Dr Henry Jekyll

Dr Henry Jekyll

1. Repressed

   • Causes disatisfaction
     • 'dryness of a life of study'
     • 'nine tenths a life of effort, virtue and control'
     • 'plod in the eye with a load of genial respectability'
   • Facade to seem respectable
     • 'more than commonly grave countenance before the public'
     • 'almost morbid sense of shame'
       • adjective 'morbid' suggests Jekyll's unhealthy concealment of "faults"
         • 'sense of shame' Jekyll feels for his "faults" may be Stevenson's way of critizising the oppressive nature Victorian society
   • Has a latent primitive nature which is hidden from society

2. Conflicted over his identity

   • Tries to disassociate himself from Hyde
     • Throughout Chapter 10, repeatedly refers to himself in 3rd person
       • Jekyll is ashamed of Hyde's actions and so removes himself from being blamed
         • This reflects how Jekyll is still trying to keep his gentleman and respected facade, even after committing crimes under his split personality
           • Stevenson does this to reiterate the gravity of pressure society forces on people
     • 'it was Hyde after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty'
   • No single identity due to duality
     • 'imperfect and divided countenance'
     • 'man is not truly one, but truly two'
       • stated as a fact, not an opinion
     • 'i was radically both'
     • Stevenson explores the plurality of human consciousness through Jekyll's dual personality
   • Accepts responsibility for Hyde
     • 'the evil side of my nature'
       • personal pronoun 'my' suggests Jekyll takes responsibility for Hyde
     • 'my devil had been long caged'

3. Sinner

   • Tempted by desires
     • Stevenson frightens his readers by reflecting Evangelicalism ideas that all mankind is inevitably sinful (because of Adam and Eve). As well as this, Stevenson also suggests the sinful side isn't just inevitable but also stronger than the moral side
   • Controversial experiements
     • 'transcendental medicine'
     • 'his own tastes being rather chemical than anatomical'
     • 'unscientific balderdash'
   • Creates a monster that is uncontrollable

4. Sufferer

   • Behind a veneer presented to society
     • 'infinte sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner'
       • adjective 'disconsolate' connotes unhappiness, presenting Jekyll as melancholic
       • determiner 'some' presents Jekyll as a commoner or someone without high standing
         • contrasts to 'respectable gentleman' earlier in novella
           • Stevenson does this to show how Jekyll has fallen after battling with his Id and is suffering as a result of this.
             • Reader feels sympathy for Jekyll as he appears to be losing the battle, shown in the 'infinite sadness' he feels
     • 'prisonhouse of my disposition'
     • 'I became, in my own person, a creature eaten and emptied by fever'
   • Repression causes him to feel pleasure through Hyde
     • 'a solution of the bonds of obligation'
       • metaphor 'bonds of obligation' further emphasises repressive expectations of society, causing Jekyll to feel release after transforming
     • 'I felt younger, lighter, happier in body'
       • comparative adjectives portray joy Jekyll experiences after transforming
         • Stevenson could be reflecting the Victorian society which places strict expectations on those high up in the hierarchy. Transforming into Hyde allows Jekyll to feel pleasure as he is no longer under the oppressive society in the form of Hyde
     • 'braced and delighted me like wine'
       • verb 'delighted' displays satisfaction Jekyll feels through Hyde.
       • noun 'wine' further shows Jekyll's satisfaction. Wine viewed as luxurious item compared to cheap spirits like gin.
         • Hyde feels like a luxury for Jekyll in the oppressive society
   • Physical suffering to transform
     • 'racking pangs'
     • Jekyll willing to go through pain to live unrepressed as Hyde