Chapter 2 - Search for Mr Hyde

• Cavendish Square – "That citadel of medicine"

  • Symbol of: Prestige, order, rationality, conventional science.
  • Technique: Metaphor – suggests a fortress of knowledge, safety, and professional honour.
  • Represents: The respected world of medicine and characters like Dr. Lanyon.

  🏚️ Jekyll’s Lab – "Blistered and distained" door

  • Symbol of: Mystery, secrecy, moral decay, and scientific corruption.
  • Technique: Imagery & symbolism – the door is “blistered and distained”, suggesting moral rot and a place that hides dangerous experiments.
  • Represents: The dark underbelly of science, and Jekyll’s hidden immoral pursuits as Hyde.
  • Duality of Science: Cavendish Square shows the public, respectable side of science. Jekyll’s lab shows its private, transgressive side. Stevenson uses setting to mirror Jekyll’s duality.
• "the great field lamps of a nocturnal city

  • Imagery and Metaphor: The phrase “great field lamps” creates a vivid, almost dreamlike image. The lamps are compared to floodlights, illuminating the darkness of the city like a battlefield or a stage.
  • Metaphor: “nocturnal”implies danger active during the night, a space where darkness and evil can unfold.
  • Reinforces the Gothic atmosphere of secrecy, duality, and hidden evil that pervades the novel.
  • Symbolism:The glowing lamps could symbolise attempts to shed light on the dark and hidden truths of Jekyll/Hyde and Victorian society itself.
  • In Victorian London, gas lamps lit the streets—offering a false sense of safety, while crime still thrived in the shadows.
  • Stevenson critiques the illusion of civility and progress, exposing the darkness beneath society’s polished exterior with the contrast between the light of the lamps and the moral darkness of the crimes committed under their watch.
• “great field of lamps of a nocturnal city”

  • Imagery - Symbolism of London at night – it’s vast, impersonal, and conceals dark secrets.
  • The “lamps” seem to offer guidance, but the word “nocturnal” gives the city a shadowy, almost sinister mood.
  • This mirrors how Victorian society presents a civilised surface, but darkness lies beneath.
  • Lighting was London's greatest technological achievements, thus stevenson refer to it to reflect London's status a s a centre of civilisation and progress.
  • The idyllic image of London's peaceful, modern, respectable civilisation is juxtaposed by Jekyll's barbaric violence.
  • Thus Hyde represents a threat a against progress and modernity, a primitive violence that threatens the peace and civilisation of Victorian London.
• “At night under the face of the fogged city moon”

  • Pathetic Fallacy - Reflect the mystery and moral confusion in the novel. Fog is a recurring Gothic symbol in Jekyll and Hyde, often suggesting secrecy, distortion, and concealment — Hyde thrives in the fog, and so do secrets.
  • Personification - Personifies the moon, turning it into a silent witness to the unnatural events occurring in the city. This contributes to the Gothic atmosphere, as if even the sky is watching with unease.
  • Dark vs Light Imagery - The contrast of moonlight (light) with fog (obscurity) reflects the duality at the heart of the novel. The light tries to reveal, but the fog hides — just as Jekyll tries to live a respectable life while hiding his darker side as Hyde.
  • The “fogged” moon suggests how truth and morality are clouded, much like Jekyll’s identity. Stevenson uses this eerie setting to mirror the moral corruption and hidden sins of Victorian society.
• “It was a fine dry night; frost in the air.”

  • Pathetic fallacy: The cold weather mirrors the emotional chill and tension in the narrative.
  • Juxtaposition: “Fine” contrasts with “frost” – just like the contrast between appearances and hidden truths in the novel.
  • Calm exterior of the night hides the lurking danger of Hyde—just like Jekyll hides Hyde within.
  • Symbolism: Frost implies harshness, detachment, and the creeping nature of evil.
• "The streets as clean as a ballroom floor"

  • Simile: This compares the street to an elegant, polished space. It creates a strong image of order, cleanliness, and respectability—perhaps even superficial beauty.
  • Juxtaposition: The calm, clean streets contrast with the sinister presence of Mr Hyde lurking nearby - even the most pristine settings can hide corruption and evil.
  • This highlights duality—the idea that beneath the polished, civilised exterior of Victorian London lies something darker and more dangerous.
  • Irony: While the streets are literally clean, morally they are contaminated by Hyde’s actions. It gives a false sense of security.
  • It lulls the reader into a false sense of calm.
• "The lamps, unshakened by any wind, drawing a regular pattern of light and shadow"

  • Imagery: Vivid sensory imagery of the lamps casting light and shadow paints a still, eerie atmosphere—perfect for building tension.
  • Pathetic fallacy: “Unshakened by any wind” implies an unnatural stillness, which feels ominous. So stillness suggest something repressed or sinister beneath the surface.
  • Symbolism of light and shadow: mirrors ththe duality of human nature. Just as light and shadow intertwine, good and evil are interwoven within characters like Jekyll and Hyde.
• “The by-street was very solitary”

  • Adjective “solitary”: Conveys a strong sense of isolation and loneliness, setting the scene as eerie and unsettling. It suggests that Hyde operates in secret, away from the public eye—perfect for a character who embodies the hidden, darker side of human nature.
  • Stevenson uses setting almost like a character to reflect the mood. The desolate street mirrors Utterson’s anxiety and growing obsession with discovering the truth.
  • Gothic trope: Solitude and urban isolation are key elements in Gothic literature. Empty streets at night heighten suspense and reflect themes of secrecy, darkness, and the unknown.
  • Creates a contrast to the earlier lively, clean street—a reminder of how quickly a respectable place can descend into something sinister.
• “The low growl of London”

  • Personification: London is given animalistic qualities, suggesting it’s alive, threatening, and possibly predatory. The “growl” makes the city feel dangerous, as if it’s capable of aggression—mirroring the threat of Hyde lurking within it.
  • Zoomorphism: Comparing the city to a growling creature aligns with Gothic conventions, where cities become wild, almost beast-like environments. This blurs the line between civilization and savagery—key to Jekyll and Hyde’s theme of repressed human nature.
  • Makes the reader feel that London itself is complicit in Hyde’s secrecy and evil, a reminder that even modern cities have dark, primal undercurrents.