The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

CfE Higher

Essay Focus: An important/key incident that helps develop your understanding of the novel.

October Test Prep

Prep: An important incident

Chapter 1: The Story of the Door

Incident

Enfield telling Utterson the story of the dilapidated

looking door, the violent trampling of a young girl,

the perpetrator who entered this door afterwards .

Prep: An important incident

What do you think the key part of Enfield’s story is?

Build up Incident Aftermath

Prep: Important incident

Build up

The description of the dilapidated door.

*See previous notes.

Prep: An important incident

Why is this relevant?

The door is one of the first indications of the atmosphere of secrecy that pervades* the novel

It is always locked It has “neither bell nor knocker” The windows visible in the rest of the building

are always shut It is a symbol for the idea, within the theme of

secrecy and hypocrisy, of repressed desires

Prep: Important incident

Contd. Why is this relevant?

The door is linked to the theme of the duality of nature

It is out of place in the otherwise pleasant and attractive street

It is linked intrinsically* to Hyde and is symbolic of the idea of public image vs private desires – just as Hyde secretly allows Jekyll to experience his private desires without damaging his reputation, so Hyde must enter the laboratory via the dilapidated door in order not to damage Jekyll’s reputation.

Prep: An important incident

Incident

Hyde walking over the young girl.

Prep: An important incident

Why is this relevant?

This is the first information we have of Hyde and establishes him as a detestable character.

Look at this incident again and find 5 words or phrases Stevenson uses to describe the act itself.

Prep: An important incident

“little man who was stumping along…at a good walk”

“stumping” has connotations of heavy walking and purposefully. It has denotations of walking unevenly. This suggests the man is walking perhaps in fury. “trampled calmly”

An oxymoron as “trampled” and “calmly” contrast. “trampled” is a violent action, where as “calmly” has connotations of peaceful and relaxed. Therefore Hyde did a violent action nonchalant

“hellish” In Christianity Hell is the place that sinners are

sent when they die. It has connotations of evil and sinful behaviour. From Enfield’s perspective, he views what he has witnessed as being evil and atrocious. “It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damn Juggernaut”

In the Hindu religion a Juggernaut was a chariot that circled the Earth and devotees of the faith would throw themselves in front of the chariot. The chariot never stopped. This suggests that Hyde was equally powerful and destructive in his movement. “It wasn’t like a man” suggests that Hyde is sub-human – ‘the beast in man’

Prep: Important Incident

Aftermath

Reactions towards Hyde

5 minutes – find 3 quotations

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Why is this relevant?

Throughout the novel, the characters who encounter Hyde describe feeling revulsion in his presence.

The women were “as wild as harpies”. Women are generally thought of as being more gentle than men. In the Victorian period in particular women were expected to be quiet and unassuming. The simile “wild as harpies” suggests a ferocity that was unexpected of women at this time. In Greek mythology harpies were creatures with the face and torso of women, the body of a lizard, and wings of an eagle. They lured boats to their island and devoured those on-board.

The strength of this reaction, and those of Enfield, the doctor (“sawbones”), and other men in the group, all relate back to establishing Hyde as a character who represents ‘the beast in man’.