J&H- utterson

• Quote: ‘he was austere with himself, drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a tastes for vintages’

  Utterson conforms to a qualities of a quintessential(perfect example)  victorian gentleman. The adjective ‘austere’ teaches us he is a self-imposed strict gentleman and so Utterson is crucial for understanding the repression amongst Victorian gentlemen. Its almost as if drinks ‘gin’ to restrict his indulgence into premium alcohol such as wine.- the very act of ‘mortifying’ his true desires.
• Since ‘gin’ was associated with lower classes, utterson indulges with gin ‘alone’ to avoid his reputation getting tarnished since he is secretly not performing the expectations of an upper class member.
• Quote: ‘almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds’

  The noun ‘envy’ is perhaps symbolic of his jealousy towards other people’s misdeeds and liberal nature, something which he avoids. Its ironic he feels ‘envy’ since he is a lawyer yet he experiences an attraction towards misdeeds- his morbid curiosity in immorality is suggestive of inherent duality of his nature he can’t repress. This is reflective of the Freudian theory; utterson’s envy towards others is symbolic of his id which is encapsulated by his outward outlook as a quintessential victorian gentleman.
• Quote: ‘until the clock of the church rang at the hour of twelve, where he would soberly go to bed’

  Utterson conducts his life through religion therefore sacrifices his autonomy, presenting utterson as non-autonomous and heavily pious. Stevenson uses utterson to explore the importance of religion and the chokehold it has over victorian society. Religion is not only conducting his morality, but his aspects of life too. 
• Quote: ‘wider labyrinths of lamplighted city’

  Within his subconscious, dreamy mind he imagines a surreal picture. His mind is plagued so much by the ‘damned juggernaut’ which causes his thoughts to become fanciful. The noun ‘labyrinths’ could be a potential allusion to the Greek legend of minotaur, implying a beast (hyde) lives in the city. However this could be ambiguous- it could be referring to hyde but also the darkness of man.
• Utterson’s surreal thoughts and nightmares ultimately introduces mystery into the novella, contributing to the gothic element of the novella.  As the narrator, utterson avoids lofty descriptions/accounts to make his dreamlike thoughts stand out to the reader.
• Quote: ‘there was a letter handed in today; what was the messenger like?’

  Utterson dedicates himself to the mystery of hyde- he is unsettled by the secrecy and uncertainty revolving hyde. He asks poole-  ‘there was a letter handed in today; what was the messenger like?’The rhetoric serves to depict utterson as curious and desperate;  he desperately wishes to unveil the dynamics and explanation between jekyll and hyde. He is used as a tool by stevenson to reveal the truth behind jekyll and hyde in an enticing manner. 
• Quote: ‘there was a letter handed in today; what was the messenger like?’

  This contrasts chapter 1’s utterson who’d ‘approved a tolerance for others’. The noun ‘tolerance’ suggests impartiality, he was allowing others' lives to take course around him, even if they contrasted his morals. However, utterson becomes increasingly intolerant to jekyll’s mystery, showing a transformation of utterson, suggesting his potential failure in repressing his desires of unveiling jekyll’s secretive life.
• Stevenson criticises the stringent expectations placed upon members of the victorian society and aims to teach that human desires are innate, even the most quintessentially perfect victorian gentleman like utterson are filled with desires which they struggle to subdue.
• Quote: ‘it is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it’

  There is a rhetoric of utterson battling with his human nature. The verb ‘conquer’ implies he views it as an accomplishment to overcome his innate trait of ‘curiosity’, causing the reader to feel pity for utterson due to how overly repressive he remains.
• Quote: ‘it is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it’

  The use of the verb ‘mortify’ is intriguing considering how unnecessarily morbid it is. ‘Mortify’ connotes death, so Stevenson could be warning us of the perils of ‘mortifying’ innate desires in a sense of killing aspects of human nature. It’s also parallelism to chapter one: ‘to mortify a taste for vintages’, the repetition of ‘mortify’ is evocative of the constant repression victorian gentlemen faced while struggling to subdue in their daily lives. .
• stevenson is critical of the extremely stringent expectations in victorian society, utterson’s austerity causes us to feel sympathy as a reader for the victorian gentlemen- he is a microcosm for the victorian gentlemen battling with their deep desires.
• Quote: been conscious of so sharp a wish to see and touch his fellow creatures’

  In the quiet streets of london. The isolation of utterson builds tension, implying looming danger and vulnerability, the noun of ‘creatures’ instead of humans raises questions. Its almost as if utterson feels so detached from humanity and the civilisation causing him to casually animalise society. The noun ‘creatures’ is a direct link to darwinism as humans are descendants of primates- suggesting that humans are in touch with their primitive.
• Quote: ‘borne in upon his mind a crushing anticipation of calamity’

  On surface level, utterson’s ‘anticipation’ triggers tension and gravity as throughout the novella stevevon conveys utterson as a reliable and wise narrator, therefore we are influenced to trust his instincts.
• Alternatively the verb ‘borne’ denotes birth and creation which was associated with god at the time, however in this instance it relates to science since it can be implied utterson is disillusioned by religion throughout the entirety of chapter eight- the significance of religion is beginning to become usurped by science.
• Quote: ‘gabriel john utterson’

  We learn utterson’s full name in chapter 8: ‘gabriel john utterson’, as a biblical allusion to angel gabriel, ultimately highlights utterson’s morality and purity. Whilst stevenson depicts utterson as pious and moral with a sense of decorum, he uses his pious character as an opportunity to simultaneously criticise religion. At times utterson is presumptive and incorrect, therefore possibly implying the flaws of logic behind religion.