Dr Jekyll Quotes Analysis

• "I am the chief of sinners. I am the chief of sufferers"

  Jekyll in his letter to Utterson; he is troubled and tortured. The repetition of 'I am' highlights his guilt. He refers to himself 2 people this could perhaps be in relation to the fact that he has dual nature. He calls himself a 'sinner' and a 'sufferer' portraying Hyde as a parasitic character
• "like some disconsolate prisoner"

  The doctor speaks 'drearily',

  the adverb emphasizes his tone and state of mind. He says' I am very low' signifying again his poor mental health. 'Very low' is then repeated again, the intensifier exaggerating the trauma Jekyll feels. This link between mentality and seclusion is clear by the use of

  the simile in this extract to describe Jekyll as 'some disconsolate prisoner
• "I concealed my pleasures"

  Dr. Jekyll's beginnings of his duality. He hid his true self because strict Victorian social codes meant that the indulgence of "pleasures" was forbidden. This is linked to the theme of secrecy shown by Jekyll throughout the novella
• "Dr. Jekyll grew pale to the very lips and there came a blackness about his eyes"

  His face becomes more evil and less kind when Hyde is mentioned. Just the mention of Hyde can change the physicality of Jekyll
• "Now that the evil influence had been withdrawn, a new life began for Dr. Jekyll"

  The 'evil influence' is a symbol for the dual nature that Jekyll and Hyde have
• "And from these agonies of death and birth I had come forth an angel instead of a fiend"

  This was Jekyll's initial thought when he became Hyde, he thought it was a good thing and that he can now indulge in his pleasures but the juxtaposition of 'angel' and 'fiend' and 'death and birth' emphasizes the idea of good vs evil in this gothic novella. We as readers know being Hyde is not a good thing but Jekyll isn't aware of that yet and this creates suspense.
• "man is not truly one, but truly two"

  He is referring to the good and the evil that resides inside him. He struggled with the ability to hold back his instinctive pleasures, so he dreamt of separating his good, moral self from his evil self. The struggle going on inside him could be linked to the extremities of the id and the super ego clashing without the ego there to balance the two- the idea of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud
• "sent forth alone to do his good pleasure"

  Jekyll talking about Hyde

  
  

  The use of the third person pronoun "his" in "his good pleasure" creates a separation between Jekyll and Hyde
• "Every mark of capacity and kindness"

  'mark' gives connotations of longevity and this was ironic as Jekyll's capacity and kindness did not last for very long when he transformed into Hyde.

  Shows a true juxtaposition with Hyde. Links to repressed Victorian London
• Jekyll is presented as troubled because he chooses science and even more troubled when he turns to religion in times of psychological

  distress. This is evidenced several times in the text for instance Lanyon describes Jekyll's work as far 'too fanciful' for him and states that he was 'wrong. Wrong in the mind' the repetition of

  the word 'wrong' in relation to the mind gives as much clearer definition of how Lanyon believed Jekyll was troubled, not just incorrect but actually mentally

  unstable. Jekyll also says that Lanyon described his experiments as 'scientific heresies' the use

  of the word heresies is literally defined as being contrary to orthodox religious practices
• "I beg of you let it sleep"

  He is presented as secretive and mysterious- also typical of a Victorian gentleman