His Friend's Strange Preference

“'He must be deformed somewhere'” (5).
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

Points for Reflection

O. Wilde's "The Harlot's House" (1885, 1908), PDF

1. does this poem represent one monolithic perspective? Is the narrator's point of view authoritative and trustworthy? Is it representative of society, or just his personal opinion?
2. what draws the narrator's love into this house? Does she see or hear something different than the narrator? Is the compelled against her will? Does she appear to have a Treus Liebes Herz (true, loving heart)?
3. why are those within the brothel describes as "shadows" (l.9) and "ghosts" (l.10)? Consider the lighting conditions under which they are viewed by the narrator.
4. are the prostitutes in full control of their own actions? Why might the narrator liken them to "wire-pulled automatons" and "clockwork puppet[s]" (ll.13, 19)?
5. does the narrator's companion transform the events inside, or join them (ll.28-33)?
6. with what tone does the poem conclude, and why is the daylight described as frightened, and girlish?

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), 1-26

1. does this book interrogate, or reinforce, physiognomic notions that assume appearance positively correlates with moral character?
2. why does Richard Enfield prove unwilling to probe further the mystery behind the dark door into which Hyde disappeared to get a check for the family of his young victim?
3. Mr. Utterson utters some words in social situations, but inclines towards reticence.  The narrator also explains that the lawyer, though practiced at self-mortification, is non-judgmental of others.  Would it be accurate to call him apathetic about others’ well-being?  Does he actually do what he says, letting his acquaintance “‘go to the devil in his own way’” (1)?
4. is Mr. Hyde’s violent act towards the young girl enough to explain others’ loathing of him?
5. does this novel implicitly bolster or critique those traditional Christian principles to which it gives airtime?  Track each mention of religious concepts including: church, Satan, God, and sin.
6. friends repeatedly wonder whether Dr. Jekyll is “mad,” or mentally imbalanced, and Mr. Hyde receives similar labels.  Does the tale’s first half contain any evidence that supports either conclusion?
7. are there, in Dr. Jekyll’s past or present, any clues of character that would help explain the dangerous experiment he secretly attempts?
8. does Dr. Jekyll drop any hints as to what’s really going on?
9. in what ways does Dr. Jekyll alter his behavior after telling Utterson he will have no more to do with Mr. Hyde?
10. does Mr. Utterson’s active imagination help ease his concerns about Dr. Jekyll, either waking or sleeping?
11. what information does Mr. Utterson fear Mr. Hyde will learn about, and act upon?
12. after thinking upon his own sins of the distant past, does Mr. Utterson emerge confident and energized?
13. is Mr. Utterson demonstrably particular in his selection of friends?
14. why does Mr. Utterson refuse to write out Dr. Jekyll’s will himself—something he would normally do for a client?
15. why does Dr. Lanyon no longer hang out with Henry Jekyll very often?
16. as with other gothic novels, this one contains some rather unsettling environments, including that which Stevenson describes in the chapter entitled “The Last Night.”  Closely consider this passage and all that it deftly accomplishes.
    
    
    
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1904)
    Charles Raymond Macauley
    

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu