Hyde chapter 4

• Manners


  • Hyde contrasts the Victorian ideal of the gentleman" ; his behaviour is described by the maid as "trifling" with his cane, listening/ with ill-contained impatience". This would have appeared to the intended reader as extremely rude and not befitting of a man in this era.
  • Hyde carries out the crime with "insensate cruelty", again emphasising his lack of empathy for other people and his complete detachment from proper behaviour.
• Manners

  • Despite his lack of manners and his nature unbefitting of Victorian ideals, Hyde is "Jekyll's favourite; [.] heir to a quarter of a million sterling". Today, this would be around 40 million pounds. Hyde being set to inherit such a arge amount of money and being the"favourite" of a well-respected man such as Jekyll would be highly unusual. This unsettling contrast adds to the tone of the novel and highlights just how strange Hyde's circumstances are.
  • Hyde is described by the old woman in his house as having "irregular" habits, which implies that he is likely up to trouble.
• Physiognomy 


  • In this chapter, we are presented with the perspective of a"maid-servant" watching Enfield and Mr Hyde from her window. The use of an alternative point of view in chapter 2 is a literary device used to add more suspense to the chapter, as her "romantic" and "kindly" world-view is contrasted with the horrific murder she witnesses at the climax of the event.
  • Stevenson paces this chapter well to shock the reader, as these brutish actions contrast the initial gentle introduction.
• Physiognomy


  • Stevenson contrasts the appearances of the two gentlemen, to emphasise Mr Hyde's physiognomy: Hyde is avery small gentleman. to whom at first she paid less attention", whilst Enfield is"an aged beautiful gentleman". This is an example of parallelism, helping the reader to construct two opposite images of the characters who personify good and evil.
  • The 'Halo Effect' is a phenomenon in psychology in which we assume people with a beautiful appearance are of better character than people who are less conventionally attractive.
• Phsiognomy 


  •  Hyde is described by the maid as "particularly small + particularly wicked-looking" to reinforce the idea that Hyde is a monstrous man with an evil character, lacking all traditionally good characteristics. The use of anaphora is used to emphasise this fact.
  • The use of the word "stature" in reference to Hyde by Mr Utterson is important here because it has two connotations; stature can refer to someone's height as well as their position in society. The emphasis on Hyde's height throughout the novel comments on physiognomy.
• Physiognomy 


  • Even Hyde's lodger, the "silvery haired old woman" has an"ovil face, smoothed by hypocrisy" but "her manners were excellent.. Often in literature, old women represent witches,as hinted by the woman's "evil face" so this aims to add more suspense as well as foreshadowing Hyde's involvement with evil and the supernatural. Additionally, the woman demonstrates a duality in her appearance in contrast with her behaviour, adding to the theme of the duality of man.
• Physiognomy 


  • Stevenson describes Hydes odd appearance once again to add suspense at the end of chapter 2 in the final paragraph: "the haunting sense of unexpressed deformity with which the fugitive impressed his beholders".
  • Again, ambiguity and connotations of the supernatural are used in reference to Hyde to add mystery, tension, and unease to frighten the reader.
• The animalistic simile "ape-like fury" shows how Hyde has regressed back into a primitive form, where man indulges in their instinctive desires. This parallel between mankind and their primal instinct would have been prevalent in the Victorian era due to the rise of Darwinism and the theory of evolution- Hyde may be an embodiment of the fears of Victorian society in regard to mankind being alike to animals and having these uncontrollable instinets.
• Barbarity


  • Hyde "broke out in a great flame of anger l.] like a madman", "clubbed him to the earth" "with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows".
  • The use of the metaphors 'flame' "hailing","storm" and 'ape-like' symbolises that Hyde's anger was an inhumane, indestructible force of nature, emphasising his volatile personality
• Accomodation


  • Pathetic fallacy (weather as a literary device to set the tone of the novel and reflect the events of the scenes) is used to add some gothic horror, by setting the scene with this bad omen that is literally obfuscating for Utterson as he tries to uncover the truth.

  • The "first fog of the season I.../ lowered over heaven which denotes how a confusing mystery is taking over London and the evil workings of Hyde are in the way of goodness 
• Accommodation


  • Fog is used as a motif in the novel to represent Utterson's growing suspicions; the fog becomes more prevalent as the evidence builds against Hyde throughout the novel. It also foreshadows the terrible things that will happen throughout the novel.
  • In the Bible, tog is used to precede great revelations, thus foreshadowing the end of the novella where we learn than Jekyll and Hyde are, in tact, one unit, as well as representing uncertainty and approaching death
• Accommodation


  • Additionally, the fog represents the struggle between good and evil; the fog is being fought by the wind ‘ continuously charging and rooting these embattled vapours’. This pathetic fallacy is used to reflect the drama of the fight between Jekyll and Hyde for dominance. Therefire Stevenson uses the weather as a simple for Jekyll loss of control.
• Accommodation


  • The upper echlon of society, particularly in London were regarded as having more responsibility to fit the idea of the gentleman, to separate them from the low class and society. Setting is important in the novella because this emphasis Placed on reputation is what pushes jekyll to be hyde
• Accommodation


  Hyde's home is described as "empty" but elegant taste is aurend geouse e cylis

  implies their close relationship, whereas the unusual state of the home as having been

  "recently and hurriedly ransacked" is extremely strange in Victorian society, which placed emphasis on cleanliness and good appearances in the home, especially those adorned with luxury goods.

  • Theretore, the setting of Hyde's home is again used to imply to the reader that this man is likely very Sus , confirmed by the presence of the ‘ other half of the stick’ that was used in the crime
• Topic sentences


  • Stevenson employs the Victorian's belief in physiognomy to emphasise Hyde's evil character to demonstrate that Hyde is untrustworthy and evidence of him being evil.
  • The Victorian etiquette is used to imply to the intended audience that Hyde is an outcast of society and thus reflects his improper moral character
  • Stevenson uses a carefully described setting and pathetic fallacy to add an eerie tone to the novel, adding to the gothic literature aesthetic.