Lack Of Manners In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

The section I have chosen to analyze is page 2242 of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. In this section Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson and going on their typical Sunday walk, when they come upon a house in the neighborhood which draws their attention, the door specifically. Mr. Enfield states that he has a connection with that door via a strange story that he proceeds to tell. It begins with Enfield walking home, quite early in the morning and the streets appear to be completely devoid of life. Suddenly two people show up from two different directions, one of these people being Mr. Hyde, the other a young girl who is about eight years old. Both are rushing and as a result the little girl is knocked down

The people in the group were not necessarily upset that Hyde had run over the little girl in the first place, and like Enfield said, the way they were both rushing it was to be expected. Those who witnessed the incident were more upset by Hyde acting as though nothing had happened, even though the girl was screaming in the street, clearly injured. Had he stayed back and tried to help I do not think people would have viewed him as being as foul as they do. This lack of manners in Hyde feels like it is represented by, or in some way connected to his physical appearance. At other points in the novella characters describe Hyde’s appearance as being disconcerting even though there is nothing particularly abnormal about his exterior. There is something off about him that no one can pinpoint. In this scene Enfield says that just a look from Mr. Hyde was enough to make him break out in a sweat, “He was perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running.” (2242). Hyde’s lack of reaction also reminded me of the opinion of Victorians being very collected and composed, as though he were a dark parody on what happens when it is taken to