The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (annotated)

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Step 1: Read the extract and understand where it is in the novel: would the reader know about the Jekyll and Hyde persona? What advantage does this give the modern reader and disadvantages to the contemporary (from origin of the book) reader? This little spirit of temper was somewhat of a relief to Mr. Utterson. "They have only differed on some point of science," he thought; and being a man of no scientific passions ( except in the matter of conveyancing) , he even added: "It is nothing worse than that!" He gave his friend a few seconds to recover his composure, and then approached the question he had come to put. "Did you ever come across a protege of his—one Hyde ?" he asked. Stevenson suggests that “he gives a strong feeling of deformity” though he does not specify what this deformity is He is described as being “austere with himself” and that he restricting his pleasures and even though he enjoys attending the theatre, he had not frequented one for twenty years, due to their somewhat poor reputation

Since a year has elapsed since the last Chapter, we can never know what Hyde has been doing, what atrocities he has committed and what degradations he has stooped to. Apparently, they have been many and numerous because he has moved from being a creature who tramples on a child in the first Chapter to this Chapter, where he commits an unprovoked murder. In other words, Hyde's capacity for evil is increasing.Sir," said the butler, turning to a sort of mottled pallor, " that thing was not my master, and there's the truth . My master" here he looked round him and began to whisper—"is a tall, fine build of a man, and this was more of a dwarf ." Utterson attempted to protest. "O, sir," cried

A "fog rolled over the city:" highlighting the air of mystery in the novel, as well as foreshadown another appearance of Hyde and apprehension as we wait for Hyde to act out once more Yes, I preferred the elderly and discontented doctor, surrounded by friends and cherishing honest hopes; and bade a resolute farewell to the liberty, the comparative youth, the light step, leaping impulses and secret pleasures, that I had enjoyed in the disguise of Hyde. I made this choice perhaps with some unconscious reservation, for I neither gave up the house in Soho, nor destroyed the clothes of Edward Hyde, which still lay ready in my cabinet. For two months, however, I was true to my determination; for two months I led a life of such severity as I had never before attained to, and enjoyed the compensations of an approving conscience. But time began at last to obliterate the freshness of my alarm; the praises of conscience began to grow into a thing of course; I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught.Hyde is described throughout in terms of animalistic imagery which increases as the novella develops: “savage”, “snarled”, “with ape-like fury” and “hardly human” all allude to his aggressive, predatory and primitive nature Bless me, Poole, what brings you here?" he cried ; and then taking a second look at him, "What ails you?" he added; "is the doctor ill?"

Weeping like a woman or a lost soul ," said the butler. "I came away with that upon my heart, that I could have wept too."

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You know the doctor's ways, sir," replied Poole , "and how he shuts himself up. Well, he's shut up again in the cabinet ; and I don't like it, sir — I wish I may die if I like it. Mr. Utterson, sir, I'm afraid." In such a society, it is significant that Utterson, so respectable himself, is known for his willingness to remain friends with people whose reputations have been damaged, or ruined. This aspect of his personality suggests not only a sense of charity, but also hints that Utterson is intrigued, in some way, by the darker side of the world—the side that the truly respectable, like Enfield, carefully avoid. It is this curiosity on Utterson’s part that leads him to investigate the peculiar figure of Mr. Hyde rather than avoid looking into matters that could touch on scandal. Two weeks later, Jekyll throws a well-attended dinner party. Utterson stays late so that the two men can speak privately. Utterson mentions the will, and Jekyll begins to make a joke about it, but he turns pale when Utterson tells him that he has been “learning something of young Hyde.” Jekyll explains that the situation with Hyde is exceptional and cannot be solved by talking. He also insists that “the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde.” But Jekyll emphasizes the great interest he currently takes in Hyde and his desire to continue to provide for him. He makes Utterson promise that he will carry out his will and testament. Analysis: Chapters 2–3 What, what? Are you all here?" said the lawyer peevishly. "Very irregular, very unseemly; your master would be far from pleased ." The entire nineteenth century was often concerned with the concept of man's double self, often referred to as a Doppelgänger, a term taken from German literary criticism. This nineteenth-century genre began with a story about a type of double, when Dr. Frankenstein created his monster in 1818 (and due to popularizations of this story, most people think that Frankenstein is the name of the monster instead of the scientist), and later, Sigmund Freud and others before Stevenson, wrote about man's contrasting natures — it was, however, Stevenson's story of Jekyll and Hyde that has so completely held the attention of readers throughout the decades. And as noted, the popularizations of a story will often distort parts of that story. For example, Stevenson intended the main character's name to be pronounced Je (the French word for "I") Kill (Je-Kill =I kill), meaning that the doctor wanted to isolate the evil portion of himself, appropriately named "Hyde," meaning low and vulgar hide or flesh which must hide from civilization. The character's name in the movies, however, was pronounced with the accent on the first syllable and it has remained so.