This deep dive covers Stage 2: DOMINANCE (Chapters 5-9) within Hyde (character) for GCSE English Literature. Revise Hyde (character) in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for GCSE English Literature with 12 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 3 of 17 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🔍 Stage 2: DOMINANCE (Chapters 5-9)
The Carew murder is the narrative turning point. Hyde beats Sir Danvers Carew — an old man, a Member of Parliament — to death with a cane. Stevenson describes it through a maidservant's window, making the witness's horror stand in for the reader's. By this point, the transformations are becoming involuntary: Jekyll wakes as Hyde without drinking the potion.
This shift is Stevenson's key structural argument. What began as Jekyll's liberation experiment has reversed: the repressed self is now stronger than the respectable one. Hyde "came out roaring" — Jekyll's own phrase — because decades of caging make the release explosive. The longer repression holds, the more violent the release.
Stevenson also tracks Hyde's growth. He has grown in stature as his usage has increased. Jekyll's suppressed self, given repeated outlet, is developing the body it was denied. The science is Victorian: use and disuse, exercise and atrophy, applied to the moral anatomy.
Practice questions for Hyde (character)
Which of the following quotations shows that Enfield cannot describe Hyde's appearance precisely?
How does Stevenson use withheld description in presenting Hyde's appearance? (2 marks)