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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Key Quotations in Chapter 1

Terms in this set (12)

'man of rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile'
Narrator - describing Utterson's appearance
'he was austere with himself'
Narrator - describing his strictness and seriousness - stereotypical victorian gentleman
'the last good influence in the lives of down-going men'
Narrator - Utterson, by reputation is a loyal friend willing to help those around him.
'his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time'
Narrator - describes how Utterson has few friends but is reliable and has strong relations with those he holds dear
'it was a nut to crack for many. what those two could see in each other'
Narrator - describing Enfield's and Utterson's relationship - and how the two were quite opposite
'it was two storeys high, showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper and bore in every feature the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence'
Description of a strange house (Mr Hyde's) that Utterson and Enfield saw on their Sunday walk. Symbolic of Hyde's appearance and his contrast with the other citizens of London.
'about three o'clock of a black winter morning'
Setting/time of Enfield's encounter with Hyde. The night is symbolic of Mr Hyde - he is mysterious, evil and frightening.
'Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child's body and left her screaming on the ground'
Hyde's harming of the young girl - 'trampled calmly' shows how Hyde is not bothered when he harms the innocent girl - perhaps he has committed crimes before this.
'It wasn't like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut'
Mr Enfield's decription of Hyde - Juggernauts were huge wagons that carried the image of the Hindu God Krishna. Worshippers were thought to throw themselves under the wheels of the wagon and be crushed to death. Stevenson uses this image to show how brutal the force was with which Hyde ran into the child.
'He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity'
Mr Enfield's description of Hyde's appearance. Stevenson uses the pseudoscience of physiognomy to hint at the fact that Hyde is unnaturally evil - he looks very outstandingly different to other members of society, and therefore it is assumed that he is evil.
'really like Satan'
Enfield comparing Hyde to Satan - biblical reference that shows how Hyde is symbolic of evil and hell/satan and Jekyll is the opposite.
'I am ashamed of my long tongue'
Mr Utterson displays a distaste for sensation and gossip as this is ungentlemanly. He disapproves of the gossip with Mr Enfield.
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