Jekyll and hyde - quotes analysed

• "There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. – Enfield about hyde chapter 1

  Within this open ended ambiguous description of Hyde, Stevenson employs the anaphoric repetition of “something”  asserting that the physical abnormality of hyde is immediately evident to all who lay eyes on him, yet perhaps the source of that incongruity is out of reach to humanity, crafting an air of unceasing intangibility.
• "There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. – Enfield about hyde chapter 1 (2)

  Consequently this may allow Stevenson to play on his Victorian audiences natural human fear of the unknown; allowing them to conjure up a mental image of this “creature” far worse then words could encompass, supplementing the gothic genre. Skillfully Stevenson also intertwines this with the Victorian belief of Physiognomy thus his audience would simultaneously characterise Hyde as innately and outwardly amoral.
• "There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. – Enfield about hyde chapter 1 (3)

  Finally the alliterative “d” reinforces a sense of explicit repulsion possibly implicating that stevensons posing of these mechanisms are purposeful to evoke a visceral fear about the incomprehensibility of Hyde’s enigmatic character into his audience"
• “Trampled calmly over the childs body”

  In employing a chilling Oxymoron Stevenson Juxtaposes the violent “verb” trampled with the adverb “calmly” painting hyde as a sadistic character who, implied by the state of peacefulness, relishes and finds peace within heinous deeds. Moreover this could also reflect how Hyde both lacks the consideration when he carries out this deed and the remorse for it further elucidating him as a savage man devoid wholly of morality.
• "Trampled calmly over the childs body"(2)

  The use of "trampled" singularly indicates unrestrained malevolence, where Hyde allows his evil desires to dictate actions, indifferent even to the "screaming" of an innocent girl.This emotive verb reinforces the notion that Hyde embodies Sigmund Freud's concept of the id, operating on primal instincts without inhibition. Stevensons choice of a child is purely intentional; Hydes actions are made to be significantly more detestable standing in stark contrast to the innocence and fragility of a child.
• “It wasn’t like a man, it was Like some Damned Juggeranut”

  The simile, likening Hyde to a brute and unstoppable force, highlights his lack of remorse and cowardly victimisation of the vulnerable. Whereas The adjective "damned" introduces from the exposition a continuous motif, linking Hyde to hell and Satan, portraying him as inherently evil and almost perhaps cursed.
• “It wasn’t like a man, it was Like some Damned Juggeranut”

  (2)

  Enfield’s hyperbolic comparison, Considering the contextual reference to the Hindu concept of a juggernaut as an overpowering force seemingly intensifies Hyde's immense power and reflects the relentlessness of his action, suggesting Jekyll has here succumbed to releasing his most innately evil desires, foreboding these vindictive acts of “ape-like fury-“ to spiral even further out of Jekylls control .Furthermore The word "damned" implies condemnation, implicating the negative societal impact of Hyde's actions.
•  

  “The street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest;”


  Stevenson skilfully abstracts the setting to establish a physical manifestation of duality. From a first glance London is presented as a city ravaged by crime through the use of vivid language ‘dingy neighbourhood’, The adjective ‘dingy’ has connotations of crime and criminality. This could also be reinforced by a contextual perspective where London was transmogrified by a growing population during the Victorian era becoming inextricably riddled with theft robberies and forgeries.
• “The street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest;” (2)

  . Conversley the similie “like a fire in a forest” likens “fire”  to a destructive force amongst a forest, mirroring and symbolising the emotinal volatility of Hydes destructive nature among the well mannered Victorian society- he is a driving force of chaos and destruction in the novella. Perhaps this links to the interpretation of this novella being an allegory for the underlying threats duality poses in a society that rejects its existence entirely.
• “Like satan”

  Stevenson, through enfield, implements a religious analogy in the form of a similie to liken Hydes behaviour to the pinnacle of all evil; satan himself, something that serves as a potent symbol of dualism, Hyde therefore becomes a manifestation of the inherent evil that coexists within humanity emphasising the struggle between good and evil.
• "Like satan" (2)

  It is certainly evident through Hyde’s sub-human appearance Stevenson intends to imbue a petrifying fear, playing into the pious nature of his Victorian audience- who would be deeply rooted in moral and religous views- to establish the character himself as from the exposition profoundly depraved and consequently despised in the eyes of Stevenson’s intended audience
• “Utterson was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone to mortify a taste for vintages”

  Steven employs seemingly idealistic decorum to support Utterson being superficially perceived as a gentleman who dictates jurisdiction over his inner desires. While this may be true the transitive verb “mortify” exhibits connotations of murder, crafting an aura of equivocation. One interpretation may be that this graphically depicts his –almost violent urge to suppress his inner desires possibly suggesting they are of such a potent strength they must be quelled by alcohol
• “Utterson was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone to mortify a taste for vintages”

  he is repressing the urge to commit heinous deeds through an act of amorality evoking the sense that to be wholly integral is unattainable thus imbuing an aspect of hypocrisy into uttersons character,this interestingly is further elucidated by Utterson who consumes “gin” containing a higher alcohol ratio then wine implicating his suppressed desires is at the suffice of rational judgement perhaps Stevenson is painting the excessive austerity of a Victorian society as absurd
• “Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong, wrong in mind”

  Stevenson depicts how Lanyon voices his disagreement with jekylls endeavours into transcendental medicine, by use of the adjective “fanciful”, suggesting he believes Jekyll had ideas that surpassed beyond the acceptable scope of science and by doing this Stevenson Juxtaposes Lanyon who represents a traditional rational and logical approach to science with jekylls willingness to go beyond established boundaries – scientific and moral- to delve into the dark side insinuating evil can not co-exist with religion.
• “Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong, wrong in mind” (2)

  lastly The adjective ‘wrong’, and its repetition, emphasises how robustly Lanyon – a symbol of Christian morality - rejects the emerging field of supernatural science. However, the phrase ‘wrong in mind’ seems to go further by implying Jekyll’s beliefs are an indication of mental instability – an insinuation that would be extremely damaging to a man’s respectability and reputation within the Victorian era.
•  “Satan’s signature upon a face”

  In this expression, Stevenson skilfully incorporates sibilance, crafting a hissing sound that, once more, possibly evokes the sinister and serpentine characteristics often associated with Hyde's character further elucidating his equation to the devil and to sin itself, This concept is further insinuated by the use of the noun "signature," which could imply something that is repeated akin to Hyde's malevolent actions.
•  “Satan’s signature upon a face” (2)

  Another interpretation might suggest his identification and branding as Satan's property, a consequence of numerous past malicious deeds – hence the term "signature." Lastly, from a 19th century perspective – stevensons intended audience-  this could intrestingly tie into the pseudo-science of physiognomy, a Victorian concept dependent on interpreting facial expressions to reveal ones character, particularly it was expected evil people or criminals would warrant repulsing appearances, thus Hyde is regarded as inherently and wholly evil,
• “If he had be Mr Hyde, he had thought, I shall be Mr seek”

  Stevenson conveniently decides to introduce the characters play on names at this moment in the book, Firstly he suggests Utterson is embodying his innate curiosity in the persona of “Mr seek”- it is Utterson's inquisitiveness which propels the novella as he silently endeavours to unveil the enigmatic behaviours of Jekyll and Hyde.
• “If he had be Mr Hyde, he had thought, I shall be Mr seek” (2)

  Secondly Hyde is a dichotomous name, it is a homophone for “hide” which perhaps imbues a sense of frustration into Stevenson’s audience with utterson coming very close to the truth picking up on the dual meaning of “Hyde”. Alternatively building on this it is Possible Utterson may be referencing to a game of hide and seek- so long as the hider stays hidden, the game will never end conveniently setting the foundations for “the hunt for hyde”.
• “murderous mixture of timidity and boldness”

  Stevenson employs the hyperbolic alliteration to stress the blurring of boundaries and the duality of Mr Hyde. There is a stark contrast between Hydes portrayal in this chapter, notably hydes physically “little” stature yet he is characteristically big and unstoppable.This profound juxtaposition between Hydes appearance and demeanouralludes to a recurring motif in the play of “appearance versus reality.” Secondly the adjective “murderous” to describe hydes intrinsic nature is Stevenson potentially foreboding the sudden murder of Sir danvers Carew
• “murderous mixture of timidity and boldness” (2)

  Moreover it could be interpreted as Hyde is a “mixture” of two opposing characteristics he cant embody them at the same time thus he must achieve this through different personas. Lastly this could also be concluded as the adjective ‘boldness’ seems to be an allusion to the confident and respectable character of Jekyll, whereas ‘timidity’ correlates to the often squirrely Hyde
• “Through wider labyrinths of a lamp lighted city”


  Stevenson, by describing the city as a “labyrinth” crafts a rather more sinister impression of the urban landscape. “labryrinths” could be an allusion to the Greek legend of the minotaur insinuating the inhabitation of a beast living within the city- however the ambiguity in this quote highlights though Hyde is a plausible contender, Stevenson may also wish for it to direct towards the more broad suppressed darkness of man that lies within us all something he desires us to recognise
• “Through wider labyrinths of a lamp lighted city”

  Conversely, taking into consideration the Minotaur was half brute, half human, the implication likens this to Hyde, hinting he too is half brute and half human constituted by his separate components such as the id, alter ego and ego reflected through his various personas. Moreover labyrinths -a key component of gothic literature- metaphorically connotes to the state of being lost foreshadowing how Hyde will also be lost to Jekyll.
• “A man who was without bowels of mercy”

  Stevenson skilfully depicts through this personification of mercy how Hyde is profoundly lacking in empathy kindness and human decency, acting as an emblem for the id component of the Freudian theory.
• “A man who was without bowels of mercy”

  The id which constitutes an individuals overall persona encompasses a persons most impulsive deep thoughts and feelings, the id is the unconscious part of the mind that only desires- it neither considers consequences nor morality effectively contributing to the overall primitive descriptions of Hydes behaviour; he only acts of instinct, akin to animals in the wild.
• “A man who was without bowels of mercy” (3)

  Additionally this enables Stevenson to convey Hyde as both lesser than and more than a mere man which effectively becomes a compelling thread, inviting contemplation on the boundaries of humanity and the consequences of unchecked desires.
• “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh”

  Stevenson’s instillation of the verb “snarled” portrays Hyde to be animalistic and once again subhuman as “snarled” connotes images of a violent animal. Stevenson could’ve done this to present Hyde as volatile, hostile and unrestrained, thus an embodying figure of the primitive id based on Freud’s theory. Yet animals also snarl when they are frightened and this could potentially exhibit Hyde to be frightened as Utterson is likely  a threat to him and his real identity, the latter interpretation signifying it is only Hyde’s natural reaction.
• “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh” (2)

  . Furthermore the adjective “savage” demonstrates how Hyde is both reckless and cruel, laughing when he senses Utterson is upset for agitating him. This abrupt shift in demeanour, transitioning from a polite manner to a disconsolate conduct mirrors the unpredictability that being evil has brought upon Hyde (Jekyll).
• “Unscientific balderdash...would have estranged Damon and Pythias”

  Stevenson masterfully paints the relationship of Lanyon and Jekyll as a complex portrait of friendship- a bond that ultimately ends in animosity symbolising the growing conflict between religion and science; something that was swiftly emerging at the time in the Victorian era.
• “Unscientific balderdash...would have estranged Damon and Pythias” (2)

  Lanyons allusion to  “Damon and pythias” within greek mythology in the 18th and 19th century, suggests potentially that this contradictment between Jekylls transcendental science is so opposed to Lanyons innate views about religion that it supersedes kin relations; taking primacy over the personal lives of individuals, perhaps Stevenson intends to ridicule the futility of this raging conflict in the real world.
• “Unscientific balderdash...would have estranged Damon and Pythias”

  Alternatively this is reiterated as it can be argued that Lanyons allusion to mythology seemingly ridicules himself as a respectable man of science, his beliefs are not exclusively scientific, enabling Stevenson –an atheist- to highlight the limitations of a purely religious worldview
• “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation,” 

  In this description of Hyde, Stevenson uses the adjectives "pale" and "dwarfish" to paint a destructive picture of hydes physical appearance. The term "pale" suggests a lack of color or liveliness, perhaps indicating an unhealthy demeanour onset by The potion's adverse effects on Jekyll, manifesting illness which , can be likened to Hyde acting as a parasite within Jekyll, diminishing and ultimately harming him.
• “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation,” (2)

  Furthermore the adjective “dwarfish” implies a small and stunted stature suggesting he is the antithesis to, and figuratively lower then the conventional Victorian gentlemen of the 19th century. . 
• “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation,” 

  Stevenson could have intentionally used these specific adjectives acknowledging his readers would be familiarised with Lomboro’s theory of physiognomy – the idea that physical deformity or disfiguration was inextricably intertwined with innate evil, contributing to the overall impression of Hyde as a born criminal
• “God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic,shall we say?” 

  The perplexing and enigmatic nature of Hyde is exemplified through uttersons appeals to god to help him understand Hyde’s anthropomorphic qualities. The alliteration within “hardly human” seemingly excoriates Hyde as a monster among men- despicable and without empathy. Secondly  To label Hyde with the noun “troglodyte” implies Hyde represents a regressive element within contemporary society; perhaps he has gone against the Darwinism theory of evolution.
• “God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic,shall we say?” (2)

  Consequently uttersons repulse and dismay could be regarded as microcosmic for the disgust and contempt Victorians had towards anything that challenged their rigid societal norms, arguably Stevenson uses Hyde as a construct to indirectly challenge these views and the idea of adhering to a regimented lifestyle 
• “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps.” - Chap 3 lanyon

  Henry Jekyll from his expositional appearance in the novella is associated with heavy professionalism and success, as implied by the adjectives “large” and “well-made”. However perhaps there is a dichotomy in interpretations as the term “well made” could also symbolise how Jekyll has had to construct a pristine facade to exhibit to society, in order to conceal his truthful and deeply repressive desires;
• “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps.” (2)

  which is further elucidated through the “smooth faced” description of Jekyll demonstrating how his face is unmarked akin to his unblemished reputation at this stage appearing the quintessential Victorian gentlemen, interestingly linking to the highly reflective interplay between reputational and personal desires in the context of Victorian societal norms.
• “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps.” (3)

  Lastly Jekyll who bears a “slyish cast”, where the adjective-noun combination could be suggestive of a cunning expression perhaps implicating our first hint that Jekyll is a composite of both good and evil. 
•  “scientific heresies...but a hide-bound pedant for all that; an ignorant, blatant pedant.”

  The use of the noun “heresies” show that Lanyon’s objections are Christian- serving a dual purpose, with one suggesting the professional disagreements between Lanyon and Jekyll have had a detrimental impact on their personal relationship; the other being to perhaps appeal to and confirm Stevenson’s Christian readers in their belief that Jekyll’s discoveries will be unchristian- likely instilling a chilling element of fear into an intended highly orthodox Victorian readership.