Jekyll and Hyde quote analysis Flashcards
(25 cards)
I concealed my pleasures - C10
jekyll is concealing his bad deeds, which is typical of victorian gentlemen. He is favouring his social respect while supressing his sinful side
Vague language - still does not reveal full extent of his hidden desires. This means it is not his ‘full statement’ - unreliable
My devil had long been caged, he came out roaring
furious propensity to ill
References inner ‘devil’ which is manifestation of Jekyll’s deepest desires
Devil is religious allusion denotes stark contrast which christian ideas of morality
‘roaring’ is annimalistic & uncontrolled expression of his repressed elements in Hyde
‘propensity to ill’ - deeper, now natural tendency & inclination to immorality
the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy
The hand, a symbol of respectability and honour, is invaded by free-flowing hair, insinuating the idea of uncontrolled freedom
I felt younger, lighter, happier in body
restraints of society are burdensome - without them he (as Hyde) can indulge freely
asyndetic tricolon: jekyll’s delight + emphasis. He is no longer constrained by the maintenance of reputation when in a different body
The murder of Carew was a ‘tragic folly’
Jekyll meaning I kill- Stevenson actually meant for the je to be pronounced like the french
‘Folly’ here shows that it was the lack of good planning for the murder which was the mistake, not the actual sin‘Folly’ here shows that it was the lack of good planning for the murder which was the mistake, not the actual sin
I kill shows that maybe it was Jekyll who was killing rather than Hyde
Man is not truly one but truly two
I was radically both
C10
Syntactic parallelism - emphasises that man cannot be pure as he is constantly between good and evil
Stevenson captures Victorian views at the time that everyone has inherent evil in them - original sin from fall of adam and eve
Radically - idea that duality of man/soul is a fundamental part of human nature. Shows that Jekyll is not a victim, he embraces the change, and it makes his tragic downfall more poignant
Late one accursed night, I compounded the elements
Motif of darkness
Lexis from semantic field of chemistry
and from these agonies of death and birth, I had come forth an angel instead of a fiend (theoretical opposite scenario)
Inverse iconic word order - death and birth. Jekyll’s desire beyond restrictions of natural order
a man who was without bowels of mercy
Alliterative ‘w’ gives a sense of difficulty in articulating Hyde as a character, and as a being who lacks all morals
strong feeling of deformity
he is not easy to describe…something displeasing, something downright detestable
physiognomy - his appearance would convict him as a criminal
Hyde is vague in nature and is hard to be described in words - evokes fear in characters and readers alike. It also makes the reader imagine their worst fears in Hyde
Alliterative ‘d’ reinforces a sense of repulsion
Anaphoric repetition of ‘something’ creates an air of intangibility
snarled aloud into a savage laugh
‘savage’ and ‘snarled’ gives sense of unrestrained and uncontrollable destruction + freedom
Hyde is degenerative - highlights common views at the time of ‘fin de siècle’ , and how Victorian social respectability is degenerating.
AO3 - people are worried about advancements in science and medicine - Stevenson warning readers about such fast developments?
Sibilance reinforces his underlying sinisterness
damned juggernaut
Juggernaut - hugely overwhelming destructive force. Lack of mercy or thought.
Hyde’s two victims are young girl and elderly man - weak. This shows Hyde to be bullying and cowardly
damned - repeating motif of devil and hell. Hyde is the manifestation/embodiment of the devil - spiritual corruption
he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness
Antithesis and conflict between ‘timidity’ and ‘boldness’ which mirrors internal conflict.
Alliteration of ‘m’ could imply this behaviour is intrinsic and automatic to his character
a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile
Utterson is reserved and is seemingly not affected by emotion - this gives his voice authority and tells the reader he is a reliable narrator
U is aware of the divide between public and private persona in victorian times
If he be Mr Hyde… I shall be Mr Seek
Shows Utterson’s innate curiosity, which also propels the plot forwards
Emphasises theme of duality
Shows U is the investigator in this novel
I shall consider it my duty to break in that door
He is investigative but rational
He always wishes to protect the integrity and safety of his clients
He feels bound to protect his friend. This juxtaposes with Enfield, who would have shied away immediately
i was coming home from some place…about three o’clock of a black winter morning
Ideas of respectability in Victorian gentlemen - Enfield does not describe why he was out at such a late hour
Enfield may not be as morally strict as he presents - duality also within highly respected men
Jekyll became too fanciful for me
Lanyon is traditional in his scientific beliefs, highlighting the absurdities in J’s experiments
Fricatives creates a harsh tone of rejection
he spoke ‘with a ferocity of accent which testified to his own jangled nerves’
Poole shows a rare expression of emotion in the novella. This shows that poole is less restricted due to his lower class
doggedly disregarding the question
Poole is loyal and concerned for Jekyll’s safety. He is respectful (‘sir’) and doesn’t want to see J harmed
an aged and beautiful gentleman with white hair
Sir Carew is a symbol of age, distinguishment and purity-ish
This perpetuates carew’s presentation as a victim in the novel.
He is also described with feministic words - females are helpless in the novel? or that females are dominated my men in this era?
Carew is vulnerable, which heightens the violence of his murder
an air of invitation
sinister block of building
Duality of Jekyll’s home - duality of the city too
AO3 - John Hunter was a famous surgeon in London in the 18th century. He had a pretty house on Leicester square, but also had a secret entrance onto a dingy side alley, where he would receive corpses from grave-robbers
Ideas that without this illegal business, humanity would not have benefitted from more knowledge on the human body - idea of doing evil for a greater good
The fog rolled over the city in the small hours - C4
Pathetic fallacy
The fog is a recurring motif - confusion, secrecy, and moral ambiguity
It literally and metaphorically blinds the characters and the reader — we’re kept in the dark about Hyde’s identity.
The fog also reflects the murky boundary between good and evil — just as the fog blurs the city, the line between Jekyll and Hyde is blurred.
A great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven - C4
Chocolate-coloured pall (a “pall” is a funeral cloth) implies death, decay, and heaviness
The phrase “lowered over heaven” shows how even divine light is being blocked, reflecting a world losing its moral compass
Stevenson uses the polluted, gloomy atmosphere of London to reflect how the city — and its people — are suffocating under sin and secrecy
Precedes the murder of Carew - evil is blinding the city to the impending horror
