Summary Character Analysis of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - AQA English Literature GCSE
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AQA English Literature GCSE
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Fourth Year / 10th Grade
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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
An in-depth character analysis of each character in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (including all side characters). Written by a student that achieved a 9-9 in GCSE English Literature and Language. Explores, analyses and outlines themes connected to characters, what characters represent,...
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Utterson:
Themes: Male friendship/fraternity, morality, loyalty, repression (emotions), reputation
● Respectable lawyer
● Symbolizes honesty & acts as moral compass of novella
● Main protagonist (story told through his eyes)
● Adheres rigidly to order and rationality
● Serves as reliable narrator
○ Stevenson uses a credible, respected, reputable lawyer (Utterson) to
encourage his late 19th-century audience to take the Jekyll/Hyde dual
persona seriously
● Curious - influenced by Hyde to change for the worse (becomes nosy)
● Cautious approach to friendship - friends drawn from 'his own blood' and 'those
whom he has known the longest'
● Represents epitome of Victorian norms & is a perfect Victorian gentleman at the
start (seeks to preserve order & decorum, doesn't gossip, guards his friends'
reputations as if they were his own)
○ Utterson's devotion to decorum & reason depicts Victorian society's
general attempt at maintaining authority of civilization over humanity's
darker side.
○ Stevenson suggests that just as Utterson prefers the
suppression/avoidance of the uncanny scandal & chaos of the truth,
Victorian society prefers to repress & deny the existence of an
uncivilized/savage element of humanity
Hyde's effect on him:
● Stevenson writes that Utterson suffers nightmares/ominous premonitions as he
moves through the city at night - neither suit his normally reasonable personality
● Perhaps, the novel suggests, Hyde's presence (ID) in London is strong enough to
penetrate even the most rigid rational characters (society cannot stop it by
repressing it)
Dr Jekyll:
Themes: Duality, science, repression, friendship, reputation
● Respected doctor
● Close friends with Dr. Lanyon & Mr. Utterson
● Prosperous, well-established man in the community
● Known for his decency & charitable works (facade) - moral character but never
fully embodies 'good' virtue (isn't superego) like Hyde encompasses evil
, ● Represents experimental, metaphysical science & change (future) aspect of
gothic literature
● Symbolizes repression & insatiable curiosity
● Represents the ego (Freud's theory)
● Diametrically opposes Hyde
Name symbolism:
● 'Dr' connotes status & power while Hyde is only 'Mr' - explaining he has much
less status/power
● Also suggest her is the superego - he is a doctor - take a moral oath
(Hippocrates oath) - he is a moral character, helps people (heavily contrasts in
Hyde’s behaviour)
● Suggests he holds a respectable position & has reputation (even respectable do
despicable things/have despicable urges)
● Could be je kill - I kill in French (was lots of French influence in Victorian England
- lots spoke French)
● Reminds of jackal - survivors
Hyde & Jekyll duality:
Jekyll Hyde
Older, taller Younger, shorter
‘Dr Jekyll was a smooth-faced man of ‘Mr Hyde was a man of small stature’
fifty’ - Could also mean he has little
reputation/standing in society
‘A little man who was stumping along’
- Deformity & abnormalcy of
stumping links to idea Hyde is the
devil/evil (Christians believed
deformity was a sign of punishment
for sins)
‘Young Hyde’
Attractive Unattractive
'Large handsome face of Dr Jekyll' 'There is something wrong with his
appearance; something displeasing,
something downright detestable'
- 'He must be deformed somewhere; he
gives a strong feeling of deformity,
although I couldn't specify the point.'
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