Description of Utterson
‘countenance...never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable’ ‘austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages’ ‘though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years’ ‘had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove’ 5 / Our first introduction to Utterson and he appears a strange mass of contradictions – on the outside he appears staid and inflexible but he is also approachable and understanding. He is our typical respectable Victorian gentleman yet he can understand the temptations which exist and, although he does not succumb to temptation himself, nor does he condemn those who do.
Enfield, describing Hyde to Utterson, "There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable."
10 / Language seems to fail when describing Hyde – this emphasises the suggestion of the supernatural about him – almost as if people react to him with a sixth sense. He is beyond words, just like he is beyond morality and beyond conscience. This quote emphasises how out of sync he is with his society.
Utterson, speaking to himself, "If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek."
14 / Utterson’s persistence and curiosity are shown here and it makes him an ideal ‘detective ‘ to hunt for Hyde. It also suggests a playful side to Utterson’s character with a play on words – again appearances deceive.
Description of Jekyll:
‘a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, bt every mark of capacity and kindness.
19 / This description of Jekyll suggests the duality of man – the word ‘slyish’ suggests something underhand, a tendency to deceive. This is offset by ‘capacity and kindness’, positive human attributes. This highlights that humanity is neither all good nor all bad.
Jekyll, reassuring Utterson, "The moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde."
20 / This quote emphasises Jekyll’s arrogance and his failure to realise the significance of his experimentation. It also suggests Jekyll has no intention of getting rid of Hyde at the moment, as he states ‘I can’ rather than ‘I will’. As this is after the trampling of the little girl, it confirms Jekyll is taking pleasure in the unsavoury acts Hyde is indulging in.
From Hastie Lanyon’s letter:
Hyde to Lanyon “Think before you answer, for it shall be done as you decide. As you decide, you shall be left as you were before, and neither richer nor wiser…Or, if you shall so prefer to choose, a new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall be laid open to you…”
53 / Hyde is giving Dr Lanyon the chance to choose between seeing the results of his experiment or walking away. The words ‘neither richer nor wiser’ suggest that walking away will not benefit Dr Lanyon in any way. The words ‘new province of knowledge’ and ‘new avenues to fame and power’ seem to tempt Lanyon by offering everything if stays and sees. Hyde is tempting Lanyon by offering him everything anyone could want. It is ironic because seeing the transformation actually results in Lanyon’s death. As it was Jekyll who asked Lanyon to bring the powders, it suggests Jekyll either thought Lanyon would resist the temptation, or that he did not realise the consequences for Lanyon.
Lanyon’s letter to Utterson,
He put the glass to his lips, and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change—he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter—and at the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.
“O God!” I screamed, and “O God!” again and again; for there before my eyes—pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death—there stood HenryJekyll!
54 / This transformation constitutes the climactic moment in the story, when all the questions about Jekyll’s relationship to Hyde suddenly come to a resolution.
Stevenson heightens the effect of his climax by describing the scene in intensely vivid language. When he depicts Hyde as “staring with injected eyes” and suggests the dreadful contortions of his features as they “melt and alter," he superbly evokes the ghastliness of the moment of transformation. As this passage emphasizes, the true horror of Jekyll and Hyde’s secret is not that they are two sides of the same person, each persona able to assert itself at will, but that each is actually trapped within the grip of the other, fighting for dominance. The transformation process appears fittingly violent and ravaging, causing the metamorphosing body to “reel," “stagger," and “gasp.” Indeed, by this point in the novel, Jekyll is losing ground to Hyde, and, correspondingly, emerges “half fainting," as if “restored from death."
Jekyll’s letter to Utterson, "Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me, and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life."
55 / Jekyll had always indulged in pleasures which were not acceptable in a respectable Victorian gentleman and he had hidden these desires because he wanted people to respect him. Unlike Utterson he had not tried to give up his vices, preferring to hide them instead. The ‘duplicity of life’ highlights the duality of human nature – the temptation to be bad and the desire to be good, or seen as good.
Jekyll’s letter to Utterson
man is not truly one, but truly two
55 / Jekyll’s assertion that we are two trapped within the one body adds to the understanding of the duality of human nature as already suggested through our view of Utterson.
Jekyll describing his fascination with Hyde:, ...’yet when I looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance...It seemed natural and human. In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance I had been hitherto accustomed to call mine."
58 / Jekyll seems incapable of recognising the severity of what he has done. The word ‘idol’ suggests something to be worshipped and ‘livelier image of the spirit’ suggests he sees this transformation as creating a more positive personality. He does not seem concerned or surprised that he has turned into a purely evil being instead of a purely good one – suggesting he wants to fully embrace the forbidden pleasures he has been hiding. He prefers the purely evil to the ‘divided countenance’ that is the natural state of humanity.
Jekyll, reflecting on mankind, "All human beings... are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil."
58 / The theme of the duality of human nature is again shown here – and Jekyll’s experiments bring out the evil. However, what we are left with is not pure good – Jekyll remains as he always was, he is not left free from the unwanted desires. Jekyll realises this but chooses not to stop – he is not horrified that he has produced a purely evil creature; instead he enjoys that he can indulge in the base pleasures he couldn’t as Jekyll.
Jekyll, highlighting his lack of control over Hyde, "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse."
62 / The balance of power appears to have shifted now. At first Jekyll found it difficult to change into Hyde – now he finds it difficult to change back. Jekyll realises he was a better person before he attempted to divide his nature. He seems to understand, finally, that he is not infallible and that his attempts to ‘play God’ are bringing about his destruction – man was not meant to be separated.
Jekyll, after the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, has vowed not to transform into Hyde but cannot resist indulging in forbidden pleasures:
"...and it was as an ordinary secret sinner that I at last fell before the assaults of temptation."
64 / This quote suggests temptation is something which has a will of its own with ‘assault’ suggesting something violent and powerful. He gives into this temptation as himself, an ‘ordinary secret sinner’ – and it is this which removes any semblance of control he had and brings about the time when he cannot stop turning into Hyde . The words ‘ordinary secret sinner’ suggests this is the nature of humanity – that we all give in to temptation.
(first part of this quote details the pain of transformation ‘most racking pains’)
‘I felt younger, lighter, happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness …(quote continues in this vein)…exulting in the freshness of these sensations; and in the act, I was suddenly aware I had lost in stature.
57 / Dr Jekyll describes in very positive terms how it feels to be free of his responsible/sober side and how enjoyable this is. The words ‘heady recklessness’ suggest not only no concern for consequences but also how exciting the casting off of consequences is.
‘lost in stature’ shows how Jekyll has diminished into Hyde – Hyde is smaller physically, suggesting he is diminished in other areas also.