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Analysis of characters in Jekyll and Hyde
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Key Quotes - Jekyll v Hyde
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Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde chapter 1 summary and analysis
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GCSE English Literature Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Revision Booklet
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Character of Dr HenryJekyll
1. A pillar of society
Appears to be good and respectable – known for his charity work
Socialises in upper-class circles (holding dinner parties) friendly with “every mark of capacity and
kindness”
Aware of how others see him so behaves in an acceptable manner – “fond of the respect”
people give him
2. Puts on a false face to appear respectable
Shows “a more than commonly grave countenance before the public”
Hidden desires make him feel guilty so creates a “deeper trench” between his good and bad side
- Hides desires with “almost morbid sense of shame”
As a result, Jekyll finds himself committed to a “profound duplicity of life”
3. Ambitious about science
Experiments in ‘transcendental medicine” shows he’s a good scientist although controversial – loses
respect from Lanyon because of his “unscientific balderdash”
Jekyll’s “fanciful” work is not respectable as it crosses the boundary from the science of the physical world
into the supernatural
Makes a potion to rid himself of “the curse of mankind” that the good and bad sides are bound together
and to “be relieved of all that was unbearable” – his guilty conscience
So desperate to split two sides that he willingly “risked death”
Character of Mr Utterson
1. Man of reason
Rational “a lover of the sane and customary sides of life”
He’s a lawyer
Approaches the mystery of Hyde the same way he’d approach a case – by weighing up the evidence and
tries to reach an unbalanced unbiased evaluation
Won’t consider any explanation that threatens his rational way of thinking – his “plain and natural”
explanation that Jekyll locked himself in the cabinet as he’s suffering from disease
2. Affected by disturbing nature of mystery
Enfield’s story about Hyde gives Utterson nightmares – Hyde has “engaged or rather enslaved”
his imagination
Utterson feels “mental perplexity” when meeting Hyde for the first time – confused because it’s
impossible for there to be a supernatural explanation
Memory of Hyde makes Utterson feel a “shudder in his blood”
3. Curious about Hyde but tolerant of a man’s darker side
“A great curiosity came on the trustee… but professional honour and faith to his dead friend
were stringent obligations” – represses curiosity in the name of friendship and professionalism
Feels “an inordinate, curiosity” to see Hyde
Loyal to those who get in trouble and tries to help them – understands when people fall foul of
society’s rules
Feels a strange “envy” for those who can indulge in their darker side – but is grateful as doesn’t
want to harm his darker side
“Last reputable acquaintance” of those who have ruined their reputations
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