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In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, does the first chapter contain any allusions?
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As a footnote, an allusion is any figure of speech that makes reference to something without using its name. For example, in the first chapter of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we have two examples of allusions: first, the comparison between the man who runs over the girl and a juggernaut; and second, Mr. Enfield's reference to Satan running over the child. What are some examples of imagery used in this chapter? What techniques does Stevenson use to convey a sense of horror?
Two examples of allusions are as follows. First, Mr. Enfield, while out walking around London with Mr. Utterson, tells the story of a man colliding with a young girl of about eight or ten and trampling her down. The man runs her over without even stopping. Mr. Enfield states,
It wasn't like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.
A juggernaut was a huge cart or machine used in India to carry a figure (image or statue) of a Hindu god outside a temple and through a crowd during a Hindu ceremony. It was famous for simply mowing down the people in its path, especially those who threw themselves in front of it to be crushed as a religious sacrifice. Apparently, it was a fairly horrifying spectacle for Europeans to watch. The comparison of what we will discover is Mr. Hyde to a juggernaut is therefore an apt and...
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frighteningallusion to what at the time was largely seen in England as a demonic—as the word "damned" suggests—and strange religion.
Mr. Enfield also compares the man who runs over the girl to "Satan," an allusion to the Jewish and Christian devil. From the start, Mr. Hyde is likened to evil.
An allusion is when an author refers to another work of literature or art.
In the beginning of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson describes one of the main characters in the story, Mr. Utterson. When one of his friends got himself into trouble, Mr. Utterson "was inclined to help rather than to reprove."
"I incline to Cain's heresy," he used to say quaintly: "I let my brother go to the devil in his own way."
This is an allusion to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, found in the book of Genesis, Chapter 4. Cain and Abel are two sons of the first humans, Adam and Eve. Like many brothers who came after them, Cain and Abel quarrel, and Cain kills his brother, becoming the world's first murderer. When God asks Cain, "Where is Abel your brother," Cain replies, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
This answer is, understandably, usually interpreted as a cynical, cruel remark; after all, Cain himself murdered Abel, so it is no excuse to claim that he is not responsible for his brother's safety.
Mr. Utterson refers to this cynical, cruel answer as "Cain's heresy." What he means by this is rather an interesting twist. Whereas Cain truly did not care about his brother, Mr. Utterson truly does care about his friends. It's just that he does not rebuke them for their misbehavior which creates problems for them. Rather, he helps them.
Mr. Utterson displays this trait later in the story when he remains faithful to his friend Dr. Jekyll even after his behavior has become strange and other friends have abandoned him.