Book Anatomy · Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Theme and motif
12 lenses on theme and motif for Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J8 J9 J10 J11 J12
J1. Where is the theme first stated, and by whom? AI
The theme of duality and hidden evil is first stated implicitly in chapter 1 through Enfield's story of a respectable cheque from a brutal man. It becomes explicit in chapter 10 when Jekyll declares 'man is not truly one, but truly two'.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10
that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. (Ch 10, para 1)
J2. The theme question, and how each subplot answers it. AI
The theme asks: can respectable people hide evil within themselves? Utterson's investigation answers yes through evidence. Lanyon's horror answers yes through witnessing. Jekyll's confession answers yes and shows the cost of denying one's nature.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 5, Ch 9, Ch 10
if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend (Ch 2, para 37)
I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil (Ch 10, para 4)
The veil of self-indulgence was rent from head to foot. I saw my life as a whole: I followed it up from the days of childhood (Ch 10, para 19)
J3. Motif tracker: recurring images by chapter. Both
The door, Deformity and disgust, Secrets and silence. See the full lens on the book page.
J4. Symbols, and how their meaning shifts. AI
The door symbolises the boundary between Jekyll's public and private selves. Early it represents mystery; later it becomes a prison. The potion symbolises the attempt to divide the self; it fails, showing duality cannot be escaped.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 8, Ch 10
that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. (Ch 10, para 1)
J5. Theme words and their frequency over the book. Count
Theme words and how often they come in each tenth of the book.
| Word | Total | By tenth |
|---|---|---|
| door | 57 | 18 0 3 7 19 0 5 5 0 0 |
| evil | 17 | 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 13 0 0 |
| nature | 14 | 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 9 0 0 |
| secret | 8 | 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 |
| divided | 4 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 |
| transformation | 3 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 |
| control | 3 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 |
| punishment | 3 | 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
| duality | 2 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 |
| respectable | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
J6. The moral argument: who stands for which side? AI
Utterson stands for reason, duty, and restraint. Jekyll stands for the desire to escape moral constraint through science. Hyde stands for unrestrained evil. Lanyon stands for conventional morality shocked by truth. The book argues that restraint and acceptance of one's nature are necessary.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 9, Ch 10
the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde (Ch 3, para 11)
I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil (Ch 10, para 4)
The veil of self-indulgence was rent from head to foot. I saw my life as a whole: I followed it up from the days of childhood (Ch 10, para 19)
J7. The title: its meaning and echoes in the text. Both
How often the key words of the title appear in the text.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| Strange | 19 |
| Case | 11 |
| Jekyll | 97 |
| Hyde | 98 |
The title names the case as 'strange', emphasising the unusual nature of the Jekyll-Hyde relationship. 'Case' suggests legal or medical investigation. The word 'strange' echoes throughout as characters react with shock to discoveries that violate their understanding of human nature.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 10
God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic, shall we say? (Ch 2, para 37)
if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend (Ch 2, para 37)
J8. Epigraphs, allusions and borrowed texts. Both
No well known books or writers are named outright. (rough estimate from word lists)
No epigraphs appear. Biblical allusions emerge in descriptions of Satan and damnation. The book alludes to scientific and philosophical debates about human nature but does not quote borrowed texts directly.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 10
if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend (Ch 2, para 37)
J9. Opening image against final image. AI
Opening image: Utterson, a respectable lawyer, hearing a story of hidden evil. Final image: Jekyll's confession as he prepares for his last transformation, knowing he will become Hyde permanently. The arc moves from external mystery to internal doom.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end. (Ch 10, para 28)
J10. Pairs and contrasts, such as light and dark. Both
Counts of each side of the main contrasts.
| Pair | First word | Second word |
|---|---|---|
| respectable / base | 0 | 1 |
| Jekyll / Hyde | 0 | 0 |
| light / dark | 18 | 7 |
| human / inhuman | 6 | 0 |
Light and dark carry moral weight. Jekyll's respectable life is light; Hyde's evil is dark. The window scene (chapter 7) shows Jekyll caught between light and dark. The locked cabinet is dark and hidden. Transformation happens in darkness.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10
taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner (Ch 7, para 6)
an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below (Ch 7, para 12)
he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter (Ch 9, para 31)
J11. Core values at stake: life, love, justice, truth. AI
Truth is at stake: the book asks whether truth can be hidden and what happens when it emerges. Justice is at stake: Hyde commits murder but Jekyll escapes legal punishment. Life is at stake: Jekyll loses his identity and autonomy to his own creation.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 8, Ch 10
I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name (Ch 6, para 11)
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end. (Ch 10, para 28)
J12. What the book leaves open on purpose. AI
The book leaves open whether Hyde was truly a separate being or always Jekyll's shadow. It does not explain why the potion worked or whether others could replicate it. The nature of human duality itself remains philosophically unresolved.
Chapters: Ch 10
that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. (Ch 10, para 1)
Ask Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.