🩸
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder
Case
🔎 Hyde murders a man in the street who is later identified by Utterson
as Sir Danvers Carew. The police find a letter addressed to Utterson
and Utterson leads the police to Hyde’s house who is not there.
Instead, Utterson and the police look in his rooms and find evidence
of the murder weapon and signs of Hyde having quickly fled.
“London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity and rendered all the
more notable by the high position of the victim.”
The “victim” being revealed as having a “high position” creates tension as it
shows that Hyde is not afraid to face the consequences of attacking a
person of high importance, which could show that his desires are so strong
that he either doesn’t care or is unable to stop himself.
“brilliantly lit by the full moon”
The pathetic fallacy of “brilliantly lit” shows the discovery that is to follow,
not only about how cruel Hyde is, but about how intrinsically linked Jekyll
and Hyde really are.
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder Case 1
, The light of the “full moon” could represent the hope held by Poole and
Utterson to help Dr Jekyll.
The adverb “brilliantly” describes not only the clear weather, but also the
clear-minded Utterson.
The “moon” could reflect Carew’s innocence on one hand, but on the other
hand, could foreshadow Hyde’s dangerous actions given that the “moon”
often connotes transformation and is a typical feature of gothic literature.
The “moon” is again referred to with “the moon shone on his face as he
spoke”, foreshadowing that Carew will be Hyde’s next victim given the
link between Hyde and the “moon”.
“A fog rolled over the city in the small hours, the early part of the night was
cloudless.”
The pathetic fallacy of the “fog rolled over the city” symbolises the
inconspicuous nature of the act and Jekyll’s motivation behind his scientific
experiments.
“an aged and beautiful gentleman with white hair”
This description of Carew contrasts starkly with Hyde, who is described as
a “very small gentleman”. It is scary that Hyde is “very small” because not
only does this present him as atavistic (linking to the Victorian fear of the
decay of the gentry) but it is shocking that such a “small” man could inflict
such pain and suffering on his victims.
“He [Hyde] had in his hand a heavy cane.”
The /h/ alliteration of “he had in his hand a heavy” mirror heavy breathing,
which could foreshadow Hyde’s forthcoming anger and attack.
It is unexpected and unusual that Hyde has “a heavy cane” given that canes
were for upper-class gentlemen in Victorian society. The heaviness of the
cane emphasises its expense.
“A heavy cane” in the “hand” of a criminal would likely remind Victorian
readers of Jack the Ripper, the serial killed whose first murder occurred in
1888, two years after the novella Jekyll and Hyde was published (in 1886).
Even though this means it was not Stevenson’s intention to remind the
readers of Jack the Ripper, those reading a few years after the novel’s first
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder Case 2
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder
Case
🔎 Hyde murders a man in the street who is later identified by Utterson
as Sir Danvers Carew. The police find a letter addressed to Utterson
and Utterson leads the police to Hyde’s house who is not there.
Instead, Utterson and the police look in his rooms and find evidence
of the murder weapon and signs of Hyde having quickly fled.
“London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity and rendered all the
more notable by the high position of the victim.”
The “victim” being revealed as having a “high position” creates tension as it
shows that Hyde is not afraid to face the consequences of attacking a
person of high importance, which could show that his desires are so strong
that he either doesn’t care or is unable to stop himself.
“brilliantly lit by the full moon”
The pathetic fallacy of “brilliantly lit” shows the discovery that is to follow,
not only about how cruel Hyde is, but about how intrinsically linked Jekyll
and Hyde really are.
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder Case 1
, The light of the “full moon” could represent the hope held by Poole and
Utterson to help Dr Jekyll.
The adverb “brilliantly” describes not only the clear weather, but also the
clear-minded Utterson.
The “moon” could reflect Carew’s innocence on one hand, but on the other
hand, could foreshadow Hyde’s dangerous actions given that the “moon”
often connotes transformation and is a typical feature of gothic literature.
The “moon” is again referred to with “the moon shone on his face as he
spoke”, foreshadowing that Carew will be Hyde’s next victim given the
link between Hyde and the “moon”.
“A fog rolled over the city in the small hours, the early part of the night was
cloudless.”
The pathetic fallacy of the “fog rolled over the city” symbolises the
inconspicuous nature of the act and Jekyll’s motivation behind his scientific
experiments.
“an aged and beautiful gentleman with white hair”
This description of Carew contrasts starkly with Hyde, who is described as
a “very small gentleman”. It is scary that Hyde is “very small” because not
only does this present him as atavistic (linking to the Victorian fear of the
decay of the gentry) but it is shocking that such a “small” man could inflict
such pain and suffering on his victims.
“He [Hyde] had in his hand a heavy cane.”
The /h/ alliteration of “he had in his hand a heavy” mirror heavy breathing,
which could foreshadow Hyde’s forthcoming anger and attack.
It is unexpected and unusual that Hyde has “a heavy cane” given that canes
were for upper-class gentlemen in Victorian society. The heaviness of the
cane emphasises its expense.
“A heavy cane” in the “hand” of a criminal would likely remind Victorian
readers of Jack the Ripper, the serial killed whose first murder occurred in
1888, two years after the novella Jekyll and Hyde was published (in 1886).
Even though this means it was not Stevenson’s intention to remind the
readers of Jack the Ripper, those reading a few years after the novel’s first
Chapter 4: The Carew Murder Case 2
