secrecy & reputation in j&h

• how does stevenson create a suspicious atmosphere?

  - characters in the novella are forced to keep secrets due to fear of their reputation being ruined
• why does stevenson employ secrecy as one of the novella's main themes?

  - it heightens the tension of the novella

  - it also makes jekyll's experiments more dangerous as there is more at stake if something goes wrong
• why was it so important to keep secrets in victorian society?

  - a man's secrets could be used to ruin his reputation if exposed to society
• "make his name stink from one end of london to the other"


  - enfield recalls threatening to expose hyde to the whole city as an alternative to killing him

  - this shows the importance of reputation in victorian society
• how does stevenson use the metaphor of asking questions to create a climate of secrecy?

  - asking unusual questions leads to a knock-on effect throughout society which therefore causes reputation to be destroyed
• "the handsome face of dr jekyll grew pale to the very lips and there came a blackness about his eyes"


  - juxtaposition of jekyll's "handsome" face with his "pale" lips and black eyes shows that dual nature is both a mental and physical conflict

  - someone turns "pale" when they become scared/anxious and in this case it could be the fact jekyll is scared of his secret being revealed

  - "pale" also has connotations of death which foreshadows his death later in the novel

  - "blackness" of "his eyes" alludes to the darkness of hyde's soul (eyes seen as window to soul)

  - link to how lanyon dies upon seeing the transformation

  - stevenson shows how holding secrets can damage us
• how is blackmail associated with secrecy in the novella?

  - utterson fears that hyde is blackmailing jekyll with his secrets

  - perhaps utterson thinks jekyll was in a relationship with hyde and hyde is threatening to reveal this to ruin jekyll's reputation
• "it turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to harry's bedside"


  - metaphor "turns me cold" shows severity of the implications of this accusation and the animalistic connotations of "creature" further highlights the criminality of the act and the need to keep it secret

  - shows that utterson cares a lot about his clients; loyal
• "i cannot say that i care what becomes of hyde; i am quite done with him. i was thinking of my own character, which this hateful business has rather exposed"


  - jekyll tries to dissociate himself from hyde

  - stevenson heightens the reader's curiosity here by ambiguously referring to "this hateful business"

  - subtle pun on the word "exposed" as jekyll's freedom to transform into hyde has "exposed" his moral character (although utterson is unaware of this)

  - raises question; is jekyll morally responsible for hyde's actions?

  - irony is that even though jekyll says he is "quite done" with hyde, reader soon finds out that jekyll can never truly be "done with him" as he will always have a secret dark side
• "i wish you to judge for me entirely...i have lost confidence in myself"


  - jekyll is distressed by his sickness and his control over hyde is beginning to slip

  - "confidence in myself" foreshadows the fact that hyde and jekyll are one person

  - jekyll admits defeat here
• "he had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face"


  - stevenson shows that lanyon discovering the truth led him to be at the point of death

  - repetition of "h" and "w" sounds emphasise lanyon's difficulty

  - the fact lanyon is on his own when he experiences hyde's transformation highlights the importance of friendship as when utterson & enfield witness the transformation they survive

  - lanyon death could have been caused by the fact he knew he had to keep this a secret to prevent damaging jekyll's reputation however utterson and enfield both know about it and the secret is shared with someone already, and so they survive
• secrecy - narrative plot

  - secrets can be used to manipulate the reader's perspective on narrative plot

  - reader follows utterson's footsteps and find things out at the same time as utterson

  - therefore, the realisation that hyde is actually jekyll shocks the reader as much as utterson