GCSE · English Literature · AQA · Spec 8702
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Stevenson)
Two respectable gentlemen glimpse something terrible in their friend's face — then walk away without a word. That silence might be the most damning thing in the whole scene.
Close reading · Chapter 7
What the two men see — and what they do about it
Four lines from the end of 'Incident at the Window', in the order Stevenson wrote them. Tap each highlighted phrase and read it closely.
Tap a highlighted phrase. Read the words first, then the reading.
Reading “abject terror and despair”
What to notice
This is what Utterson and Enfield glimpse on Dr Jekyll's face, moments before he thrusts the window down.
Effect
Whatever has been going wrong in Jekyll's life is suddenly out in the open, and his friends have seen it with their own eyes.
Meaning
This is the moment Jekyll's decline becomes visible to all. Nobody can ignore it any more — and that is exactly why this extract matters so much where it sits in the novel.
Your analysis toolkit
Which area is each comment working in?
Pick a comment, then choose the area it is working in.
Still to sort
Position in the text (0)
Where the extract sits in the novel, and why it matters there.
Where the line is: Position is about the story around the extract. Context is about the society around the novel.
Word choices (0)
Vivid words and the images they create.
Where the line is: If you're zooming in on one word or phrase, it's word choice — even if the words are repeated.
Sentence structure (0)
Sentence types, and effects such as repetition.
Where the line is: If the point depends on how the words are arranged — said twice, say — it's structure.
Links to context (0)
The historical and social world the novel was written in.
Where the line is: Context always reaches outside the text — to Victorian society, its classes and its values.
Where it sits, which words, how it's built, the world around it. Sort each comment, then read why it belongs.
The chain behind the silence
Reason it through
Why does the men's silence matter so much?
First link · your turn
Utterson and Enfield have just seen Jekyll's face. What do they choose to do?
Interpretations
Whose sin is this scene really exposing?
Three readings of the same few lines. Switch between them and decide which you could argue best.
“God forgive us, God forgive us.” Whose sin does the extract expose?
Jekyll's sin
- The prayer recognises the terrible crimes Jekyll carries out as Hyde.
- Jekyll is, on the surface, a respectable member of society — which makes the horror behind the window more shocking.
Utterson's own sin
- The repetition can also be Utterson recognising a further sin: his own.
- Perhaps he could have done more to expose the truth — and he chose not to.
A whole class's hypocrisy
- The problem is bigger than two men. Their silence mirrors upper-class Victorians who would rather not ask questions.
- On this reading, respectable society itself is what is being examined.
Common ground
- Every reading finds wrongdoing hiding behind a respectable surface.
- Every reading has to be argued from the words on the page.
Compare the positions, then weigh them yourself.
Your move
You don't have to pick just one. A strong answer can show the extract working on all three levels — Jekyll's crimes, Utterson's silence, the class he belongs to — and then argue which best answers the question of whom Stevenson is criticising.
WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
A quick recap of today's lesson.
In silence, too, they traversed the by-street
The most revealing thing in this scene might be what the two men choose not to say.
Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
What you need to know
- Analyse any extract through four areas: its position in the text, its word choices, its sentence structure and its links to context.
- This extract matters because it is where Jekyll's decline becomes visible to all.
- The men's horror, Utterson's repeated prayer and their silence expose the watchers as well as Jekyll.
- An analytical introduction moves from a general statement, to a focus on the question, to a thesis about the author's purpose.
The big picture
At the end of Chapter 7, 'Incident at the Window', Utterson and Enfield glimpse “abject terror and despair” on Jekyll's face. You'll analyse the extract through its position, word choices, sentence structure and context — showing how the men's horror, Utterson's repeated prayer and their silence expose Victorian respectability — and then write a sharp introduction.
Key points
Worked example
Problem
Plan a paragraph for this question: 'How does Stevenson use Utterson and Enfield to present respectability in this extract?'
⚠ Watch out
Treating the extract as only about Jekyll's suffering. Stevenson is examining the watchers too: their horror, Utterson's prayer and their silence. And don't claim Jekyll enjoys being Hyde — what his friends see on his face is “abject terror and despair”.
Memory hook
Four W's for any extract: WHERE it sits (position), which WORDS (word choice), the WAY it's built (sentence structure), and the WORLD it was written in (context).
Check yourself
Without looking back: write one sentence about the end of Chapter 7 for each area — position, word choice, sentence structure, context — using a different quotation each time.
Flashcards
(14)What four areas should you consider when analysing an extract?
Where does the 'Incident at the Window' extract come in the novel?
What do Utterson and Enfield glimpse on Jekyll's face?
Why is this extract so significant in the novel?
What does “They were both pale; and there was an answering horror in their eyes” show?
What is ironic about the men's horror?
Which sentence-structure effect is in “God forgive us, God forgive us”?
Whose sins might Utterson's prayer recognise?
Why do Utterson and Enfield walk away in silence?
What does the men's silence allow to happen?
What does the silence reflect about the upper classes?
Which setting details in Chapter 7 can be linked to context?
What is duality, as the novel explores it?
What are the three parts of an analytical introduction, in order?
Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.
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