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Summary GRADE 9 MR HYDE CHARACTER PROFILE
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grade 9, in depth notes about Edward Hyde from jekyll and hyde
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Edward Hydeo Repression: name could be argued to be an aptronym, reflecting its owners personality since he
depicts elements of typical Victorian masculine behaviour which men were expected to conceal. ‘if
he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek’
o Atavism: appearance is used to emphasize criminality through physiognomy ‘strong feeling of
deformity’
o Fin de siècle (end of a century): presented as many of the increasing fears emerging at the end of the
century specifically advances in scientific and medicinal fields and the effect this could have on the
psychology of individuals. interpreted as Stevenson warning readers of consequences of fast societal
developments and fears such as ‘devolution’ since Hyde is an ‘ape-like’ form of a previously
respectable member of society
o Class system: Mr Hyde (if considered a separate entity) is a member of working class, while Jekyll is
upper class. The disparity between wealth and status means that Hyde is less of a subject to societal
scrutiny and can act with aggression and lack of remorse to some extent. Hyde’s murder of Carew
can highlight violent uprising of the proletariat. However, if Hyde is viewed as a linked extension of
Jekyll the trampling of the young girl is a reflection of the power in which the bourgeoisie acceptably
exercises of working classes
o Hyde is the embodiment of a wholly id-controlled mind with no thought of remorse or consequences,
since he has few inhibitions and a lack of restraint when it comes to violence
o Presented as violent through murdering Carew with a cane and trampling a girl with lack of reason
emphasizing his portrayal as the embodiment of pure and unadulterated evil
o As Hyde continues to commits evil, power over Jekyll increases, suggesting the more evil an
individual commits, the more power they have over society
o Presented as animalistic – ‘shrank back with a hissing intake of breath’; ‘the creature’
o Hyde tramples girl – immediately displayed as violent and remorseless, tempting Victorian
audiences to label his as the villain. Mysterious character heightened by the lack of explicit
description and the fact he is mainly referenced by other characters makes him appear more elusive
o Hyde is a foil to Jekyll. Emphasizing positive traits and acting as an antithesis. By giving Hyde a key
to Jekyll’s backdoor it could imply that he is omnipresent in jekylls subconscious
o Utterson takes a severe dislike to Hyde when he first hears of him and after making his acquaintance
he realises the true extent of his evil character early on, when he begins to investigate the case
o Lanyon is the first to discover the connection between Jekyll and Hyde and dies as a result of
witnessing the transformation
o Enfield deals with him after the incident with the young girl and forces him to pay compensation
Key quotes
“Damned Juggernaut”
o A “juggernaut” is a wagon which was used to carry around the image of the Hindu God Krishna.
Worshippers would sometimes throw themselves under its wheels and get crushed to death. More
generally it means a hugely overwhelming, destructive force. The further theme of sacrifice implied
by the word “Juggernaut” may reference the sacrifice Jekyll makes to Hyde in exchange for
indulging in decadent and inappropriate behaviour. This suggests Hyde is controlled solely by
impulse.
“He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing,
something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why
o Mr Hyde is a vague character in the eyes of the reader as descriptions of him are ambiguous. He
evokes fear in other characters, posing a mechanism by which people may experience the inner
terrors and sins that exist within them. Stevenson’s use of ambiguity forces the reader to imagine
their worst fears in Hyde. The alliterative “d” reinforces a sense of repulsion; anaphoric repetition of
“something” creates an air of unceasing intangibility.
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