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Edward Hyde embodies wickedness
. Whereas Jekyll is a mixture of good and evil, Hyde is "pure evil"
. Hyde seems to be violent for the sake of it - the murder of Carew is an unprovoked and uncontrollable act which he takes "delight" in, it's shocking how much he enjoys violence
. His evil is reflected in his appearance - it leaves "an imprint of deformity and decay", he is so evil that it's obvious for everyone to see - there's "something wrong with his appearance"
Hyde is like an animal
Stevenson frequently compares Hyde to animals, particularly apes
. The Victorians considered their society to be civilises - they valued propriety, order and self control; they didn't like the idea that people might have a primitive, animalistic side
. Many Victorians tried to hide what they though were animalistic desires beneath a civilised exterior - They wanted to appear respectable in order to fit in with civilised society
. Darwin's Theory that man evolved from apes was widely known when the novel was written - Hyde is presented as Jekyll's less evolved side, he;s often compared to an ape and he's smaller and less respectable, which emphasises the idea that the upper-classes were superior
. Stevenson's suggestion that there's a primitive mr hyde within a respectable man like Dr Jekyll forces the reader to consider that there could be a dark, immoral side to everyone
Hyde creates strong feelings of hatred and unease
. Several characters say that they can't explain why they dislike Hyde - The fact that these characters can't or won't make any sense of Hyde, may reflect the way they've repressed their own dark side
. People are disturbed by Hyde's appearance - Enflield says that he is "extraordinary-looking" and Utterson say he can "read Satan's signature" on Hyde's face, his frightening appearance emohasises his difference from other people, he's not quite human
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