Jekyll and Hyde

The unsettling, repugnant and deformed Edward Hyde is a character who provokes extreme visceral aversion from the unwary Victorian reader. Stevenson presents the troglodytic figure of Hyde ingeniously and to crystallize his description of unattractiveness, he uses structure and setting to make Hyde seem ominous and devilish. This chilling build up sets up tension and suspense for the Victorians.

The then current religious theory that man had been made out of God’s image had been overhauled by Darwin’s theory. Darwin claimed that humans were highly elaborate apes. Most Victorians called the theory preposterous. Victorian society was in chaos and heated arguments broke out. The fact that there was a debate of evolution in a book was sensational to the Victorians. Stevenson uses Hyde to explore the theory and split life apart. His “dwarf like stature and resemblance of Satan” would have shaken Victorian society and infuriated readers. Stevenson had created the feeling of blasphemy and in the final chapter makes Jekyll a hypocrite, the spitting image of Victorian society.

The book is a tale of contrasts and of self- control. Stevenson’s novel demonstrates the adverse effects of scientific experimentation on people which bring out both good and evil sides to them. The Victorian era in general also had its own dual personality: the rich and the poor, the saved and the fallen and the worthy and the disgraced. The Victorian era placed high expectations on the respectable classes and dismissed those who did not meet these expectations. Stevenson demonstrates the fact that the pressures existing in high society were so great that many of the rich and respectable lived a double-life of propriety and shame. They went out at night and through dark alleys to experience what went on in the other half of the city. Here, among the dim lit alleyways and under the protection of darkness, the upper class were frequently involved in such illicit activities as gambling, prostitution, brawling, heavy drinking and opium taking. They wanted both to break from the restraining shackles of society and to experience the thrill of something dangerous that was shunned by the tight morals that governed the upper class. Therefore many people led a more secretive, concealed life at night than in the day. This is not only mentioned at the start, but throughout the novel. There is also a safe where Jekyll’s will is kept but it is “from the most private part” that Utterson takes it. There is also the most simple of examples in that Jekyll’s alter ego is called Mr. Hyde who hides within Jekyll and is often in seek as Utterson says. This secret, shaded society knew full well that if they were discovered, their well-respected position and occupation would collapse from underneath them. The Victorians got a vicarious thrill from hearing of those who had been caught in outrageous acts and about the dreadful and shocking things that went on in the slums. Stevenson portrays all these things in Hyde and his consequent behaviour.

All the anxieties are emphatically put together by Stevenson to create an extraordinary character of Hyde. All the fears of Victorian society have been merged and embodied by the sinister looking Hyde. Hyde, as his name indicates, represents the lascivious aspect of man which the Victorians felt the need to "hide" as Utterson once punned on his name: "Well, if he is Mr. Hyde, I will be Mr. Seek." Hyde is a very cautious character when it comes to his own well being but callous about others and their welfare. Because of this ill-treatment, Hyde manages to acquire no friends or comforting family.

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Hyde actually comes to represent the embodiment of pure evil merely for the sake of it. In our first encounter with him, he is seen running over a young girl, simply trampling on her. He does not do this out of spite or intentionally; it is simply an amoral act but as he has not fully built up in Jekyll, he is forced to make reparations. But even in this first encounter, he raises a fear, an antagonism, and a deep loathing in other people. The reaction of others to him is one of horror, partly because while looking at him, others feel a deep desire to strike out at him and kill him. In other words, his mere physical appearance brings out the very worst evil in other people. Stevenson also uses writing to enhance his description of Hyde. When describing the two scenes where Hyde commits himself to break the law maliciously, Stevenson’s language makes Hyde even more brutal and horrific than he is. The suspense, tension and ominousness are added by slowly building “the few and startling details.” Hyde is also seen to be atrocious even before the murder has taken place as readers are told “a crime of singular ferocity” will take place. The detrimental Hyde is also compared with the helpless girl and Danvers Carew. Carew’s respectability and decorousness is compared with the insensate behaviour of the senseless Hyde. Victorian readers would be infuriated by Hyde and his primitive reactions that follow. Stevenson’s extensive uses of metaphors, such as “flame of anger” and “storm of blows” are intense remarks about Hyde. These vivid remarks stick in the Victorians’ minds instead of the infrequent good remarks about Hyde. This fear of the unknown and the mixture of language Stevenson uses, adds depth to Hyde’s fury, in turn adding more horror to Hyde. He was a “sorely contorted man.” Many descriptions of Hyde also refer him to being a demon like character. This relationship between God and the Demon is a delicate subject that Stevenson touches on. Hyde’s devilish appearance not only makes him seem more drastic a fiend but also clarifies his arrogant attitude to innocent people. For instance, Hyde's evil becomes more and more pronounced as the novel goes on. He tramples a girl without much concern and then he bludgeons Sir Danvers Carew to death for absolutely no reason other than the fact that Sir Danvers appeared to be a good and kindly man and pure evil detests pure goodness. As Enfield says, Hyde behaves as a “juggernaut” and this basically sums Hyde up. His “satanic” connections add meaning to his bewildering, wild behaviour and his destructiveness acts upon anything he loathes. “If ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face it is on that of” Hyde’s.

Hyde’s animalism caused havoc amongst Victorian theory. He is seen to be the troglodyte of his time and his mutated figure makes even apes look good. The concept of Hyde being an “ape like” creature and behaving like a juvenile became an intimidating thought. Hyde’s primitivity is also what gives him his nervous excitability and brutish capabilities. These characteristics match the Victorian thinking of what goes on in hell: “Satan” injuring, mocking and committing malignity. Hyde is also a pernicious character as Stevenson makes his every move seem injurious. Hyde is a physical embodiment of the heart of darkness.

Hyde does not only possess pure sin but also has an amusing side. His clothes would have made “an ordinary person laughable” and was seen by Lanyon as a “ludicrous accoutrement.” All the horrors of Hyde: “abnormal, misbegotten, subjective disturbances”; satanic personality and a hideous dress sense fashion made Hyde quietly comical. Hyde is a nuanced character.

The distaste towards Hyde is mainly because of his hideous looking character. The wrath and anguish felt by those who were affected by Hyde’s rebellious actions could not bear to see him alive. When the women are seen to be responding to Hyde trampling the little girl, they are seen as “wild harpies.” Hyde’s lack of conscience and discourteousness means he is forgiven even less if at all. Even in his first encounter, he raises a fear, an antagonism, and a deep loathing in other people. The reaction of others to him is one of horror, partly because while looking at him, others feel a deep desire to strike out at him and kill him. In other words, his mere physical appearance brings out the very worst evil in other people.

Hyde is always seen to be smaller than Jekyll: Jekyll’s clothes are far too large for him and Hyde is seen to be more energetic, therefore suggesting he is younger than Jekyll. Jekyll realises Hyde’s pessimism but knows that Hyde is an intimate part of him so Hyde builds in vice and becomes a dominant figure over Jekyll.

Dr Jekyll is a prominent, popular London scientist with a brilliant reputation and is very successful in his firm of science. He is a large handsome man aged about fifty years old. He owns his own estate and has recently drawn up a will leaving his immense fortune to Hyde. He is a well educated gentleman but this does not stop him from trying to fulfil his wishes of acting immorally without affecting his reputation.

The quality of Hyde’s horror is his ineffable repugnance. No specific detail is given about his malformations so it is upto the reader how ugly Hyde is, but it is definitely known “he must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity.” This unknown fear is dependant on any other characters in the novel such as Jekyll or the way the way the novel is written by Stevenson.

Although Hyde’s repulsive figure manipulates the readers’ feelings, it is Stevenson’s language and construction used in the novel giving an adverse effect to Hyde. Hyde comes from a part of London called Soho which is renowned for its crime and run-down areas. Victorian Soho normally is described as having “florid charms” and being in “general cleanliness and gaiety of note.” The part of Soho Hyde lives in is tattered and distasteful. It stands out from the rest of Soho “like a fire in a forest.” The “blind forehead of discoloured wall” and absence of “neither bell nor knocker” makes Hyde’s house feel uninviting. The contrast between the upbeat, civilised Soho and the speculative, barbarous Soho is what gives readers the thrill and vivid imagination in the novel.

Stevenson also uses setting to keep his novel thrilling. In the scene where Utterson is leaving for Hyde’s house, we are shown a gothic and unappealing scene of the weather. The weather is unsettled and unnaturally dark thus giving an ominous and tense feeling. The “great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven” conveys a sense of death. This reminds us of the brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew. The interplay of light (chiaroscuro) links with the interplay of good and evil which in turn links with Jekyll and Hyde. Stevenson also uses pathetic fallacy to show how Utterson felt. Utterson is seen to be tumult just like the sky: “the thoughts of his mind were of the gloomiest dye.” Hyde also makes him feel low and gloomy contrasting his usual self being of formality and strength. Utterson is aware of “some touch of that terror” enforced by Hyde but once again no details are given. The continuous build up of suspense and tension forces the reader to pay diminutive attention to the book. When Poole and Utterson stroll down to Hyde’s house, Stevenson uses setting to build a foreboding and ominous scene. “A crushing anticipation of calamity” is built up by Stevenson as “moisture of some strangling anguish” drips down Poole. Stevenson then uses repetition within the story, which is not shown to us directly to build up tension: it takes five swings of the axe to break the lock. Stevenson does not provoke us by writing axe five times but we still receive the effect of the suspense and tension being built up. “The besiegers” then enter Hyde’s room which Stevenson makes bland and mundane to waste time therefore raising more tension. Stevenson uses graphic and dramatic language showing Hyde “sorely contorted and twitching.” Hyde was a “self-destroyer” who committed suicide as well as murder. In Lanyon’s narrative, Stevenson makes Lanyon have different thoughts and feelings. He wants us to be excited but have some suspense and tension. Later in the narrative when Hyde speaks, Stevenson makes him use anaphora repeating the phrase, “you who have,” creating a series of clauses to compel us with drama. Stevenson then uses intensified verbs such as “he reeled, staggered, clutched” in breathless complex and compound sentence structures. His extensive use of colons, commas and semicolons creates anxiety and pressure on the reader. In the next paragraph Stevenson wastes as much time as he can to induce suspense on the reader. “‘O God!’ I screamed and ‘O God!’ again and again” introduces repetition again and Stevenson takes his utter most time to get to the conclusion. Stevenson also uses long, suspenseful detailed subordinate clause between dashes to intensify revelations: “He put the glass to his lips, and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with infected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked, there came, I thought, a change – he seemed to swell – his face became suddenly black, and the features seemed to melt and alter – and the next moment I had sprung to my feet…”

Stevenson continuously splits up his novel two show the lack of trust and bonding within the Victorian society. This can be represented by Hyde’s house which represents Hyde as a person. The outside of the house is neglected and dingy but the inside is exquisitely decorated. This represents Jekyll being trapped inside Hyde.

Stevenson also changes the way he narrates the novel by using different characters to tell the story: each one of which giving a different personal point of view. The novel is not only presented to us directly by the characters but they give detail in many other forms of writing. Lanyon and Jekyll both write statements/narratives while Utterson, Enfield and Poole discuss their opinions in conversations with each other. Jekyll also uses his will to convey his feelings and thoughts to the reader. Stevenson also makes his characters use letters but fear tells the story through anticipation. The fragmentation caused by the narration of the novel leads to readers believing the wrong thing and therefore Hyde’s horror intensifies. The secrecy raised by Stevenson is thrilling and intense unnerving the reader causing foreboding feelings and excess horror therefore revelations defer and a mysterious scene is creating in hope rather than expectancy.

The maniac named Hyde makes people cringe in horror and go into hysteria. He is a detestable sight who is despised by all who look at his dire appearance. Victorian morality was very low and Stevenson shows this by using the novel and splitting man, showing Victorians did not have much strength in their mind. Stevenson is bold to show Darwin’s theory in his book. Stevenson emphasises this fragmentation of society by creating the two opposing characters of Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll. The two doctors both build their trust and work in a demanding London society. However, this is where their similarities end, as their viewpoints differ on scientific morality. Lanyon is content with normal scientific life. Jekyll however, aligned with the Victorian philosophy of discovery and adventure in both science and everyday life, is determined to discover new prospects and areas of study.

Stevenson’s novel is a classic Victorian gothic thriller. Hyde is actually the original, authentic nature of man, which has been repressed but not destroyed by the complete and total weight of civilization, conscience, and communal traditions. Perhaps man doesn’t have two natures but rather a single, primitive, amoral one that remains just barely constrained by the bonds of civilization. Moreover, the novel suggests that once those bonds are broken, it becomes impossible to re-establish them and eventually Hyde will permanently replace Jekyll and indeed he does. Even in Victorian England which considered itself the height of Western civilization, Stevenson suggests that the dark, instinctual side of man remains strong enough to devour anyone who, like Jekyll, proves foolish enough to unleash it. “Here then, as I lay down my pen and proceed” through life, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to” an end.