Why is the protagonist and ‘detective’ called Mr Utterson?
Is his legal profession important? Does it suggest rationality and fairness as well as discretion? Does Jekyll’s strange behaviour compromise Utterson’s gentlemanly restraint at all?
And is there any implied irony in his name? Remember he utters nothing at all after the final two chapters where the revelation of Hyde’s identity is made clear.
And what are the connotations of his Christian name, Gabriel? Is he an avenging Angel?
Utterson is highly selective in his choice of words. He weighs his speeches carefully, revealing little; attentive to the subtext of others. The verb ‘utter’ means to speak. Ironically Gabriel Utterson is a far from talkative character: at the end of the first chapter, he agrees not to mention the strange incident involving Hyde again. He prefers to observe until provoked ( see the ‘ gross darkness’ of the dream sequence in Chapter Two) by the strange associations of his old friend, Henry Jekyll, he determines to hunt down the mysterious ‘face’ of ‘ a man who was without bowels of mercy‘ and transforms himself into ‘Mr Seek’ in order to obtain the truth about Jekyll’s association with Edward Hyde.
Gabriel Utterson is described through a series of apparent contradictions, which reveal a duality in him: his face was ‘ never lighted by a smile’ yet ‘ when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye.‘ These contradictions are assembled together on the first page to evoke a strong sense of Utterson’s complex character. ‘Drank gin when alone to mortify a taste for vintages’. Such contradictions suggest that the lawyer values self -control and is aware of the dangers surrounding self-indulgence or pleasure. Utterson exercises a restraint that is alien to his best friend Dr Jekyll. In fact, Utterson actively chooses to exercise self-control, unlike Jekyll and even his friend and relative Enfield, who is a ‘well-known man about town’ and who frequents the ‘end of the world.’ Interestingly, Utterson is tolerant of excess in others, ‘ I let my brother go to the devil in his own way.’ This implies that Utterson refrains from judging others’ indulgences, being perhaps only too aware of the ‘downward’ path caused by such excess. Yet we may notice a contradiction in the way he refuses to let Jekyll go the ‘devil in his own way’ perhaps because his intimacy with Jekyll counts for more than his publically declared beliefs. He fears for Jekyll because, in some ways, Jekyll is the other side of Utterson. Jekyll’s downfall gives representation to the secret fears of the upper class( and burgeoning middle class). Jekyll may also represent the aspects of Utterson which the latter represses.
In this moral contrast, we can see another example of doubling in the novel.
