This definitions covers The Vocabulary for Reputation and Secrecy within Theme: Victorian Reputation & Secrecy for GCSE English Literature. Revise Theme: Victorian Reputation & Secrecy 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 11 of 17 in this topic. Make sure you can use the exact wording confidently, because definition marks are often lost through vague language.

📜 The Vocabulary for Reputation and Secrecy

Gentlemen's code: The unwritten Victorian professional rule that men of standing do not publicly acknowledge each other's private failings. Utterson embodies this — he investigates obliquely, never confronts directly.
Posthumous: Occurring after death. Both key revelations (Lanyon's letter, Jekyll's statement) are posthumous — Stevenson structures truth to arrive too late.
Dramatic irony: When the reader knows more than a character. The reader suspects Jekyll and Hyde are one; Utterson does not — and spends the novella protecting one from the other.
Allegory: A narrative where characters represent abstract ideas. Utterson represents the Victorian professional class; his reputation-management IS the class's mechanism.
Hypocrisy: The gap between public profession and private behaviour. Stevenson presents this not as individual failure but as structural — the Victorian professional system requires it.

Practice questions for Theme: Victorian Reputation & Secrecy

In Chapter 1, when Utterson hears about Hyde, what is his first instinct?

A. To protect Jekyll's reputation at all costs
B. To call the police and report Hyde's violent behaviour
C. To confront Jekyll directly and demand an explanation
D. To investigate Hyde's true identity by asking Lanyon

1 markfoundation

Name one technique Stevenson uses in 'If he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek' and explain what effect it creates for the reader. [2 marks]

2 marksstandard

Quick recall flashcards

Mnemonic for the reputation and secrecy trajectory?

MASK → THREAT → EXPOSURE. Mask: reputation IS identity — characters introduced by profession, not personality; Utterson as embodiment of discretion. Threat: Hyde threatens the mask; gentlemen's code enables Jekyll's isolation; Utterson protects rather than saves. Exposure: posthumous documents only — truth arrives after death; no public reckoning; the mask outlasts the man. Remember: Stevenson presents reputation-protection not as a virtue but as the mechanism of destruction.

What are the three stages of the reputation and secrecy trajectory?

MASK → THREAT → EXPOSURE. Mask (Ch.1-3): all characters introduced through professional standing — reputation IS identity; Utterson embodies the gentleman's code. Threat (Ch.4-8): Hyde threatens the mask; the gentlemen's code means Utterson protects rather than confronts; secrecy isolates Jekyll. Exposure (Ch.9-10): posthumous documents only — Lanyon's letter, Jekyll's statement; truth arrives after death; no public reckoning; the mask outlasts the man.

Victorian Professional Culture and the Gentlemen's Code

Reputation and Secrecy in the Novella

The Vocabulary for Reputation and Secrecy