Discussion Topic
Descriptions of Mr. Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Summary:
Mr. Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is described as a small, deformed, and repulsive man who evokes a sense of unease and dread in others. His appearance is unsettling, with a sense of deformity without any specific malformation, reflecting his morally corrupt and evil nature.
How is Mr. Hyde described in the first chapter of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
In Chapter One, Mr. Enfield tells of how he came across the detestable Mr. Hyde one bleak winter morning. At the time, Mr. Hyde had callously trampled over a little girl and was fast making his getaway when Mr. Enfield apprehended him.
To Mr. Enfield, Mr. Hyde was a grotesque character who elicited revulsion from anyone who chose to look upon him. Ironically, Mr. Hyde appeared to exhibit no remorse for his horrendous act of cruelty; he faced the family of the little girl coolly, as if he had nothing for which to be ashamed of. Mr. Enfield admits that even the doctor who tended to the young child had difficulty holding back his feelings of violence against Mr. Hyde. In short, Mr. Hyde actually inspired murder in the hearts of both Mr. Enfield and the doctor that fateful morning.
Since murder was out of the question, the doctor, Mr. Enfield, and all other interested parties demanded that Mr. Hyde make some sort of financial restitution for his reprehensible act. The figure of a hundred pounds was mentioned, and even though Mr. Hyde would have liked to bargain for less, the menace of the angry crowd prevented him from further arguing his position. Eventually, Mr. Hyde did make good on the payment, but Mr. Enfield still classed him as a 'really damnable man,' unworthy of society's esteem.
Later, Mr. Enfield confides to his friend, Mr. Utterson, that although there was something 'displeasing' and 'downright detestable' about Mr. Hyde, he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly made the man such a sinister figure. According to Mr. Enfield, Mr. Hyde gives the impression of someone who is deformed in some way, yet the fact is not evident just by looking at him. He is an 'extraordinary man' to look at and nondescript in appearance at the same time. Mr. Enfield is frustrated that he can't accurately describe Mr. Hyde nor explain his own loathing of the man. However, he maintains that everyone who looks upon Mr. Hyde immediately takes a violent dislike to him.
Describe Mr. Hyde's character in the first three chapters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
We first learn of Mr. Hyde as Mr. Utterson, Dr. Jekyll's lawyer, walks with his cousin, Mr. Enfield, through the streets of London. Mr. Enfield tells the story of a man who "ran over" a running child in a ruthless way. Their bodies collided at an intersection on the street. Mr. Hyde "tramped calmly" over the girl and left her screaming on the ground. Enfield found Mr. Hyde's behavior oddly inhuman, and the sight of the man "loathsome." This opening incident establishes a tone of uneasiness while characterizing Mr. Hyde as a mysterious and unpleasant person.
The unease with Mr. Hyde continues as Mr. Utterson asks Mr. Enfield to describe Hyde's physical appearance. Mr. Enfield says the following:
There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right 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, although I couldn’t specify the point.
Mr. Utterson's curiosity is raised higher when his client, the good Dr. Jekyll, names Hyde as a beneficary in his will. Wanting to see the man for himself, Utterson finally succeeds and finds Hyde "pale and dwarvish." Like Enfield, Utterson reacts to him as a being that is loathsome and "deformed." Mr. Utterson also becomes increasingly worried that Hyde might murder Jekyll if he finds out the contents of his will.
What are some feminine descriptions of Mr. Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
Perhaps the most striking description of Hyde, besides his indescribably ugly face, is that he's considerably smaller than Jekyll. While Stevenson describes Jekyll as "a large, well-made, smooth-faced man," and just a bit later emphasizes Jekyll's "large handsome face," Hyde, in contrast, is "small and very plainly dressed," even "dwarfish." Jekyll himself explains that away by claiming that since he suppressed his evil nature for so long, its personification is by necessity smaller, but it could also be seen as yet another manifestation of the dichotomy of humankind. Good versus evil manifests itself in large versus small, and many other binaries can be incorporated into this--light versus dark, open versus hidden, and indeed male versus female. (I'm verging a bit into Derridean philosophy here, but it's a subject worth looking into in this context, particularly with regard to binary oppositions.)
Additionally, the first time Utterson meets Hyde, he notes that Hyde's footstep is "light," and he reiterates much later that Hyde's steps differ from Jekyll's "heavy creaking tread." Hyde speaks, as well, with "a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice"--a voice well paired with such an unimpressive figure as Hyde's, and not one you'd expect from such a large man as Jekyll. Jekyll's butler Poole is the only character to go so far as to explicitly describe Hyde in feminine terms, though; he tells Utterson that he hears the person in Jekyll's study "weeping like a woman or a lost soul."
I hope this helps!
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