The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Key quotes)
Jekyll
“Smooth faced” and a “charitable man”.
“My devil had long been caged; he came out roaring.”
- Jekyll’s inner “devil” is a manifestation of his deeper desires. Connotations of the word
“devil” suggests Jekyll’s desires are in direct opposition to contemporary Christian ideology.
“I felt younger, lighter, happier in body:
- Triadic structure to show how burdensome the restraints of society are on Jekyll.
“I concealed my pleasures”.
“Man is not truly one but truly two”.
- Risks death to test his hypothesis that the human psyche can be split, and the quote’s
syntactic parallelism emphasises the view that man cannot be pure as he is constantly in
equilibrium between good and evil.
“This is the last time… that Henry Jekyll can think his own thoughts”.
- He eventually permanently loses control of himself.
Hyde
“Ape-like”, “the creature”, “into a savage laugh”.
“Strong feeling of deformity”.
- Through physiognomy, his appearance would convict him as criminal.
“A man who was without bowels of mercy”.
- Alliterative “w” shows how difficult it is to articulate Hyde as a character as he is a being who
lacks all conventional morals.
“He had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness”.
- Use of antithesis highlights the internal conflict present in him, providing depth to his
character.
- Use of alliteration could imply violence is an intrinsic behaviour.
“There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature.”
- “Abnormal” differentiates Hyde from all other beings.
- References “very essence, commenting on the true evil personality of Hyde. Could also imply
that Mr Hyde is the true essence of Dr Jekyll.
“So ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running”.
- Evokes disgust and revulsion. Promotes goth conventions of horror in the text.
Mr Utterson
“A rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile”.
- Reserved character, seemingly not affected by emotion, gives his voice authority as it is
unlikely to be biased by emotions.
“Professional honour and faith to his dead friend were stringent obligations; and the packet slept in
the inmost corner of his private safe”.
- Friendship valued over curiosity which proves he is a reliable nature.
“I felt bound to do as he requested”.
- Highlights his trustworthy nature.
- Demonstrates strong relationship between Jekyll and Utterson.
Jekyll
“Smooth faced” and a “charitable man”.
“My devil had long been caged; he came out roaring.”
- Jekyll’s inner “devil” is a manifestation of his deeper desires. Connotations of the word
“devil” suggests Jekyll’s desires are in direct opposition to contemporary Christian ideology.
“I felt younger, lighter, happier in body:
- Triadic structure to show how burdensome the restraints of society are on Jekyll.
“I concealed my pleasures”.
“Man is not truly one but truly two”.
- Risks death to test his hypothesis that the human psyche can be split, and the quote’s
syntactic parallelism emphasises the view that man cannot be pure as he is constantly in
equilibrium between good and evil.
“This is the last time… that Henry Jekyll can think his own thoughts”.
- He eventually permanently loses control of himself.
Hyde
“Ape-like”, “the creature”, “into a savage laugh”.
“Strong feeling of deformity”.
- Through physiognomy, his appearance would convict him as criminal.
“A man who was without bowels of mercy”.
- Alliterative “w” shows how difficult it is to articulate Hyde as a character as he is a being who
lacks all conventional morals.
“He had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness”.
- Use of antithesis highlights the internal conflict present in him, providing depth to his
character.
- Use of alliteration could imply violence is an intrinsic behaviour.
“There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature.”
- “Abnormal” differentiates Hyde from all other beings.
- References “very essence, commenting on the true evil personality of Hyde. Could also imply
that Mr Hyde is the true essence of Dr Jekyll.
“So ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running”.
- Evokes disgust and revulsion. Promotes goth conventions of horror in the text.
Mr Utterson
“A rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile”.
- Reserved character, seemingly not affected by emotion, gives his voice authority as it is
unlikely to be biased by emotions.
“Professional honour and faith to his dead friend were stringent obligations; and the packet slept in
the inmost corner of his private safe”.
- Friendship valued over curiosity which proves he is a reliable nature.
“I felt bound to do as he requested”.
- Highlights his trustworthy nature.
- Demonstrates strong relationship between Jekyll and Utterson.
