Dr Jekyll and me Hyde quotes

• Act 5 - Duality

  ”there’s a rather singular resemblance ; the two hands are in many points identical, only differently sloped“

  The two “hands” serve as a metaphor for the two aspects of Jekyll‘s nature. The phrase ”differently Sloped” could be a metaphor for their moral inclinations
• Act 6- duality -Jekyll

  “If I am the chief of sinners , I am the chief of sufferers also”

  This advertises the dual nature of man. The act of sinning itself has a dual nature, it is rewarding as it involves indulging in hedonistic desires, but sinning comes with punishment, and thus suffering
• “I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck; that man I’m not truly one but two” Act 10 Duality 


  The verb “doomed” alludes to ecclesiastical judgement- he fears God and how he will be perceived in the eyes of religious expectation. The noun “Shipwreck” is intresting as it presents the danger of the realisation, it hyperbolises the psychological suffering that is endured . The repetition of “truly“ within the statement hints that this is coming from a place of rationality- implies that his discovery is the truth
• “Primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness” Act 10 evolution Jekyll

  The allusion to “primitive” is pertinent as Stevenson was Writing in a time where the discussion of evolution and thus the discussion of “primitive“ begins was pertinent due to Darwinism
• Reputation Jekyll Act 3 “ A large, well made, smooth faced man of fifty…every mark of capacity and kindness“

  Jekyll seems the archetype of a respectable gentleman yet almost to the extent where he seems manufactured.
• Reputation Act 5 Jekyll “I was thinking of my own character , which this hateful business has rather exposed”

  There is an overarching fear of scandal and failure to uphold a respectable reputation ( the reason driving the character of Hyde initially“ Jekyll is overly preoccupied with reputation
• Repression Act 7 Jekyll "taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner. Utterson saw Dr jekyll"

  This is almost pseudo-simile (not a genuine simile, it just seems like one), Stevenson say sJekyll is "Like" a prisoner however he is infact a prisoner within the social realm, his actions and the way he presents himself publicly are so strongly policed that he is ultimately imprisoned
• Repression Act 10 Jekyll "My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring"


  • The metaphorical verb "caged" depicts the repression of Victorian society/religion-throughout the text there is a perpetuated theme of suffering and toxic austerity
  • "Caged" also jas animalistic allusions suggesting this pleasure-seeking hedonism and perhaps later evil, is instinctive
• supernatural/ scienece Act 2 "Unscientififc balderdash"

  Lanyon describes Jekyll's research as nonsensical, they are in disagreement concerning what constitutes science. This disagreement between the two characters is representative of the controversy in Victorian Britain
• Good v Evil/Innocence v Violence Act 5 "Dr. Jekyll, looking deadly sick"


  Jekyll's power in the battle against Hyde is dwindling as he begins to indulge more in the endeavors of Hyde. The adjective "sick" could also be a description of his nature
• Innocence v violence Act 10 Jekyll "The evil side of my nature...was less robust and less developed"

  Initially, in comparison to Jekyll, hyde is weak and lacks power, however, as the novella progresses his evil nature is exercised, and eventually Hyde overpowers Jekyll and he was less able to revert to his respectable self. There is almost an internal "survival of the fittest" within Jekyll
• Religion Act 7 Jekyll "Very low, it will not last long thank God"


  Jekyll seems to engage with religion colloquially "thank God" is almost idiomatic, we know it is not genuine as it will be science that brings about the termination of his current state. Religion is losing significance in the name of science
• Religion Act 8 Jekyll "Copy of pious work, for which Jekyll had several times expressed great esteem.....startling blasphemies"

  Hyde is a distillation of Jekyll's reservations about religion, whilst Jekyll merely embraces science Hyde overly rejects it. Hyde exerts his power over Jekyll by targetting Jekyll's belongings and more specifically belongings that are symbolic of his internal divisions and question morality.
• Duality Act 2 Hyde "He had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness"


  The consonance of the hyperbole "murderous mixture" and oxymoron "timidity and boldness" are used to foreshadow Hyde/Jekyll's duality
• Duality Act 2 Hyde "Punishment coming, pede claudo"


  Here Utterson's reference to the Latin phrase "pede poena claudo" meaning "punishment come limping", adds irony and parallels Hyde's limp and adds to the theme of duality through the dual interpretation of the phrase
• Duality act 4 Hyde "Stature"


  Hyde's statire has a dual meaning; in one interpretation, it can reference his small height, but it can also represent his low stature (class, importance, reputation) in society
• Duality Act 4 Hyde "empty..furnished with luxury and good tastes ...recently and hurriedly ransacked"

  The contrast demonstrated in the furnishings of Hyde's home demonstrates his duality, of being unconcerned with his home and yet clearly having "good tastes", demonstrates his dual nature, half-befitting and half-contrasting the expectations of a Victorian gentleman
• Duality Act 8 Hyde “that thing in the mask”


  The motif of the mask symbolises the dual existence of the inner feelings in contrast with the inner life; Dr Jekyll is hiding behind the mask of Hyde wherein he can express his true immorality which is usually kept hidden
• Duality Act 10 Hyde “Even as good shone upon the countenance of the one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other“


  The anaphora and parallelism within the sentences used here demonstrates that both men are both sides of the same coin, both characters personifying good/evil
• Duality Act 10 Hyde “wonderful selfishness“


  This oxymoron adds to the theme of the duality of man as both words contrast each other and personifies Hyde as the barbaric, innate animalistic idea
• Duality Act 10 Hyde “All human Beings as we meet them are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone was pure evil”


  Stevenson personifies evil in the form of Hyde, thus implying evil is a natura coexistence within man, “pure”is also paradoxical, suggesting purity and innocence. Yet, as this is paired with evil it shows how this dual nature lives side by side
• Duality Act 10 Hyde “though so profound a double dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead Ernest“

  This paradoxical statement is ironic; Jekyll cannot be both a double dealer, yet if we examine the statement we see that this paradox has some truth to it, thus it is truly representative of the duplicitous nature of Jekyll
• Reputation Act 2 Hyde “it was worse when it began to clothed upon with detestable attributes and out of the shifting-definite presentment of a friend”

  • Stevenson focuses on the Victorian obsession with reputation and uses pathetic fallacy with the motif of the mist to add to theme of mystery
  • Idea of persons reputation is personified “clothed”- persons reputation was “tangible” attribute in the eye of Victorian society
  • Fast pacing -“leaped” “sudden” adds to suspense entertaining the audience
• Act 4 réputation Hyde: “Trifling...listening with Ill-contained impatience”

  • Hyde’s improper manner in discourse with Mr Enflieof , who is the quintessential Victorian gentleman as shown by his “trifling” with his cane and being unable to control his emotions is used to emparasuse his lack of congruence with the Victorian ideals
• Act 4 “dismal quarters of soho…a district of some city in a nightmare”

  Hyde’s lodgings being in such an unreputable places adds to the eeriness of the setting (nightmare) and associates him with the “dodgy dealings” of the backstreets of London
• Act 5 Reputation Hyde "The letter was written in an odd upright hand.....very odd writer"


  The repetition of the adjective "odd" contrasts Victorian etiquettes in penmanship, which was regarded as a symbol of your good education, character, and intentions
• Reputation Act 6 Hyde "Much of Hydes past was unearthed, indeed and all disreputable"


  • The many emotive adjectives used summarise Hyde's evil nature and terrible reputation, which had great importance in Victorian society
  • The euphemism or metaphor "unearthed" adds to the mystery of the novella, as we follow Utterson digging through the evidence to piece the story together.
• Reputation Hyde Act 8 "if that was my master, why...If it was my Master, why did he run from me"


  The repetition of Rhetorical questions by Poole emphasizes his frantic emotional and the simile "like quills" emphasizes his primal/animalistic fear of Hyde
• Reputation Act 9 Hyde "his clothes that is to say, although they were of rich and sober fabric, were enormously large for him"


  The juxtaposition of the adjectives "sober" and "rich" contrast Hyde's deranged and amoral character, and the imagery that these clothes are "enormously too large" adds a layer of irony because it symbolises that Hyde is unable to "fit" the Victorian standards
• Act 9 Repression Hyde "Constrained gesture"


  This symbolises Mr Hyde's overly controlled and unnatural manner which reflects his lack of control over his form
• Act 10 Repression Hyde "I was still cursed with my duality of purpose; and as the first edge of my penitence wore off, the lower side of me, so long indulged, so recently chained down, began to growl"


  • The religious connotations of "cursed" and "penitence" reflect of the Christian ideal of repenting for one's sins in order to be saved, which is contrasted with the idea of "indulging" in his evil nature which is metaphorically "chained down"
  • This seems to imply that ultimately it is Jekyll's need to be repress the side of himself, because of the pressures of the religious social context.