GCSE English Literature

Duality in Jekyll and Hyde26 key quotes with full analysis.

Complete collection of quotes about duality in Jekyll and Hyde for GCSE English Literature, exploring the divided self and dual nature of man.

Understanding Duality in Jekyll and Hyde

Duality is the central concept of the novella. Jekyll believes that “man is not truly one, but truly two” - containing both good and evil natures. He creates the potion to separate these, allowing Hyde to act on repressed desires while Jekyll maintains respectability. This reflects Victorian society's division between public propriety and private vice.

Stevenson shows that duality cannot be cleanly separated. Hyde is initially smaller because evil has been suppressed, but grows stronger as Jekyll indulges him. Eventually, Hyde takes over without the potion. The novella warns that denying our darker impulses doesn't eliminate them - it makes them more dangerous.

Good vs EvilSplit PersonalityVictorian SocietyRepressionTransformation

All Duality Quotes

“If he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek”
Mr UttersonChapter: 2
SecrecyDuality

Context: Utterson makes this pun after learning about Hyde and resolving to find him.

Analysis

This pun demonstrates Utterson's determination to uncover the mystery. The wordplay on "hide" and "seek" foreshadows the cat-and-mouse nature of the narrative. It also reflects Victorian curiosity conflicting with propriety - Utterson is drawn to investigate despite preferring to avoid scandal.

Language Techniques:

PunForeshadowingFirst-person narrative

Exam Tip

Use this quote to discuss how Stevenson creates mystery and suspense. The pun also shows Utterson's rational, lawyer-like approach to problems.

“The last good influence in the lives of down-going men”
Narrator (about Utterson)Chapter: 1
ReputationVictorian HypocrisyGood vs Evil

Context: The narrator describes Utterson's role as a loyal friend to those in trouble.

Analysis

This establishes Utterson as a moral anchor and reliable narrator. The phrase "down-going men" suggests decline and fall, foreshadowing Jekyll's trajectory. Utterson represents Victorian respectability trying to contain or rescue those who stray.

Language Techniques:

CharacterisationForeshadowingEuphemism

Exam Tip

Use this to establish Utterson's reliability as a narrator and his role as a moral compass in the novella.

“There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable”
Mr EnfieldChapter: 1
DualityGood vs EvilRepression

Context: Enfield struggles to describe Hyde after witnessing him trample a child.

Analysis

The inability to articulate Hyde's wrongness reflects how evil defies rational explanation. The repetition of "something" shows the limits of language when confronting primal evil. Hyde represents the repressed dark side that Victorian society refused to acknowledge.

Language Techniques:

RepetitionNegative descriptionSemantic field of disgust

Exam Tip

This quote demonstrates Stevenson's technique of describing Hyde through absence and negation - we never get a clear physical description, making him more terrifying.

“He gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running”
Mr EnfieldChapter: 1
Good vs EvilRepressionViolence

Context: Enfield describes his physical reaction to seeing Hyde.

Analysis

The physical, bodily reaction to Hyde suggests his evil operates on an instinctive level. The simile "like running" implies fleeing from danger - a primal fight-or-flight response. Hyde triggers visceral disgust that bypasses rational thought.

Language Techniques:

SimilePhysiological descriptionGothic imagery

Exam Tip

Use this to discuss how Stevenson uses physical reactions to convey evil, rather than explicit description.

“Satan's signature upon a face”
Mr UttersonChapter: 2
Good vs EvilDualityVictorian Hypocrisy

Context: Utterson reflects on what Hyde's face might reveal about his character.

Analysis

This metaphor connects Hyde to the ultimate evil figure. The idea of evil being written on the face reflects Victorian physiognomy - the belief that character showed in physical features. Yet Hyde's exact deformity remains undefined, suggesting evil is recognizable but indescribable.

Language Techniques:

MetaphorReligious imageryAllusion

Exam Tip

Link this to Victorian pseudoscience of physiognomy and phrenology - the belief that criminals could be identified by their appearance.

“like a man restored from death”
Narrator (describing Hyde)Chapter: 4
ViolenceGood vs EvilDuality

Context: Hyde appears reinvigorated after murdering Sir Danvers Carew.

Analysis

The paradox of murder bringing life reflects how Hyde thrives on violence and transgression. This inversion of natural order - death bringing life - emphasizes Hyde's unnatural, almost supernatural nature. It suggests evil is energizing when freed from moral restraint.

Language Techniques:

SimileParadoxGothic imagery

Exam Tip

Use this to discuss how Hyde represents the liberation of repressed desires - violence literally energizes him.

“ape-like fury”
NarratorChapter: 4
ViolenceDualityScience vs Nature

Context: Describing Hyde's attack on Sir Danvers Carew with a cane.

Analysis

The simian imagery connects Hyde to evolutionary theory - he represents devolution, a return to primitive, pre-civilized humanity. Written just decades after Darwin, this taps into Victorian fears about humanity's animal nature lurking beneath civilization.

Language Techniques:

SimileAnimal imageryScientific allusion

Exam Tip

Essential for discussing Darwin's influence. Hyde embodies Victorian fears about regression and the "beast within" that civilization supposedly tames.

“the man trampled calmly over the child's body”
Mr EnfieldChapter: 1
ViolenceGood vs EvilRepression

Context: Enfield recounts Hyde's first appearance, trampling a young girl.

Analysis

The adverb "calmly" is deeply disturbing - it shows Hyde's complete lack of conscience or empathy. His indifference to causing pain reveals pure, unreflective evil. The child victim emphasizes Hyde's corruption of innocence.

Language Techniques:

JuxtapositionAdverb choiceShocking imagery

Exam Tip

This is Hyde's introduction - use it to establish his character as entirely without morality or human feeling.

“man is not truly one, but truly two”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityRepressionScience vs Nature

Context: Jekyll explains his theory of human duality in his final statement.

Analysis

This is the novella's central thesis. Jekyll articulates the Victorian struggle between public respectability and private desire. His scientific framing suggests duality is a natural fact, not a moral failing - though his experiments prove disastrous.

Language Techniques:

AntithesisScientific languagePhilosophical statement

Exam Tip

This is perhaps the most important thematic quote. Use it to discuss the central theme of duality and Jekyll's rationalization of his experiments.

“I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityScience vs NatureRepression

Context: Jekyll reflects on his discovery about human nature.

Analysis

The word "primitive" connects to Darwin - duality is ancient, pre-civilized. "Thorough" suggests it permeates all aspects of humanity. Jekyll frames this as scientific discovery, yet his own inability to control it suggests nature cannot be so easily mastered.

Language Techniques:

Scientific registerAdjectivesFirst-person confession

Exam Tip

Link this to Victorian scientific optimism and its limits - Jekyll thinks he can control duality but ultimately cannot.

“I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityGood vs EvilRepression

Context: Jekyll describes Hyde taking over his identity.

Analysis

The slow process suggests addiction - once evil is indulged, it grows stronger. The comparative adjectives "better" and "worse" show Jekyll still sees moral hierarchy, even as he loses control. "Incorporated" literally means "made into one body" - they are becoming inseparable.

Language Techniques:

Repetition of "slowly"Comparative adjectivesFirst-person reflection

Exam Tip

Use this to discuss how the novella shows evil as addictive and consuming - once released, it cannot be controlled.

“I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityGood vs EvilScience vs Nature

Context: The final line of Jekyll's confession.

Analysis

Jekyll refers to himself in third person, showing complete dissociation. The tragic finality emphasizes the consequences of tampering with nature. "Unhappy" summarizes Jekyll's existence - his respectability brought no joy, only repression that led to disaster.

Language Techniques:

Third-person self-referenceTragic endingFormal register

Exam Tip

The ending shows that attempting to separate good and evil fails catastrophically - they cannot be divided.

“My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
RepressionDualityViolence

Context: Jekyll explains why Hyde emerged with such ferocity.

Analysis

The metaphor of caging suggests Victorian repression stores rather than eliminates dark impulses. "Roaring" like a beast connects to animal imagery throughout. The longer desires are suppressed, the more violently they emerge - a critique of Victorian morality.

Language Techniques:

Extended metaphorAnimal imageryPersonification

Exam Tip

Crucial for discussing repression. Stevenson suggests Victorian morality's suppression of desire makes eventual release more violent, not less.

“that child of Hell had nothing human”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
Good vs EvilDualityViolence

Context: Jekyll describes Hyde after the murder of Carew.

Analysis

Religious imagery positions Hyde as demonic, yet he came from Jekyll himself. The paradox is that this "child of Hell" is also Jekyll's child - born from his experiments. "Nothing human" suggests total loss of humanity, yet Hyde is human nature unrestrained.

Language Techniques:

Religious imageryMetaphorHyperbole

Exam Tip

Use this to discuss Jekyll's self-deception - he distances himself from Hyde, but Hyde IS Jekyll without conscience.

“I have had a shock... and I shall never recover”
Dr LanyonChapter: 6
Science vs NatureGood vs EvilRepression

Context: Lanyon speaks to Utterson after witnessing Hyde's transformation.

Analysis

Lanyon's inability to recover shows some knowledge is too terrible to bear. His rational, scientific worldview cannot accommodate what he witnessed. His death from shock represents the destruction of conventional Victorian certainties.

Language Techniques:

UnderstatementForeshadowingDramatic irony

Exam Tip

Lanyon represents conventional science and morality - his destruction shows that confronting hidden human nature can be fatal.

“unscientific balderdash”
Dr LanyonChapter: 2
Science vs NatureDualityVictorian Hypocrisy

Context: Lanyon dismisses Jekyll's research as nonsense.

Analysis

Lanyon represents orthodox, respectable science that refuses to explore dangerous territories. His dismissive attitude ironically blinds him to real discoveries. The conflict between Lanyon and Jekyll mirrors debates about scientific ethics and limits.

Language Techniques:

Dismissive languageCharacterisationDramatic irony

Exam Tip

Contrast Lanyon's safe, conventional science with Jekyll's dangerous but genuine discoveries about human nature.

“I have been afraid for about a week”
PooleChapter: 8
SecrecyGood vs EvilDuality

Context: The butler reveals his growing terror about what is happening in Jekyll's laboratory.

Analysis

Poole's sustained fear builds Gothic suspense. As a servant, he represents the domestic sphere being invaded by horror. His loyalty to Jekyll makes his fear more affecting - he knows something is terribly wrong but cannot understand it.

Language Techniques:

UnderstatementGothic atmosphereWorking-class voice

Exam Tip

Use Poole to discuss class in the novella - servants see more than they say, maintaining discretion even in crisis.

“That thing was not my master”
PooleChapter: 8
DualityGood vs EvilSecrecy

Context: Poole insists that Hyde, not Jekyll, is in the laboratory.

Analysis

Calling Hyde "that thing" dehumanizes him completely. Poole's certainty that his master has been replaced reflects the Gothic theme of the doppelgänger. His servant's intuition proves more accurate than Utterson's rational analysis.

Language Techniques:

Dehumanising languageGothic motifDramatic revelation

Exam Tip

Poole sees the truth more clearly than the educated gentlemen - use this to discuss class and perception in the novella.

“the fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city”
NarratorChapter: 4
SecrecyDualityVictorian Hypocrisy

Context: Description of London on the morning after Sir Danvers Carew's murder.

Analysis

London's fog represents moral obscurity - the city's sins hidden from view. "Drowned" suggests suffocation and death. The personified fog "sleeping" gives it sinister presence. This Gothic atmosphere mirrors the hidden evils within respectable society.

Language Techniques:

Pathetic fallacyPersonificationGothic imagery

Exam Tip

The fog is symbolic of Victorian society's willful blindness to evil happening in plain sight.

“the door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained”
NarratorChapter: 1
DualitySecrecyVictorian Hypocrisy

Context: Description of the rear entrance to Jekyll's house, used by Hyde.

Analysis

The door represents the hidden entrance to Jekyll's life. Its decay contrasts with his respectable front entrance. "Blistered and distained" suggests disease and corruption. The lack of bell or knocker means visitors cannot announce themselves - perfect for secret comings and goings.

Language Techniques:

SymbolismVisual imageryContrast

Exam Tip

The two-doored house is a perfect symbol for Jekyll's dual life - respectable front, degraded back.

“like a district of some city in a nightmare”
NarratorChapter: 4
DualityGood vs EvilVictorian Hypocrisy

Context: Describing the area of Soho where Hyde lives.

Analysis

Soho represents the dark underside of respectable London. The nightmare comparison emphasizes the Gothic horror of the urban landscape. This geography mirrors Jekyll's psychology - respectable West End home, squalid Soho hideaway.

Language Techniques:

SimileGothic atmosphereSocial commentary

Exam Tip

Use this to discuss the geography of the novella as reflecting class divisions and moral geography of Victorian London.

“I felt younger, lighter, happier in body”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityRepressionGood vs Evil

Context: Jekyll describes the sensation of first becoming Hyde.

Analysis

The positive physical sensations are disturbing - evil feels good. "Younger" suggests regression to a less civilized state. "Lighter" implies freedom from moral burden. This reveals how repression weighs heavily; releasing it brings relief, however destructive.

Language Techniques:

Rule of threeComparative adjectivesFirst-person sensation

Exam Tip

This shows the seductive nature of evil - giving in to dark impulses feels liberating, which makes Hyde addictive.

“there was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityRepressionScience vs Nature

Context: Jekyll describes the first transformation.

Analysis

The language of pleasure and novelty treats moral transgression like a drug. "Indescribably" echoes others' inability to describe Hyde. "Sweet" gives evil sensory appeal. Jekyll's scientific curiosity becomes indistinguishable from sinful desire.

Language Techniques:

Sensory languageSemantic field of pleasureFirst-person confession

Exam Tip

The sweetness of transformation explains why Jekyll continues despite dangers - evil is pleasurable, which is its danger.

“Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityGood vs EvilRepression

Context: Jekyll reflects on Hyde's increasingly violent behaviour.

Analysis

The use of full names emphasizes their separateness, yet they share one body. "Aghast" shows moral horror, but it's passive - Jekyll watches rather than prevents. This illustrates how splitting good from evil doesn't eliminate evil; it removes restraint.

Language Techniques:

Third-person self-referenceJuxtapositionDramatic irony

Exam Tip

Jekyll's horror at Hyde's acts while continuing to become him shows addiction and self-deception - he's complicit, not innocent.

“the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr Hyde”
Dr JekyllChapter: 3
DualityScience vs NatureRepression

Context: Jekyll reassures Utterson that he can control his relationship with Hyde.

Analysis

This confident assertion proves tragically ironic. Jekyll's belief in control reflects scientific hubris - the assumption that nature can be mastered. The novella systematically dismantles this confidence, showing desire cannot be rationally controlled.

Language Techniques:

Dramatic ironyForeshadowingHubris

Exam Tip

Essential for discussing hubris. Jekyll's confidence that he controls Hyde is his fatal flaw - he underestimates evil's power.

“It was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty”
Dr JekyllChapter: 10
DualityVictorian HypocrisyGood vs Evil

Context: Jekyll attempts to absolve himself of responsibility for Hyde's crimes.

Analysis

This self-justification reveals Jekyll's moral failure. He denies responsibility for his own actions by claiming Hyde is separate. Yet the novella shows they are one person. This excuse mirrors how Victorians blamed the "lower" self for sins.

Language Techniques:

Self-deceptionMoral evasionDramatic irony

Exam Tip

Use this to critique Jekyll - he never accepts responsibility. His final confession blames Hyde, not himself, for everything.

Explore More Jekyll and Hyde Themes

View quotes organised by other key themes including repression, Victorian hypocrisy, and secrecy.

All Jekyll and Hyde QuotesRepression Theme