R L Stevenson presents Mr Utterson and a stereotypical lawyer in the Victorian times. He is long and dull looking, with cold mannerisms, “that was never lighted by a smile.” However, he lets the audience know quickly that Mr Utterson is not what he seems. He is actually a caring person, who has many friends “yes somehow loveable.” His profession is a lawyer, and therefore the audience can assume that he will be a person with a very high moral conscious, one that abides by social and government laws. He is probably reliant on his reputation, alike to most of the Victorian, who thought reputation was extremely important.
His appearance is introduced as an unremarkable figure. Long, “dusty” and probably a little old looking. |It doesn’t state whether he is good-looking or ugly, therefore we must assume he has a plain exterior. This is included to make the audience think that he isn’t arrogant, or shallow. His personality is somewhat contradictive. It says that he has many friends that enjoy his company” friendly circle ready made from the hands of opportunity.” But also that his friends are only his friends because they share his ideals, and his way of life, people very alike to him. It does say that because he is a lawyer that he is the last “reputable” acquaintance to a man before his downfall. He is quiet in social situations, especially with his close friend Mr Enfield, where they hardly speak to one another.
His private behaviour is confusing. He very much enjoys going to the theatre, but hasn’t gone in over twenty years, indicating that he is a man that doesn’t think the theatre is reputable habit, and places that above his happiness. But he also puts off business engagements for his walk with Mr Enfield, implying that one friendship is more important to him than his career. His attitudes to others that share his profession are of a good nature. He doesn’t get involved with people that go ‘down the wrong path’ but is kind to his friends. But he isn’t overtly emotional with them, nor does he come off as an open person.
R L Stevenson intends the audience to trust Mr Utterson, because he is good natured, and doesn’t do anything bad even as going to the theatre, but also he subtly make the reader think about whether they should trust him, because he puts reputation above happiness. They are not sure whether to like him, because they haven’t seen him be particularly nice or unkind to others around him, and there is little speech to judge him by with Mr Enfield. He does seem a curious person, who thinks about things a long time before talking about them.
There are many contradictions about his character, it says that he is a cold person, but lovable at the same time. This is probably to let the audience know early, that in this book people can be more than just one type of person, which is the main theme to the book. He has chosen to present him so early in the book, because throughout he is the backbone of the other characters, although he is not the main character, he is who we read most about, so we need to know his character before we ca go any further into the book. |Otherwise we would have to guess why he does things.
Mr Enfield in different to his walking companion Mr Utterson, and we find this out with the sentence, ‘a well known man about town’ which points to him being a frequently party going, and enjoying night life, which greatly contradicts his friend, who keeps himself to himself, and enjoys drinking on his own with his own thoughts and his house. He is also very open, telling his friend about something that happened to him, for no reason other than to make conversation, something the Utterson probably would have spent long time thinking about. He is more emotional; explaining how seeing the girl trampled on affected him, until he got angry.
R L Stevenson uses a lot of quick descriptive words to get across the image that the street is very busy and quick. He makes sure the read knows this is a road where well of people live, because there is ‘well polished windows’ and it stands out amongst the other roads. His use of the metaphor, like a fire in a wood, means that the feeling is contagious like fire, and when you go there, you feel upbeat yourself. It then greatly differs to the description of the door, which makes you think of a rotting animal with words such as ‘thrust forward’ ‘blistered and stained’. He makes sure it is very out of place, surrounded by undesirables on such thriving street full of happy people. It makes sure the reader associates with this door are annoying and ugly. The door, which is mentioned in great details, is a metaphor for the barrier that stands between the house and the rest of the street. It is something you can go through but it also means that there is something that isn’t letting you in.
When speaking about the flashback, the language is more informal, and the structure is not paragraphed. Character of Enfield. He doesn’t tell his ‘good friend’ where he has been, and this points that he may have been somewhere he shouldn’t have been. He wouldn’t have even told his friend if he had been doing something considered wrong, because when the book was written, reputation was everything. He also says that he didn’t ask more questions about the man, because if it looks strange, the less he asks, because he doesn’t want to have the burden of other people’s problems.
Mr Enfield, builds up tension with his use of repetition, ‘street after street after street’ and his language in describing the man is strong and vivid, by comparing him to a juggernaut, it creates a image clearly in the readers mind,. The crowd and he react to the man, in a way usually unknown; he says that he had an unbelievable desire to kill the man, for no reason. That he was so repulsive that he couldn’t think of what it was that was so wrong about him.
He doesn’t mention that the person that made the cheque out was Harry Jekyll, because he doesn’t want to think of his friend as being associated with such a bad man. He thinks that it was probably something to do with Harry doing something when he was young, and someone is blackmailing him. Utter son wants to know how the man got into the house that Enfield described as so ugly and mysterious, because they weren’t allowed to step into the house.
