The focus of the novella, what is hidden and what is revealed, is ultimately dependent on other people. However, O’Dell fails to mention how the information is constantly revealed through the hands of people, and it all ends up, literally, in the hands of Utterson. The most outstanding moment when hands are an important turning point is when Jekyll wakes up and describes, “my eyes fell upon my hand…But the hand which I now saw, clearly enough, in the yellow light of a mid-London morning, lying half shut on the bedclothes, was lean, corder, knuckly, of a dusky pallor and thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair. It was the hand of Edward Hyde” (Stevenson 81-82). Jekyll wakes up and does not realize he is Hyde until he sees his hand. He is
In reference to the comparison of Hyde and Jekyll’s handwriting, Utterson is told “‘Well, sir,’ returned the clerk, ‘there’s a rather singular resemblance; the two hands are in many points identical: only differently sloped’” (Stevenson 54). The resemblance of the handwriting is what clues one into suspecting Jekyll of illicit acts. Utterson does not come to the correct conclusion, but he does think “‘Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!’” (Stevenson 54). This is not the complete truth, but the handwriting does reveal a fact that was previously hidden to him: Jekyll is somehow involved in the murder of Carew. The reason why Utterson is incredibly shocked is because of Jekyll’s high-class status. As O’Dell argues, Utterson is concerned in maintaining social order, and Jekyll being a murderer destroys the image of gentlemen that Utterson is attempting so hard to keep up. Unfortunately, the truth is revealed through a series of handwritten letters from different people, leaving the burden, and trust, on Utterson to decide what shall be done with the
Stevenson narrates: “The night after the funeral, at which he had been sadly affected, Utterson locked the door of his business room, and sitting there by the light of a melancholy candle, drew out and set before him an envelope addressed by the hand and sealed with the seal of his dead friend” (Stevenson 57). The letter contains all the hidden secrets that have been withheld from Utterson and the reader. It is further emphasized that it is “written by the hand of Lanyon” (Stevenson 57). The emphasis on the fact that it is written is meant to highlight what it is not. The opposite of something written, is something spoken. The reason it is not spoken is because it is too serious and terrifying to speak it. By revealing the truth through dialogue, it makes the truth much more real and heavy. The truth is never revealed face to face with another person, Utterson only receives letters from Lanyon and Jekyll. He physically holds the truth in the form of the letters. O’Dell suggests, “The inclusion of lengthy documents from Lanyon and Jekyll point to Utterson’s continued control of the public realm after Hyde’s death and suggest that, whatever we are to make of the novel’s peculiar course of events, we can assume that the status quo will persist without interruption” (O’Dell 511). It is true that the letters permit Utterson to maintain control and
...se to remain as bachelors and enjoy the comforts of prostitutes instead of marrying a wife and starting a family. A reference of homosexuality is through Stevenson portraying Jekyll as the ‘damsel in distress’ and Utterson as the ‘knight’ that tries to protect Jekyll’s reputation. This contradicts the Victorian value of masculinity as Jekyll is portrayed as feminine, which again reflects the breakdown of masculinity that Stevenson recognises in the Victorian society.
The use of a letter is effective in creating suspense because, were the communication face-to-face, the reader might be better able to judge for themselves Jekyll 's behaviour. Because this letter comes from a man who has locked himself away, there is a strong suggestion that Jekyll is being, if not dishonest, then careful to present a public face in a certain way. Stevenson describes Jekyll 's letter as 'darkly mysterious ', developing the mystery which surrounds the 'all ' which Lanyon knows and now believes it better to escape. In another similarity to Lanyon, the first half of Jekyll 's letter is phrased in confident, certain terms: he issues instructions that 'we must never meet ', and tells Utterson that 'you must not be surprised '. However, the bland forcefulness of this language is replaced by much more mysterious, ominous imagery with which Jekyll concludes his letter. Just as Lanyon described his feelings in religious terms, so does Jekyll, speaking of 'punishment ', 'sinners ' and 'a place for sufferings and terrors '. The suddenness of this change, especially given that a week prior to this letter is confusing to the reader, but it is the evil hinted at in the imagery of 'sin ' and 'my own dark way ' (itself possibly also foreshadowing Jekyll 's later certainty that his only escape from Hyde will be in committing suicide) which builds suspense so effectively here. Moreover, the self-pity implied in Jekyll 's description of himself as 'the chief of sufferers ' is a new development in his character, and leads the reader to wonder what the nature of the 'sin ' is which Jekyll has committed and yet causes him to 'suffer ' so much
Robert Louis Stevenson shows a marvelous ability to portray. He depicts the surroundings, architectural details of the dwellings, the inside of the houses, the instruments and each part of the environment in detail. He even specifies that the laboratory door is “covered with red baize” (p.24). Not only does he offer a precise picture of the setting, but also he draws accurately the characters. About 200 words are used in order to describe Mr. Utterson the lawyer (p.5). Dr.Lanyon, the gentleman who befriends Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll, is described as “a healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman, with a shock of hair prematurely white.” (p.12). Each of the characters are described according to their importance in the novella. Each of them except
As Jekyll reached adult hood, he found himself living a dual life. He had become more curious in discovering his other side. Jekyll insists, “Man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). This eventually led Jekyll into the scientific interests of separating his good and evil side, and he finds a chemical concoction that transforms him into a more wicked man, Edward Hyde. At first, Hyde was of pure impulse, but in the end, he became dominate and took control over Jekyll. Jekyll had never intended to hurt anyone, but he was aware that something could potentially go wrong. Jekyll presumes, “I knew well that I risked death, for any drug that so potently shook the very fortress of identity… utterly blot that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change” (127-129). One could say this makes Jekyll equally as menacing as Hyde. Jekyll couldn’t control the imbalance between the two natures. Jekyll foolishly allowed his evil side to flourish and become stronger. This is shown when Jekyll has awoken to find that he has turned into Hyde without taking the solution. Jekyll says, “But the hand in which I now saw, clearly enough in the yellow light of a mid- London morning…It was the hand of Edward Hyde” (139).
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hyde becomes Jekyll's demonic, monstrous alter ego. Certainly Stevenson presents him immediately as this from the outset. Hissing as he speaks, Hyde has "a kind of black sneering coolness . . . like Satan". He also strikes those who witness him as being "pale and dwarfish" and simian like. The Strange Case unfolds with the search by the men to uncover the secret of Hyde. As the narrator, Utterson, says, "If he be Mr. Hyde . . . I shall be Mr. Seek". Utterson begins his quest with a cursory search for his own demons. Fearing for Jekyll because the good doctor has so strangely altered his will in favor of Hyde, Utterson examines his own conscience, "and the lawyer, scared by the thought, brooded a while in his own past, groping in all the corners of memory, lest by chance some Jack-in-the-Box of an old iniquity should leap to light there" (SC, 42). Like so many eminent Victorians, Utterson lives a mildly double life and feels mildly apprehensive about it. An ugly dwarf like Hyde may jump out from his own boxed self, but for him such art unlikely creature is still envisioned as a toy. Although, from the beginning Hyde fills him with a distaste for life (SC, 40, not until the final, fatal night, after he storms the cabinet, can Utterson conceive of the enormity of Jekyll's second self. Only then does he realize that "he was looking on the body of a self-dcstroyer" (SC, 70); Jekyll and Hyde are one in death as they must have been in life.
Stevenson’s most prominent character in the story is the mysterious Mr Hyde. Edward Hyde is introduced from the very first chapter when he tramples a young girl in the street, which brings the reader’s attention straight to his character. The reader will instantly know that this person is a very important part of this book and that he plays a key role in the story. This role is the one of a respectable old man named Dr Jekyll’s evil side or a ‘doppelganger’. This links in with the idea of duality. Dr Jekyll is described as being ‘handsome’, ‘well-made’ and ‘smooth-faced’. On the other hand, Mr Hyde is described as being ‘hardly human’, ‘pale and dwarfish’, giving of an impression of deformity and ‘so ugly that it brought out the sweat on (Mr Enfield) like running’! These words all go together to conjure up an image in the mind of an animal, beast or monster. During the novel...
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll, in grave danger, writes a letter to his good friend Lanyon. With Jekyll’s fate in Lanyon’s hands, he requests the completion of a task, laying out specific directions for Lanyon to address the urgency of the matter. In desperation, Jekyll reveals the possible consequences of not completing this task through the use of emotional appeals, drawing from his longtime friendship with Lanyon, to the fear and guilt he might feel if he fails at succeeding at this task. Through Jekyll’s serious and urgent tone, it is revealed that his situation is a matter of life and death in which only Lanyon can determine the outcome.
... chapter to find out what is says in the letter which creates tension. Utterson does not call the police straight away to cover up for Dr Jekyll so he doesn’t get accused of Hyde’s murder. He is trying to sort it out without implicating Jekyll. The ending of the chapter also confounds our expectations: we expected an answer, but we don’t get one.
Mr. Hyde was pale ad dwarfish; he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and some what broken voice,—all these were points against him; but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him. (10)
The will’s wording itself is disquieting to Utterson, as it states that Hyde inherits Jekyll’s
The criticism by Vladimir Nabokov, supports the claim that Stevenson uses symbolisms to express ideas and to create suspense. Finally Stevenson’s certain tone when he describes Hyde or the evil things the Hyde commit allowed him to express Hyde’s evil and created an unusual atmosphere. When Hyde was described he was described as small and the facial expression of his was very odd and hard to explain “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with some sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering somewhat broken voice” (Stevenson 16). After Utterson’s first encounter with Hyde, he is just amazed and shocked because of Hyde’s physical appearance. Also in their first encounter, the setting was very dark and gloomy which adds to the claim. Also the description of Hyde symbolizes Hyde’s evil. Hyde’s ugliness and his deformed face symbolizes his evil, his small size symbolize Jekyll’s evil side inside him that was repressed for so long along with the dark setting. Another symbolism used in the book is between Jekyll’s laboratory and his house. Jekyll’s house is described as a place of wealth and comfort but his laboratory is described as “a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the streets” (Stevenson 6). The wealthy house represents the respectable man Jekyll and the laboratory represents the corrupt Hyde. Normal people will not see the two structures as one just like how they won’t be able to see the relationship between Hyde and
In the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson's, the story focuses on the qualities that make up close relationships. For example, Utterson, a long-time friend and lawyer of Dr. Jekyll, shows a deep commitment to Jekyll even though his behavior is increasingly strange and his relationship with Mr. Hyde is even stranger. A second quality of close relationships is professional ethics, also a quality present in the story. Utterson, when discussing the strange tale of his Jekyll to Enfield, still presents the story with care and professionalism. He talks about Jekyll and Hyde but presents the facts rather than opinion that could malign Dr. Jekyll. Despite the weirdness of Dr. Jekyll’s transformations and the increasing violent nature of Mr. Hyde, Mr. Utterance continues to support his friend.
Edward Hyde is a main character in the novella, The Strange Case is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson. While, Cruella De Vil, is the main character of the movie 101 Dalmatians. When people saw both Cruella and Edward they quailed because they were so scared of them.Edward Hyde and Cruella de Vil are both very immoral characters who act on their impulses. Despite the fact that Edward Hyde and Cruella De Vil are completely different people, their personalities are very similar. They are both considered “villains” because they both act on their impulses and do what is best for them without regarding others feelings.
Stevenson starts the novella by introducing us to Mr. Utterson who is a discrete lawyer who is ‘never lighted by a smile’ and his enigmatic friend Mr. Enfield. He does this because he is using the technique of foreshadowing when the authors put in little hints to then explore in further detail later in the story. Further on we can see that Utterson is microcosm of the rest of the story; however this isn’t the only reason that Utterson is in the story because soon after this he starts to become the narrator along with Enfield. While they are talking to each other the audience is finding out what is happening. Next, later in the novella we find out that Utterson is actually representing schizophrenia and duality that is in the personality of Jekyll.
Within the text of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson portrays a complex power struggle between Dr. Jekyll, a respected individual within Victorian London society, and Mr. Hyde a villainous man tempted with criminal urges, fighting to take total control of their shared body. While Dr. Jekyll is shown to be well-liked by his colleagues, Mr. Hyde is openly disliked by the grand majority of those who encounter him, terrified of his frightful nature and cruel actions. Throughout Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson portrays the wealthy side of London, including Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll, as respected and well-liked, while showing the impoverish side as either non-existent or cruel.