Stevenson’s exploration of what it signified to be a Victorian ‘gentleman forms an essential aspect of the novel. Like Dickens in the earlier Great Expectations with Pip, the desire for respectability and social position is very powerful yet also imprisoning: little wonder that both writers expose the hypocrisies associated with the stifling behaviours required of the Victorian ‘gentleman.’ Little wonder that in Stevenson’s world, gentlemen develop strategies to deal with the repression necessary to remain respectable. Dr Jekyll’s solution appears the most radical and potentially the most liberating in his creation of his alter ego, Edward Hyde who is free to express all the secret desires of his creator/ father , without shameful detection or even prosecution.If we examine Utterson who frequently acts as our eyes in the novel , we notice how he is ‘austere with himself’ whilst being a fascinated and loyal friend to the euphemistically named, ‘down /going men’ who are freely accepted by the lawyer suggesting the latter obtains some vicarious consolation in maintaining such friendships .
Utterson’s friendship with the younger ‘ man about town’ Enfield centres primarily upon their weekly, Sunday walks which remain the ‘chief jewel of their week’ ( hints at secret affection even homosexuality perhaps) despite the outward appearance of dullness. The reader senses that such a friendship is essential to both without either of the two articulating why . Indeed the concept of privacy is emphasised throughout the novel as being an essential aspect of a gentleman’s friendships. ‘Here is another lesson to say nothing.’ This reluctance to speak directly echoes the ambiguous declaration of Utterson at the beginning of the novel: ‘ I let my brother go to the devil in his own way. ‘ Unfortunately we might surmise by the close of the text where notably Utterson ironically ‘utters’ nothing about Lanyon’s revelations and those of Jekyll himself, that the maintenance of discretion brings about catastrophe.Jekyll himself believes that secrecy and discretion will save his special relation with Hyde and his demand that ‘this is a private matter and I beg of you, to let it sleep’ proves costly to more than himself. Jekyll ‘s friendship with Utterson is jeopardised by the introduction of Hyde and the reaction of Utterson to the ‘obnoxious’ will underlines his feelings of rejection as a confidante and a friend. Indeed it is possible to argue that Utterson’s attempt to be ‘Mr Seek’ to identify Hyde firms the driving force of the narrative with the irony being that Utterson’s discretion will blind him to the truth with dreadful consequences.The catastrophic consequences of gentlemanly discretion are expressed graphically through the brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew who is slaughtered by Hyde perhaps because he epitomises the figure of the respectable, benevolent Victorian gentleman with his ‘white hair’ and appearance of ‘kindness’ as he ‘bowed and accosted’ ( another possible euphemism for a sexual pickup perhaps) the decidedly ungentlemanly Edward Hyde. The violence of the attack upon the ‘innocent’ member of the Victorian upper class surely suggests that Hyde holds a deep seated antagonism towards Carew and his world. For the ‘gentlemen’ prefer to deny the existence of such a working class , possibly sexually transgressive figure such as Hyde despite their evident fascination with the malevolent figure. This the seemingly innocent question about the direction or ‘way’ that the old gentleman should take appears ambiguous and almost a moral choice. Yet the naivety of the maid who witnesses the murder prevents such an understanding though leaves the reader space to suspect some dramatic irony at work in the presentation of the murder where the motivation remains hidden dspite the apparent clarity of the description.
