1.6 - Key Quotes
Key quotes - Chapters 1-3
| Quote | Character | Theme | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| "trampled calmly over the child's body and left her screaming on the ground" | Hyde | Good versus evil | Highlights Hyde's indifferent cruelty and his assault on vulnerability |
| "really like Satan" | Hyde | Good versus evil | Links Hyde to demonic forces and profound wickedness |
| "If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek" | Utterson | Secrecy and concealment | Illustrates Utterson's resolve to expose mysteries, with clever punning on pursuit of secrets |
| "the man seems hardly human" | Hyde | Duality of human nature | Implies Hyde embodies the primal, less-than-human aspect of humanity |
| "I am naturally helpless. No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene" | Jekyll | Victorian respectability and reputation | Reveals the Victorian priority on upholding social decorum and avoiding scandal |
| "I swear to God I will never set eyes on him again" | Jekyll | Addiction and self-destruction | Demonstrates Jekyll's empty vows and failure to manage his changing state |
Key quotes - Chapters 4-6
| Quote | Character | Theme | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| "ape-like fury" | Hyde | Duality of human nature | Portrays Hyde's descent into savage, beast-like aggression |
| "the bones were audibly shattered" | Hyde | Good versus evil | Underscores the savage intensity of the attack on Carew |
| "like a district of some city in a nightmare" | Setting | Secrecy and concealment | Creates a haunting mood that mirrors concealed corruption in society |
| "I bind my honour to you that I am done with him in this world" | Jekyll | Victorian respectability and reputation | Shows Jekyll's frantic efforts to preserve his standing via unreliable assurances |
| "The large handsome face of Dr. Jekyll grew pale to the very lips" | Jekyll | Secrecy and concealment | Displays Jekyll's visible terror and remorse over his hidden truth |
| "O God!" and was gone | Jekyll | Addiction and self-destruction | Captures Jekyll's dread at his diminishing command over shifts |
Key quotes - Chapters 7-10
| Quote | Character | Theme | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| "my master is not at home" | Poole | Class and social hierarchy | Reflects servant-class devotion despite evident irregularities |
| "that thing was not my master, and there's the truth" | Poole | Class and social hierarchy | Demonstrates lower-class perception in identifying Hyde's takeover |
| "I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man" | Jekyll | Duality of human nature | Directly articulates the story's core idea of inherent human division |
| "man is not truly one, but truly two" | Jekyll | Duality of human nature | Expresses Jekyll's insight into the split essence of humanity |
| "Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil" | Jekyll | Good versus evil | Positions Hyde as unmitigated malevolence without positive traits |
| "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self" | Jekyll | Addiction and self-destruction | Illustrates Jekyll's progressive erosion of control and ethical decline |
How were these notes?