Beast in Man
’ snarled out into a savage laugh’
’ And the next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot’
’ If it was my master why did he cry out like a rat and run from me?’
‘that masked thing jumped like a monkey’
Write down quotes for the theme: Secret and hidden things
I he be Mr Hyde I shall be Mt Seek - Utterson Chapter 2
’ a certain sinister block of buildings thrust forward its gable on the first street
‘a great chocolate-coloured over lowered over heaven’
‘even in his dreams, it had no face or one that baffled him and melted before his eyes
’ This master Hyde, if he were studied…. must have secrets f his own, black secrets compared to poor Jekyll’s worst would like moonshine
