The Ape-Like Mr. Hyde in Robert Louis Stevenson Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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The Ape-Like Mr. Hyde in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Throughout The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll underwent periods of transformation, transcendence and transgression. During these periods where Dr. Jekyll was Mr. Hyde, Hyde had an impact on several of the characters' lives inhabiting Stevenson's tale. In imagining Hyde, readers are struck by a great sense of who Hyde is with surprisingly little in the way of physical description. We are reminded of the dwarf-like stature and the impression of deformity Hyde leaves upon his onlookers. We are given few other clues, but one trait of Hyde's is almost a certainty-- Hyde possesses simian characteristics.

After Utterson hears Enfeild's story of Mr. Hyde running over a child like a "Juggernaut," Utterson decides to stalk Mr. Hyde (Stevenson 3). After running into Mr. Hyde, Utterson is struck that "the man seems hardly human!/Something troglodytic" (Stevenson 10). According to the American Heritage Dictionary, troglodytic can be interpreted as "a member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people ...

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