Repression

• Repression


  All of the characters, apart from Mr Hyde, repress parts of themselves
• Dr Jekyll


  • Has repressed his desires throughout his life, but is now no longer able to contain himself
  • The part of Jekyll's psyche which he has repressed to an unhealthy degree is his Id (his basal 'animal-like' desires)
  • Hyde is symbolic of Jekyll's Id
• Utterson, Enfield and Lanyon

  • Also show repression within Victorian society, but to a much lesser extent
• Restrained and formal language


  Used by Stevenson when describing horrific events, to avoid breaking indecency laws
• The lack of description means the reader is forced to imagine and embellish the events themselves, leading to potentially more horrific images being created in the minds of the reader
• Murder of Carew


  • Especially brutal, with metaphor "storm of blows" and auditory imagery "audibly shattered"
  • The violence which has suddenly erupted from Hyde implies that he is a concentrated form of everything Jekyll has repressed
  • Hyde's violence could be interpreted as a product of the repressive, upper class Victorian society
• Hyde as a release from repression


  • Dr Jekyll creates Hyde as a release from the repression he felt in society
  • Repression is a societal issue, not just one personal to his own character
• Mr Utterson


  • Described as "cold, scanty and embarrassed", typical traits of a repressed individual
  • Channels his passions into his investigation as well as his profession