Jekyll and Hyde Flashcards
(11 cards)
“you start a question, and it’s like starting a stone”
Simile: suggests that questions may lead to unexpected results, can’t control what will be uncovered, dangerous. Enfield = cautious and doesn’t wish to pry. Keen to uphold ideals of privacy and respectability.
Enfield is a typical Victorian gentleman. Keen to adhere to social respectability and decorum but displays a common duality in the Victorian mindset – ashamed to gossip and pry into others’ business – but also fascinated by the sensational.
“shrank back with a hissing intake of the breath…snarled aloud”
Zoomorphism – Hyde seems like a threatened animal, ready to attack, primitive, aggressive, volatile - juxtaposes Utterson’s refined gentlemanly manner.
Biblical allusion ‘hissing’ = imagery of serpent – suggests malevolence and immorality of his character (also later compared to Satan!)
Stevenson draws upon Victorian anxieties about Darwin’s theory of evolution & the horror many felt at the idea that humans were not products of God, but of the evolution of apes!
Hyde seems like a figure of degeneration or devolution - animalistic and primitive – far removed from the pious, moral, refined Victorian ideal.
Stevenson is also drawing on the common belief in Victorian society that physicality could be linked to criminality - Lombroso’s theory of atavism presents the idea that some people are ‘born criminal’ & that they were more primitive in an evolutionary sense than other people.
“The ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace…”
Metaphor – ‘ghost’ - indicates that Utterson believes the past is haunting Jekyll and some previous indiscretion is being kept hidden and suppressed.
Foreshadowing: we see that later Hyde is a ‘cancer’ as he lives within Jekyll and grows in strength/destroys him.
Due to the highly restrictive code of conduct expected of a Victorian gentlemen, it was not uncommon for them to lead double lives or hide indiscretions for fear of their reputation. Utterson quickly believes this may be the case for his friend – highlighting the large scale duality and repression at the heart of Victorian society.
“the moment I choose I can be rid of Hyde”
Modal verb ‘can’ – indicates Jekyll’s confidence in his ability to control his alter ego and his power as the scientific creator of him. Believes he has god-like dominion.
Jekyll can be compared to Frankenstein – another Gothic fiction protagonist whose hubris and scientific experimentation leads to his own demise.
“full moon”
Pathetic fallacy – Stevenson uses the image of the full moon to signal Hyde’s transformation into a violent killer.
It also creates an eerie, supernatural and Gothic atmosphere foreshadowing the evil to come.
The text does echo the myths surrounding werewolves and lycanthropic behaviour. The duality of a werewolf (metamorphosis into a uncontrollable, wild animal) clearly connects with Jekyll and Hyde.
“three dusty windows barred with iron…even in the houses fog began to lie thickly”
Symbolism: imagery of imprisonment suggests Jekyll feels trapped – either by Hyde’s influence/power over him or by Victorian society’s restrictive morals & expectations of men like him. Also suggests his hidden immorality/criminality.
Fog = more symbolism! Suggests Jekyll’s lack of clarity, his disordered mind and the mystery that surrounds him.
Due to the highly restrictive code of conduct expected of a Victorian gentlemen, it was not uncommon for them to lead double lives or hide indiscretions for fear of their reputation. Jekyll clearly feels restricted by the societal expectations .
Freudian Theory: Hyde (Id) allows Jekyll freedom from these restrictions – but this freedom comes with a cost – being an outcast.
In the context of the Industrial Revolution and beyond, iron and steel have been linked to progress, technological advancement, and the creation of new technologies. This can symbolize the potential for both positive change and the destructive power of such advancements.
Christianity:
The Holy Trinity is a central concept - Stevenson critiques religion and believes that Jekyll will receive no divine retribution for his actions
“It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her”
Adjectives “wild” and “cold” suggest a harsh, uncomfortable environment.
The moon is personified as “lying on her back,” and “tilted” which evokes a sense of vulnerability and helplessness, giving a sense that the natural world is out of order.
Gothic conventions - element of the unnatural breaking into the natural world is a hallmark of Gothic fiction. Also, settings in Jekyll and Hyde constantly build suspense, as the characters move through shadowy/isolated environments.
This month is all about transitions and rebirth.
“Up went the axe again, and again the panels crashed…four times the blow fell…it was not until the fifth, that the lock burst and the wreck of the door fell inwards.”
The door acts as a Gothic motif, symbolising the boundary between the public and private self.
In Victorian England, maintaining appearances and preserving one’s reputation were paramount. Jekyll’s locked door represents the lengths to which people would go to protect their public image while hiding their darker impulses.
Violent verbs: all contribute to a sense of physical violence and destruction.
Door being smashed open = symbolic - breaking through the layers of mystery and repression surrounding Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Repetition: of the verb “fell” - suggests the ongoing, relentless nature of the action & the persistence of the characters’ pursuit of the truth, plus the increasing sense of desperation.
The number five is often associated with human form, as a person with outstretched arms and legs can form a pentagon.
Numerologically, 5 represents change, movement, and transformation - transformation physically of Jekyll into Hyde but also of propriety
“a man sorely contorted and still twitching”
Unnatural imagery: evokes a sense of horror and revulsion, suggesting that the body has undergone violent, abnormal changes, consistent with the Gothic tone of the novella.
‘Twitching’ - implies that life is leaving the body in an unsettling, agonising way
Contorted body symbolises the struggle between Jekyll’s dual identities.
Dangers of scientific experimentation: the destructive consequences of Jekyll’s hubris in tampering with the boundaries of human nature are hinted at in the grotesque condition of Hyde’s body as it serves as a physical manifestation of the psychological and moral torment Jekyll has experienced.
“you who have so long been bound to the most narrow and material views, you who have denied the virtue of transcendental medicine…behold!”
Jekyll directly confronts and insults Lanyon’s materialistic views - the anaphoric repetition of “you who” - creates an accusatory tone, reinforcing Jekyll’s disdain for conventional science and his arrogance in his own intellectual superiority.
The theatricality of Jekyll’s actions underscores his belief in the revolutionary nature of his science, even as it descends into horror.
Jekyll’s dramatic transformation destroys Lanyon’s worldview. The horror and supernatural nature of his metamorphosis is a convention of Gothic fiction and also the antithesis of the rational and material. Stevenson is playing into his era’s fears about the progression of science and the dangers of unchecked experimentation.
The contrast of the novella’s scientific elements with its supernatural ones creates a kind of literary duality.
“trampled calmly over the child’s body.”
Juxtaposition: mindless brutality, remorseless disregard for normal societal rules, immoral behaviour, cold and callous.
Clear villain vs innocent victim – makes the act seem even more barbaric.
Stevenson immediately establishes some of the conventions of the detective genre by beginning the novel with a villain, crime and mystery.
