The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

We see much of the story through Mr Utterson’s eyes. He leads the

reader through the tale. But to begin with, he seems a surprising

character for Stevenson to choose. Only when we know the book better

do we realise how appropriate he is.

The book ‘‘The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’’ is a horror

story written by Robert Louis Stevenson and was publishes in 1886. The

title which the author gave this book makes the book sound more like a

mystery story than a horror. The title also makes it sound as if Dr

Jekyll and Mr Hyde are two separate people.

The character ‘‘Mr Utterson’’ plays a big part in the story. He leads

the reader through the story although he is not the narrator. In the

opening words of the story it says that Mr Utterson is a lawyer. In

the opening paragraph Mr Utterson is described as ‘‘a man of rugged

countenance, that was never lightened by a smile; cold, scanty and

embarrassed in discourse; backwards in sentiment; lean, long dusty,

dreary, and yet somehow loveable. This shows that Mr Utterson has two

sides to him just like Dr Jekyll has. On one hand it says he is boring

and cold but on another hand it says that he is a good friend and he

is loveable. Mr Utterson is completely described in one paragraph. I

believe that the whole story is about having a good and a bad side to

them.

I think that Robert Louis Stevenson name’s Mr Utterson as he did

because Utterson sounds like utmost meaning extreme depth. It says

that when Mr Utterson is at ‘‘friendly meetings and the wine is to his

taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye’’. This shows

he has a taste for good wines yet in another sentence in the book it

says ‘‘He was au...

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... prostitute. This just shows what society was

like back then.

The book ‘‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’’ was one of the first ever real

horror books to be published. When Robert Louis Stevenson was young

his mother was often ill and his nanny used to tell him horror stories

at a young age. This turned Stevenson bad and got him drinking and

getting prostitutes. This is partly were his book came from.

The book obviously had an affect on the people because after the book

was published the Ripper murder’s started to appear. People said that

‘‘The book was coming to life’’.

I feel I have shown that Mr Utterson is a main and important part of

the story ‘‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’’ and that he is man of trust. I

also think I have shown what society was like in Victorian times. I

think that without Mr Utterson in the book it would not have worked as

well as it did.