Jekyll and Hyde - Theme of Reputation Flashcards
(10 cards)
“make his name stink from one end of London to the other”
Theme of reputation - Balanced sentence/phrase (?) Enfield’s desire to destroy Hyde’s reputation as justice emphasises how important reputation was to the victorian gentleman.
“A fog rolled over the city”
Theme of Secrecy - The symbolism of the fog conveys actions being hidden, in this case the fog lifted as the maid saw the murder, further connecting fog to secrecy or hidden actions. The symbol of fog is repeated throughout the story creating and representing secrecy.
“a great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven”
Theme of Secrecy - The metaphor emphasises the thickness of the fog over london. The fog once again symbolises the theme of secrecy and how the case is shrouded in mystery.
“I have grounds of certainty that I cannot share with any one”
Theme of Secrecy - The hyperbolic statement of Jekyll being “unable to share” shows his reluctance of telling anyone. He is not physically unable to share, however the hyperbole emphasises his extreme aversion, showing that Jekyll still hides many things.
“I was thinking of my own character, which this hateful business has rather exposed”
Theme of Reputation - word choice “exposed” has connotations of being vulnerable and prone to attack, which suggests that Jekyll’s reputation would suffer due to this drama. The fact that Jekyll is so concerned about this shows the importance of reputation in victorian society.
“lest the good name of another should be sucked down the eddy (whirlpool) of the scandal”
Theme of Reputation - the metaphor of Jekyll’s name being “sucked down the eddy” shows how his reputation will suffer due to this scandal. Utterson’s concern over this scenario further emphasises the importance of reputation in victorian society.
“The fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city”
Theme of Secrecy - The symbolism of fog once again conveys the secrets and mystery of the case - it appears every time there is a significant unknown - in this case, the letter.
“he locked the note into his safe”
Theme of Secrecy - The symbolism of the safe throughout the novella reinforces the theme of secrecy, as Utterson often puts documents that contain key information in the safe, such as the letters with similar handwriting. The fact that these documents are locked away reinforces the theme of secrecy.
“nothing but papers and a closed door”
Theme of Secrecy - The symbolism of a closed door as hidden secrets further develops the mystery and theme of secrecy in the novella.
“we may at least save his credit”
Theme of Reputation - The fact that Utterson is so concerned with protecting Jekyll’s credit, even after thinking he may be a murderer, shows Utterson’s devotion to Jekyll and the importance of reputation in victorian society.
