How is Utterson Presented in Jekyll and Hyde?
In Stevenson's novella 'The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde' he constructs Utterson to explore ideas surrounding the contemporary Victorian perception of how a reputable gentleman should act, where society itself felt pressured to conform to societal mores; he also subtly suggests how the idea of the Victorian gentleman is a facade as it suppresses a person's desires and leads to them only displaying one side to themselves, when man, by definition, consists of a dual nature.
My Comments
This is a strong thesis statement, clearly setting out what the essay is going to argue. It has at least 3 ideas, all linked to the author’s viewpoint, which is always going to be at least ‘thoughtful’ in level 5.
Stevenson outwardly presents Utterson as the ideal Victorian gentleman. However he hints too at Utterson’s dual nature and his hypocrisy, and thus the hypocrisy of Victorian society as a whole. Utterson is introduced as a ‘lawyer’, suggesting he represents honesty and reputability and is a man who seeks truth; the monosyllabic adjectives and the alliteration of ‘dusty, dreary’ and ‘long, lean’ emphasises the caricatural physique of Utterson and the adjective ‘dusty’ itself reflects his traditional demeanour and views.
My Comments
This is the sort of thing teachers encourage for AO2 - a detailed analysis of language. It is ‘thoughtful’ for level 5, but also fairly pointless - it is much more revealing to look at how he lets each man go to the devil in his own way, for example, or that he really enjoyed the theatre, but suddenly refused to go, about which you could say a lot about his character.
So, this sort of analysis is detailed but not ‘convincing’.
Stevenson goes on to describe how Utterson was ‘austere’ with himself, and he ‘drank gin to mortify a taste for vintages’, wine. Wine was associated with lust and temptation, and something Utterson enjoyed, however the irony is that ‘gin’ is in fact more alcoholic than wine and yet that is what Utterson used to steer himself away from indulging in ‘vintages’ he enjoyed; Utterson is only refusing himself wine as he likes it, and not because he sees it as worse than gin. This reinforces how strict Utterson was required to be with himself, as a reputable gentleman, but also how society has pressured him into refusing himself any pleasure, thus restricting his desires.
My Comments
Now we are talking - some proper comment on his personality based on his actions. This is ‘convincing’, because we can see that there must be a reason for the unlikely choice of drink, which makes this level 6. Telling us about his character from a description of his appearance is always a more tenuous and untrustworthy approach - we could have decided on 10 completely interpretations of why he is ‘dusty’ - it is therefore not a useful detail.
The structural choice of placing this description at the start of the novella suggests it is an intrinsic part to all Victorian gentleman, as it serves as an epigraph for Utterson; he is pressured by society to withhold himself from pleasure, and instead tend to the reputable role required of a man of his job and status in the Victorian era.
My Comments
This is relevant context applied to an interpretation of structure for a convincing AO3 mark. Nicely done - epigraph is a cool piece of subject terminology also.
Always referring to society also means that you have high marks for context and for interpretations of the writer’s perspective.
Stevenson also highlights how this pressure that society has created, actually results in men seeking evil, as evil itself is an intrinsic part of man, all of whom are ‘commingled’ of both ‘good and evil’. Despite the semantic field of adjectives such as ‘dusty’ and ‘dreary’ to describe Utterson as boring and unattractive, he is described still as ‘somehow lovable’, yet this contrast is unexplained. Stevenson provokes the reader to understand that Victorian men sought Utterson only because he wondered with ‘envy’ at the ‘high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds’. ‘Spirits’ symbolise pleasure, and Stevenson is suggesting these men enjoy the evil associated with their ‘misdeeds’, despite their reputation, and yet also how they are drawn to Utterson as he turns a blind eye to their wrongdoings. He is almost jealous of the fact that others are able to act out their internal desires, whereas he limits his internal dual self due to his status; he still however recognises the evil present within society and within himself.
My Comments
Ok, if we are going to look for how to link AO2 quote analysis to a convincing reason the author does it, this is it - notice how the impression of the character is linked to our understanding of society.
This is brilliant, and of course ‘convincing’ for level 6.
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