Points to make - with links to CONTEXT

Question 1

What does the fog symbolise?

Answer 1

• CONCEALMENT, unclarity, hidden
• metaphor for Jekyll’s repression and/or Utterson’s mind
• Industrial Revolution and London’s factories - toxic, pollutes, poisonous?
• GOTHIC atmosphere
• Furthermore, the poisonous, black fog also serves as a metaphor for the black pleasures that Stevenson thinks lurks in the heart of all human beings.

Question 2

What is the Faustian Bargain?

Answer 2

• deal with the devil/ sacrifice for knowledge or power
• Jekyll sacrifices his life for supposed scientific progress

Question 3

How did scientific progress challenge religion?

Answer 3

• In the Victorian era, there was a significant advancement in science and technology e.g. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
• Jekyll is a ‘mad’ scientist attempting to play God through scientific exploration

Question 4

What does Hyde’s side of the duality of human nature represent?

Answer 4

• Animalistic side
• Lombroso’s ‘The Criminal Man’ (atavism) - Hyde’s features link to it - he is small
• Every human being has a Hyde inside them, Jekyll just couldn’t control his - we are all capable of something wicked

Question 5

What does Jekyll’s side of the duality of human nature represent?

Answer 5

• Gentleman on the outside - he is a well-renowned, respected doctor - status in society
• SYMBOL OF REPRESSION - swallow and hide your desires

Question 6

How does the geography of Victorian London have significance?

Answer 6

• Victorian London has its own geographical Jekyll and Hyde division
• Hyde lives in Soho - lots of crime, many brothels and dark alleyways, an area of migration
• Jekyll’s house represents this beautiful, grand front exterior but has a secret backside- his laboratory where he performs his curious experiments

Question 7

Why did Stevenson choose to tell his story in EPISTOLARY FORM (use of many documents rather than a straightforward narrative perspective)?

Answer 7

• Creates a fragmented, disjoined mystery - adds to the theme of secrecy
• Perhaps this structure represents the fragmented nature of identity as Stevenson believes human beings are not “truly on, but truly two”

Question 8

Utterson - as a narrator

Answer 8

• He chooses silence over potentially damaging Jekyll’s reputation
• In this way, he becomes an unreliable narrator because he withholds information about Jekyll’s criminal behaviour
• He is concerned about reputation
• However, Stevenson does introduce us to the story through Utterson’s perspective to establish him as the voice of reason and a man whose view we can trust, as he is also a lawyer