Maddie Price
Discuss the significance of the theme of appearance and reality in Jekyll and Hyde
The theme of appearance and reality in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is prevalent throughout the novella,
helping to shape and develop the plot greatly. Appearances of both characters and houses in the
story help the reader to develop a more in depth profile of the personality of the characters or the
people who live in the described houses, representing the inward beliefs and personalities that
may have been hidden or concealed. On top of this, Stevenson perhaps uses the novella as a
whole to demonstrate the use of this theme, it being presented for the majority as crime or
detective fiction, the supernatural elements of the story only being revealed during the final
chapters, in which all the questions posed throughout the novella begin to be answered.
Stevenson uses the appearance of his protagonists and their true, inwardly nature to best show the
theme of appearance and reality in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, repeatedly using vivid and detailed
descriptions to construe the personalities of the characters without writing it explicitly. The novella
begins with the description of one of the most important protagonists, Mr Utterson, who is
characterised as “a man of rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile […] backward in
sentiment”. This implies that Mr Utterson is a man who perhaps finds it hard to show emotion and
finds social situations difficult as ‘backward in sentiment’ suggests he goes about things in a
different way to others. However, a later description states “something eminently human beaconed
from his eye”, showing that Mr Utterson has a good nature despite not showing it, the eyes being
known as the ‘windows to the soul’. The use of the description of the eyes is again used later in the
novella when Mr Utterson asks Dr Jekyll about his relationship with Mr Hyde, “Dr Jekyll grew pale
to the very lips and there came a blackness about his eyes.” In contrast with the previous
description of Jekyll, “smooth-faced man of fifty with something of a slyish cast perhaps” implying a
man free of blemishes and without sin, the ‘blackness’ in his eyes gives us an insight into the true
personality of Dr Jekyll, giving us a glimpse of some of the evil and darkness that may be inside
him, fighting to be released, in this case, as Mr Hyde. However, the phrase ‘something of a slyish
cast’ may also imply that Jekyll himself has potential for misbehaviour, something we learn later
that he indulged in as a young man which led to him creating Hyde, a way for him to split his
morally good side from that with bad intentions. Dr Jekyll’s appearance seems to deteriorate
throughout the novella, perhaps representing his battle with Hyde and the slow loss of control that
he was experiencing, “Dr Jekyll, looking deadly sick […] held out a cold hand and bade him
welcome in a changed voice.”. This shows the lifelessness of Dr Jekyll and how he appears to be
draining of humanity, changing to match the appearance of Mr Hyde and showing his losing battle
against his evil impulses. The appearance of Mr Hyde is something which stays relatively the same
throughout the novella, giving off a strong, unnerving sense of evil and disgust continuously,
people immediately both repulsed and curious. “Mr Hyde was pale and dwarfish […] with a sort of
murderous mixture of timidity and boldness.” The ‘dwarfish’ nature of Hyde indicates stunted
growth, making him seem almost sub-human, as if he was not yet fully developed, and Jekyll later
states “I was suddenly aware I had lost in stature.” suggesting that Hyde was almost similar to that
of a regressed human or “something troglodytic”, not standing as tall, but also that he was of a
much lower respectability than Dr Jekyll. Victorians believed that they had reached the pinnacle of
creation and that from then on, humanity would start to regress to an earlier state, thinking that
those in poverty had already started to devolve due to them turning to crime, therefore the crimes
committed by Mr Hyde would suggest that he had already started the fall back to a troglodytic
state. On top of this, his ‘murderous mixture’ could perhaps foreshadow the murder of Sir Danvers
Carew, Stevenson therefore giving us an insight to Hyde’s personality and future actions through
his appearance.
The descriptions of various houses and buildings in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ are also used by Stevenson
to show the theme of appearance and reality as they, again, help to develop the profiles of the
protagonists in the novella. The dwelling of Mr Hyde is described as a “certain sinister type of
building, thrust forward […] showed no window.” implying that it’s hard to miss, creating a sense of
irony, as Mr Utterson repeatedly misses major clues that could have led him to the truth about Dr
