JEKYLL AND HYDE CHARACTERS
JEKYLL - central protagonist
UTTERSON
HYDE
ENFIELD
LANYON
POOLE
interest in the supernatural - carries out experiments and makes a potion that transforms him into his alter ego, HYDE
potion separates the good and bad sides of himself, allows him to switch between two identities
as HYDE, he indulges in secret pleasures, as JEKYLL he lives respectably
his will leaves everything he has to Hyde if he dies or disappears
he eventually vows not to use the potion again, as Hyde's behaviour worsens and he loses control, but is too weak to stick to his resolution, until Hyde murders Carew
he loses control, changes into Hyde spontaneously without taking the potion, which makes him too afraid to go out into public
he eventually uses the last of the potion, and writes an account to Utterson before changing into Hyde for the last time
reputation - "the very pink of the properties, celebrated too", and "one of your fellows who do what they call good"
His radical scientific methods contrast Lanyon's, who believes in a more rational approach to science, and describes him as "too fanciful" and "wrong, wrong in mind"
KEY POINTS ABOUT HIS CHARACTER
For a long time, he had been aware of two aspects of his character in conflict with each other - "stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life"
scientific interests focus on supernatural/spiritual aspects - "led wholly towards the mystic and transcendental" and is concerned with the nature of the soul or personality rather that the physical body
He is increasingly tormented by Hyde's behaviour, and becomes reclusive and fearful
JEKYLL'S LANGUAGE
he uses vibrant, flamboyant language, full of imagery and emotion, frequently using metaphors and similes which make his account more vivid
he describes completely unusual phenomena, making comparisons with the familiar world to help explain them
he talks about the "polar twins" of good and evil "continuously struggling" in the "agonized womb" of his consciousness
in the end, he feels that language fails him, and stops attempting to explain his experience
he does not exist until freed from within Jekyll by the potion
he is used by Jekyll as a way of enjoying unspecified guilty pleasures in secret without any negative impact upon Jekyll's reputation
he grows stronger as Jekyll changes into him more frequently, and over time gains more and more control until he is the stronger side of Jekyll's character
he tramples a young, innocent girl, and murders Carew, a respectable member of MP
he is the evil aspect of Jekyll manifested in a separate identity, and forms a part of the main protagonist
his character and actions drive Jekyll to his destruction
he is responsible for all the main events of the novella- trampling of the girl, murder of Carew, death of Lanyon and destruction of Jekyll
KEY POINTS ABOUT HIS CHARACTER
everyone he encounters find him immediately repulsive, but can't decide exactly what is wrong about the way he looks - "something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature" - Lanyon
HYDE'S APPEARANCE
he is a distillation of the evil and selfishness in Jekyll - "his every act and thought centred on self" - Jekyll, it is his lack of concern for anyone else that makes him an especially evil character
he is often referred to by Jekyll using imagery about the Devil and animals - "My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring", stress how inhuman Hyde is
he is shorter that Jekyll, so Jekyll's clothes hang off his body looking ridiculous
Jekyll explains why his physical appearance changes, and suggests that something leaks out of the spirit to shape the physical body, so that a bad person looks ugly and a good person looks pleasant
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