Mr Edward Hyde

Test yourself

Hyde - Evil and Inhumane

Hyde embodies pure evil, and is portrayed as being inhumane and animalistic.

"Pure evil"

Hyde is “pure evil”. Jekyll seems to be a mixture of good and evil.
Hyde is Jekyll’s dark side, released from the bonds of conscience and loosed into the world by a mysterious potion.
Hyde seems to be violent for the sake of it, and he enjoys violence. The murder of Carew in Chapter 4 is a senseless attack which he takes “delight” in as he attacks the poor man with a cane.
Hyde's enjoyment and psychopathic tendencies are what shock the reader most.

Inhumane

Hyde's appearance leaves “an imprint of deformity and decay”.
Hyde is clearly not the average human, and he creates a menacing and threatening atmosphere.

Animalistic

Hyde is a strange, repugnant man who looks faintly pre-human, and everyone who sees him describes him as ugly and deformed. No one can say exactly why though.
Hyde moves like an animal rather than a human, and his laugh and mannerisms are evil: “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh; and the next moment, with extraordinary quickness, he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house.”
Hyde is more savage than he is civilised.

Context - Darwinism

Utterson and Jekyll want to maintain a civilised exterior and to maintain a respectable reputation.
Darwin’s theory - that men evolved from apes - was famous during the time the novel was written, so readers would have been shocked at the idea that we could all have a primitive, dark and immoral side.

Reactions to Hyde

Other characters are disgusted and anxious about Hyde's appearance:

Failing language

Language itself seems to fail around Hyde: he is not a being who belongs to the rational world.
He is often described as a creature: “There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature”.

Creature of reversed evolution

Utterson, Enfield and Poole are all horrified by his physical features, although Stevenson does not explicitly describe his exterior in detail.
The context of Darwinism allows the reader to infer that he is a creature of reversed evolution: "He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance”.

Quick Quotes - Hyde

Here are three short quotes highlighting key aspects of Hyde's character:

Merciless

“A man who was without bowels of mercy” (2).

Strange and uneven

“He gives a strong feeling of deformity” (1).

Selfish

“His every act and thought centered on self” (10).

1Plot Summary

1.1Chapters 1-10

1.1.1Chapters 1 & 2

1.1.2Chapters 3 & 4

1.1.3Chapters 5 & 6

1.1.4Chapters 7 & 8

1.1.5Chapters 9 & 10

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-10

2Characters

2.1Jekyll & Hyde

2.1.1Dr Henry Jekyll

2.1.2Jekyll - Name & Quotes

2.1.3Mr Edward Hyde

2.1.4Jekyll/Hyde Quotes - Chapters 1-9

2.1.5Jekyll/Hyde Quotes - Chapter 10

2.1.6End of Topic Test - Jekyll & Hyde

2.1.7Exam-Style Questions - Mr Hyde

2.2Other Characters

2.2.1Mr Gabriel John Utterson

2.2.2Dr Hastie Lanyon

2.2.3Minor Characters

2.2.4End of Topic Test - Other Characters

3Gothic Genre

3.1Gothic Elements

3.1.1Gothic Conventions

3.1.2Gothic Settings & Symbolism

3.1.3End of Topic Test - Gothic Conventions

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes & Quotes

4.1.1Science

4.1.2Dual Nature of Man

4.1.3Religion & Sin

4.1.4Violence & Horror

4.1.5Victorian Gentlemen

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes & Quotes

5Context & Author

5.1Context & Author

5.1.1The Victorian Era

5.1.2Deacon Brodie & Freud

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Context & Author

6Literary Techniques

6.1Literary Techniques

6.1.1Language

6.1.2Structure & Form

6.1.3End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques

7Grade 9 - Key Character & Theme Questions

7.1Key Character & Themes - Linked Questions

7.1.1Grade 9 - Key Characters & Themes

7.1.2Extract Analysis - Jekyll

7.1.3Extract Analysis - Duality

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