Secrecy

• Stevenson creates a suspicious atmosphere in which characters are forced too keep secrets out of fear of ruining their reputation - its clear that the characters hold their reputation dear to them and fear for it to be tarnished.
• by including secrecy, Stevenson is heightening tension
• "let us make a bargain never to refer to this again" - Ch 1

  • begins the idea of characters concealing events
  • promise of secrecy - implies the incident with the door is shameful or possibly sinful
  • adverb (never)
  • Victorian gentlemen didn't gossip due to fear of tarnishing their reputation - implies that the even was tragic
• "If he shall be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek" - Ch 2

  • Hyde - homophone for hide
  • seek - reference to hide and seek - shows Utterson determination and his inquisitive nature
  • due to Utterson being a stern character, that fact he's so curious, emphasises the seriousness of this secret
• "packet slept in the inmost corner of his private safe" - Ch 5

  • personification - hints that at some point the truth will 'wake' and all will be revealed
  • noun (safe) - symbolic for secret and how Utterson is trying t turn blind eye to things that are illogical or uncomfortable
  • adjective (private) - emphasises confidentiality, implies severity if the secret
• "three dusty windows barred with iron" - Ch 5

  • adjective (barred) - emphases his need for this secret to be kept - suspicious
  • noun (windows) - opening of ones soul and since its barred, its showing the extreme measures he's going to, to keep this secret confidential
  • Dr Jekyll wants others to stay away from him so he can hide the truth
• "it turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to Harry's bedside" - (Utterson) Ch 5

  • metaphor - shows severity of the implications of his accusation
  • noun (creature) - animalistic connotations which further highlights the criminality of the act and the necessity to keep it hidden
  • Utterson fears that Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll with his secrets - it has commonly been asserted that Utterson assumes that Jekyll may have entered a relationship with Hyde and that Hyde is threatening to reveal this to ruin Jekyll's reputation