1. Jekyll and Hyde SLICED in QUOTES
LEARN KEY QUOTES
KNOW:
Structure, Language, Ideas, Context, Effects on Reader

2. Story of the Door
Ideas
Language
Structure
Context
Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the line was broken by the entry of a court… The door…was blistered and distained.
Effects / Explore

3. Language: two doors to one building – symbolising Jekyll’s duality
Language: two doors to one building – symbolising Jekyll’s duality. Adjectives: “blistered and distained” connote disease (venereal disease?), smut and filth.
Ideas: The chapter is called “The Story of the Door” and is a metaphorical allusion to the journey on which the reader, led by Utterson, is now about to embark. That is a journey into the heart of darkness, where the truth of the beast that lies within us all will be revealed.
Story of The Door
Structure: This occurs early on in the novel. The characters of Jekyll and Hyde are both introduced through an anecdote and the symbolism of the door. This establishes the interpolated and fragmented structure of the text.
Context: Here Stevenson’s use of periodic structure heightens tension as Hyde’s residence is explored. “Blistered and distained”, this rear door represents the id, the hidden self, Darwin’s beast, the private face. Jekyll’s front entrance, by contrast, represents the ego, the public face of respectability presented as a doctor of medicine.
Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the line was broken by the entry of a court… The door…was blistered and distained.
Effects / Explore: this creates mystery around Hyde and a sense of fear and unease. The reader is already being exposed to half-explained rumours creating fear and curiosity

4. Story of the Door
Ideas
Language
Structure
I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three of a black winter morning. Street after street…and all as empty as a church…
Context
Effects / Explore

5. Ideas: Reinforces the idea of dualism – the London of respectability and reputation is juxtaposed with the London of debauched nights, crime, sex and violence. This links directly with the idea of Jekyll presenting one face to the world and another as Hyde.
Story of The Door
Language: The “end of the world” is vague and euphemistic. It makes it sound like Enfield has been somewhere terrible. The adjective “black” connotes evil and “empty” suggest loneliness and vulnerability.
Context: Here Enfield’s reference to “end of the world” is a reminder of the duality of man – a Victorian society where hidden from the public lay a world of opium dens and prostitutes, both of which were frequented by middle-class ‘gentlemen.’ The simile reminds us of the crisis in religious faith following Darwin’s Origin of the Species.
Structure: gothic motifs to create mystery and suspense. It is night time and the simile “as empty as a church” brigs to mind the gothic motif of abandoned churches.
I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three of a black winter morning. Street after street…and all as empty as a church…
Effects / Explore: it creates an uneasy and mysterious atmosphere as it hints at a shadowy unpredictable world that only shows itself at night.