Gabriel John Utterson Flashcards
1
Q
utterson
A
the omniscient narrator through whom we witness most of the events in the novella - he is a lawyer, who, like jekyll is well-respected in london
2
Q
initially, utterson is presented… (ch.1)
A
- through his profession - ‘lawyer’
3
Q
‘lawyer’
A
- he weighs up evidence and tries to reach an unbiased evaluation of the facts
4
Q
initially, utterson is presented… (ch.1)
A
- as strict and self-disciplined - ‘austere’
5
Q
‘austere’
A
- victorian gentlemen were expected to be very concerned for their reputation and were expected to detach themselves from and not engage in gossip, pleasure or hedonism
6
Q
initially, utterson is presented…(ch.1)
A
- as dull and tedious through the description of a stereotypical 19th century British gentleman
7
Q
finish the quote: ‘backward…
A
…in sentiment’
8
Q
finish the quote: ‘lean….
A
…, long, dusty, dreary’
9
Q
‘lean, long, dusty, deary’
A
- alliteration
- monosyllabic
- deep and heavy sounds which mimic the dull, tedious personality of utterson
10
Q
initially, utterson is presented…(ch.1)
A
- as reserved and secretive
11
Q
finish the quote: ‘cold, scanty…
A
..and embarrassed in discourse’
12
Q
‘cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse’
A
- adjectives to describe utterson
- associations with a boring, lacklustre lifestyle where the current way of life is never questioned - emphasise the life that jekyll later rejects
- ‘embarrassed in discourse’ - value placed on privacy - cloak of secrecy allows jekyll to experiment uninterrupted
- not good at small talk
13
Q
finish the quote: ‘a rugged countenance…
A
…that was never lighted by a smile’
14
Q
‘a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile’
A
- RLS being critical of how Victorian men were expected to repress their emotions and their sentiments to appeal to society’s expectation of gender roles
15
Q
initially, utterson is presented…(ch.1)
A
- as trustworthy
16
Q
finish the quote: ‘last good influence in…
A
…the lives of down-going men’
17
Q
‘the last good influence in the lives of down-going men’
A
- in victorian times, crime was very frequent with a rising crime rate, from 5000 recorded crimes per year in 1800 to 20000 per year in the 1830s
- victorians believed in the punishment of criminals- utterson would’ve had to fight for these in court
18
Q
initially, utterson is presented… (ch.2)
A
- through his routine and socially acceptable lifestyle
19
Q
finish the quote: ‘dry…
A
…..divinity’
20
Q
finish the quote: ‘soberly…
A
..and gratefully to bed’
21
Q
finish the quote: ‘the clock of the neighbouring…
A
…church rang out the hour of twelve’
22
Q
‘dry divinity’
‘the clock of the neighbouring church rang out the hour of twelve’
‘soberly and gratefully to bed’
A
- utterson contrasts with jekyll, as he rigidly sticks to structure, order and rationality, maintaining a routine and a socially acceptable lifestyle
- alliteration ‘dry divinity’ - the heavy, dull alliteration of ‘d’ refers to religious restrictions and a lack of vibrancy that typifies Christianity in the 19th century - very pious
- the church dictates when utterson sleeps, which is without enthusiasm for a new day - ‘soberly’, and he is relieved that the day is over ‘gratefully’
23
Q
initially, utterson is presented…(ch.2)
A
as simplistic
24
Q
finish the quote: ‘sane and customary…
A
…sides of life’
25
'sane and customary sides of life'
- he is a lover of the 'sane and customary sides of life' which means he doesn't like to engage with emotions or sentimental ideas - especially ideas of transcendental medicine - VICTORIAN ERA - THE ERA OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS e.g. penecillin
26
initially, utterson is presented...(ch.2)
- as loyal
27
finish the quote: 'o my poor old...
...harry jekyll'
28
finish the quote: 'i shall be..
...mr seek'
29
'if he be mr hyde'
'i shall be mr seek'
- utterson presented as the devil's advocate
- infantile imagery of the popular children's game would create a comical and ironic tone
- pun of hyde's name emphasises the deception of the immoral hyde - determined utterson is presented the protagonist role
- however, the ambiguity of what Utterson will do creates a hostile atmosphere, indicating the prominent effects of malevolence on the ‘austere’ Utterson, who is bound to good intentions because of his profession.
- Utterson’s progression in the play has become more violent, criticising that the development in science, such as Darwinism and evolutionist theories that are thought to allow progression, have cased reversion to barbaric qualities.
30
'o my poor old harry jekyll'
- worried about his client and old friend and is willing to investigate to find out more - 'i shall be mr seek'
31
throughout the course of the novel, utterson is presented.. (ch.4)
- through his narration
32
finish the quote: 'some city...
...in a nightmare'
33
finish the quote: 'slatternly...
...passengers'
34
'some city in a nightmare'
'slatternly passengers'
- describes Hyde's setting of Soho as 'some city in a nightmare' - a place of darkness which makes him feel uneasy - presented as fearful of the dark side of man
- he is a victorian gentleman who is from the respectable side of London - Soho was notorious for its brothels and 'slatternly passengers'
35
throughout the course of the novel, utterson is presented.. (ch.5)
- as loyal and not judgemental
36
finish the quote: 'carew was...
...my client, but so are you'
37
throughout the course of the novel, utterson is presented...(ch.6)
as professional and respectable
38
finish the quote: 'professional...
...honour'
39
'professional honour'
- doesn't read lanyon's letter out of 'professional honour' - doesn't like gossip and illustrates that he values moral principles over personal curiosity
40
throughout the course of the novel, utterson is presented...(ch.6)
through the symbol of the locked safe
41
finish the quote: 'the packet lay..
...in the inmost corner of his private safe'
42
'the packet lay in the inmost corner of his private safe'
- symbolic of utterson's unwillingness to confront the mystery - he'd rather lock it away than reveal an unpleasant truth
43
throughout the course of the novel, utterson is presented...(ch.7)
through his rationality
44
'frightened'
'irritated'
- Poole's fear makes utterson feel 'frightened' which 'irritated' him - a rational person who feels more comfortable dealing with facts than emotions
45
finally, utterson is presented...(ch.8)
- through his disapproval of jekyll's servants' behaviour
46
finish the quote: 'very irregular...
...very unseemly'
47
'peevishly'
'very irregular, very unseemly'
- utterson is OUTRAGED and is used as a vehicle to portray a Victorian's perspective - he wants to mantain respectability, order and propriety
48
finally, utterson is presented...(ch.8)
as investigative, rational and brave
49
finish the quote: 'i shall consider it...
...my duty to break in that door'
50
finally, utterson is presented...(ch.8)
as unwilling to consider any explanation which threatens to upset his rational way of thinking - refuses to believe Poole's murder theory, he thinks that Jekyll locking himself up in a cabinet due to a disease is a 'plain and natural' explanation
51
finish the quote: 'plain...
...and natural'
52
'plain and natural'
- for Victorians, contagion was a real fear
- before penicillin, widespread vaccination and the NHS, diseases such as scarlet fever, cholera and diphtheria were rife
- the growth of hospitals for fever patients towards the end of the nineteenth century was a response to this
