🎭
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full
Statement of the Case
🔎 Jekyll provides his own account of events and his own insights,
explaining how he came to create and take the potion which enabled
him to free the dark side of his personality and create his alter-ego
Hyde.
Jekyll’s narration only forms one chapter of a book seemingly all
about him and his struggle with his duality. His lack of control over the
narration of his own story reflects his lack of control over Hyde, which
is ironic since he is Hyde. This idea of Jekyll’s lack of control is
reinforced by the way that Jekyll speaks increasingly less as the book
progresses, with his own narration only coming after his death.
“I concealed my pleasures.”
The adjective “concealed” creates a sharp cutting sound, almost like cutting
open a wound to allow emotions to spill out.
“I concealed my pleasures” implies Jekyll was covering up flaws, with the
noun “pleasures” likely referring to the suppressed emotions of Victorian
gentlemen.
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case 1
, The noun “pleasure” explicitly links to sexual, or even homosexual, desires,
which Victorian gentlemen were forced to suppress to conform to
heteronormative expectations imposed by society at the time.
The possessive pronoun “my” shows how Dr Jekyll takes ownership of, and
almost reconciles himself with, his past.
“That hard law of life, which lies at the root of religion and is one of the most
plentiful springs of distress.”
“Man is not truly one, but truly two.”
In saying this, Jekyll recognises that within every person, there is a
constant battle between the two sides of their nature.
This would have been shocking for a Victorian audience given that it
showed how all reputable men had a darker side within them.
The adverb “truly” is almost biblical, thus adding a grave and serious tone
to Jekyll’s words, showing how religion is overcome by science. Jekyll is
stating how things “truly” are, exposing the true nature of man by looking
beneath the facade that Victorian gentlemen put on to mask their inherent
duality.
“the thorough and primitive duality of man”
The adjective “thorough” shows how deeply ingrained and how complex
man’s duality really is.
The adjective “primitive” refers to Darwin’s theory of evolution and
contextually also links to Freud’s tripartite theory of the mind.
“I had now two characters as well as two appearances, one was wholly evil,
and the other was still the old Henry Jekyll.”
The repetition of the adjective “two” reinforces in the reader the idea of
duality and also emphasises the addition of a second appearance through
the drug that Jekyll created.
“One was wholly evil, and the other one was […] Jekyll” shows that while
Hyde is evil, Jekyll has not described himself to be “wholly good”, for
example, showing how Jekyll has only partially succeeded in extracting his
completely evil side by creating Hyde, because he himself is still not
entirely good.
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case 2
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full
Statement of the Case
🔎 Jekyll provides his own account of events and his own insights,
explaining how he came to create and take the potion which enabled
him to free the dark side of his personality and create his alter-ego
Hyde.
Jekyll’s narration only forms one chapter of a book seemingly all
about him and his struggle with his duality. His lack of control over the
narration of his own story reflects his lack of control over Hyde, which
is ironic since he is Hyde. This idea of Jekyll’s lack of control is
reinforced by the way that Jekyll speaks increasingly less as the book
progresses, with his own narration only coming after his death.
“I concealed my pleasures.”
The adjective “concealed” creates a sharp cutting sound, almost like cutting
open a wound to allow emotions to spill out.
“I concealed my pleasures” implies Jekyll was covering up flaws, with the
noun “pleasures” likely referring to the suppressed emotions of Victorian
gentlemen.
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case 1
, The noun “pleasure” explicitly links to sexual, or even homosexual, desires,
which Victorian gentlemen were forced to suppress to conform to
heteronormative expectations imposed by society at the time.
The possessive pronoun “my” shows how Dr Jekyll takes ownership of, and
almost reconciles himself with, his past.
“That hard law of life, which lies at the root of religion and is one of the most
plentiful springs of distress.”
“Man is not truly one, but truly two.”
In saying this, Jekyll recognises that within every person, there is a
constant battle between the two sides of their nature.
This would have been shocking for a Victorian audience given that it
showed how all reputable men had a darker side within them.
The adverb “truly” is almost biblical, thus adding a grave and serious tone
to Jekyll’s words, showing how religion is overcome by science. Jekyll is
stating how things “truly” are, exposing the true nature of man by looking
beneath the facade that Victorian gentlemen put on to mask their inherent
duality.
“the thorough and primitive duality of man”
The adjective “thorough” shows how deeply ingrained and how complex
man’s duality really is.
The adjective “primitive” refers to Darwin’s theory of evolution and
contextually also links to Freud’s tripartite theory of the mind.
“I had now two characters as well as two appearances, one was wholly evil,
and the other was still the old Henry Jekyll.”
The repetition of the adjective “two” reinforces in the reader the idea of
duality and also emphasises the addition of a second appearance through
the drug that Jekyll created.
“One was wholly evil, and the other one was […] Jekyll” shows that while
Hyde is evil, Jekyll has not described himself to be “wholly good”, for
example, showing how Jekyll has only partially succeeded in extracting his
completely evil side by creating Hyde, because he himself is still not
entirely good.
Chapter 10: Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case 2
