The Carew Murder Case
The murder of Sir Danvers Carew in Chapter 4 can be seen as symbolic. The “fog roll[ing] over the city in the small hours” is symbolic of Hyde as it has connotations of evil and foreshadows Hyde about to descend upon Sir Danvers Carew, who is described as “an aged and beautiful gentleman”. This shows that he is symbolic of Dr Jekyll because Dr Jekyll is earlier described as having given “one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies”, which is the image that comes to mind when one tries to imagine Sir Danvers Carew. The death of Sir Danvers Carew is symbolic because it shows that Mr Hyde is taking over Dr Jekyll’s body. Sir Carew’s reaction also shows that he did not attempt to fight back, he “took a step back, with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt”, before Mr Hyde proceeded to “[club] him to the earth”. The brutality of Mr Hyde’s death shows that Dr Jekyll has completely given in to the temptation to be Mr Hyde. This links with the fact that Sir Danvers Carew is a well-established member of Victorian society (he’s a member of parliament) and his character is symbolic of restraint and social responsibility.
There is a dark and gloomy atmosphere near Mr Hyde’s apartment. It is also described as “dark like the end of daylight” and this shows Hyde’s dark intentions. The fog is a metaphor for Mr Hyde and the light is a metaphor for Dr Jekyll and “the fog would be broken up by a shard of daylight” shows that Dr Jekyll is coming through but later the fog takes over again and this shows that there is no hope for Jekyll. The continually conflicting wind shows the internal conflict between Jekyll and Hyde. Hyde also lives in Soho, an area famous for prostitutes, which shows that Dr Jekyll could not restrain himself from pleasure.
There is a dark and gloomy atmosphere near Mr Hyde’s apartment. It is also described as “dark like the end of daylight” and this shows Hyde’s dark intentions. The fog is a metaphor for Mr Hyde and the light is a metaphor for Dr Jekyll and “the fog would be broken up by a shard of daylight” shows that Dr Jekyll is coming through but later the fog takes over again and this shows that there is no hope for Jekyll. The continually conflicting wind shows the internal conflict between Jekyll and Hyde. Hyde also lives in Soho, an area famous for prostitutes, which shows that Dr Jekyll could not restrain himself from pleasure.