''Mr Utterson the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable''
Gabriel J. Utterson QC is London's most beloved elite Solicitor and ex-Barrister, at home in most London circles; his company is coveted for his dry wit, which he can dish out from behind a glass of his favourite gin and his inclination to help rather than reprove the misdeeds of his contemporaries. For Utterson is the man about town with a rational view on things, not easily caught up in excitement and the high pressure of city life. No matter what sort of down-going man would knock at the doors of Utterson's firm, there is never a shade of change to be found in his demeanour, which is undefeatably monotone and unexcitable.
Utterson is a devoted friend to those he has known the longest and to his kinsmen, and he prides himself on his stoic personality. By all accounts, he is not too dissimilar from his pet hound Jericho, a lethargic, loyal beast until it catches a scent, and turns into a relentless pursuer. But this popular image of him belies Utterson's true personality.
Gabriel is, by nature, a sharp man, with a now-stamped-out inclination toward natural flair and theatricality, and an appreciation for the arts that's simmered into distant acknowledgement. Much like another and more secretive, desperate and long shunned part of his identity, which finds purpose in being at the constant beck and call of his long-time friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, who is more than interested in the secret lives of London's elite. Gabriel hopes perhaps for a little more familiarity with Jekyll, a desire which he won't ever be able to shake unless he stops looking through purple-tinted glasses at all the Doctor does.
Scroll down for details on the costume design!
Character & Costume design
Utterson is a 49-year-old Englishman who's had an extremely successful career so far. I really wanted him to look his age and not shy away from this settled, professional Victorian look; his personality is also a big part of how I designed his outfit.
In my colour coding, brown is the colour of 'common' and normality. It's no surprise then that this is Utterson's main colour.
His suit is inspired by the 'sack-suit'. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a sack suit, but it does give him a very boxy and straight look.
The material is tweed with a purple wool weave, which is expensive; despite his dreary style, it's clear he spends money on good clothes. The purple symbolises how sinisterly intertwined Jekyll is in Utterson's life.
His glasses are another example of this: tortoiseshell-style, he's clearly affluent.
Utterson's cane is topped with a hound; it's the most ornate thing in his design. This is because Utterson has a hobby for collecting canes! He will frequently swap out his canes and browse shops for new ones he likes; it's something that remains of his more relaxed personality.
Obviously, his being a dog owner and the dog cane isn't random; Utterson has a doggish, subservient personality.
Jericho, his bloodhound, is Utterson's pride and joy and a constant companion during his walks with Enfield. The name is a reference to Dr Jekyll and Mr Seek, which partly inspired me when crafting elements of Utterson's story.
Frankenstein: Crafting a Tale Eternal Exhibition (London, Selfridges)
I was lucky enough to get to go to the exhibition which showed many of the costume designs and props from the Guillermo del Toro version of Frankenstein. I figured this would be especially handy for any cosplayers wanting to recreate the outfits or props. These posts are going to be very long so I will split them by character and link on each post to the others. As always, more detail in the alt text of the photo is available.
The exhibition is open until the 9th of November if you’re near London! I highly recommend it. It’s free.
Starting with the non-character related items —
The Exhibit
The entrance - featuring a staircase into the exhibition had a carved wall that was featured in Victor’s tower.
Along with artefacts from the movie there were other objects related to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, such as original manuscripts by her parents, and first editions signed by her.
The model of the prop used by Victor during his presentation in the operating theatre.
An anatomical table Harlander shows Victor. Several such tables which show the map of human nerves, arteries, veins still exist - I found a few in the Royal College of Physicians museum, which you can see here.
More photos of other non-character related artefacts!
The dark angel that Victor prays to as a child, and which turns darker still as he descends further into madness. I have to say, up close and from the front, it has kind of a goofy expression.
One of my absolute favourite models used in the entire movie, second only to the half-finished Son (still to come). Seeing this up close was an experience. Every mottled patch of flesh was incredibly detailed, every vein and artery lovingly rendered.
Some of Victor's sketches - very pleasing to be able to see them up close in detail.
Something that keeps appearing a lot is the motif of this circular pattern resembling malachite. It appears even in red, in both Victor and Elizabeth's (mostly her's) outfits.
If anything, I hope these help you appreciate the fabulous menswear the costumer designer Kate Hawley put together (she also did Crimson Peak, which has a similar wardrobe). Victor's roguish charm really came through in it. They stayed fairly accurate to the time but took artistic liberties with several elements (there were mentions of Victorians adoring gaudy tones in their wardrobe). You'll see more of this when you lay eyes on Elizabeth's dresses.
For another thing, all the costumes were very properly weathered, which a lot of modern productions seem to neglect. But even Victor's gloves were all weathered red leather, as if they had been handling various substances of dubious origin...
I also liked that they had pieces from his fabulous mansion, which I'm incredibly envious of.
I had to include some of his mother’s pieces. The amount of detail paid to her outfits, though a minor role, is mind-boggling. This necklace alone deserves recognition.
I tried to capture Elizabeth’s dresses in detail, especially as I knew people who’d want to recreate these outfits.
The colours used for her are mostly in the green range. del Toro wanted her to come across as like an insect or a beetle (also reflected in her interest in entomology) - something elusive and ephemeral, to where you almost couldn't catch her. This is even shown in her jewelry, as you'll see later.
This particular dress was a work of art. Up close you could see the ripple effect of the fabric beneath the sheer layers, like light in a swimming pool. Not the only dress to make her look like an ethereal jellyfish. Here she is also wearing a scarab beetle necklace, which was sourced from Tiffany & Co archives.
And now, the longest section, for the character I love the most.
And we come to my favourite part of the ENTIRE exhibit - the half-finished Creature Victor is shown working on in his lab. I wish I could have spent all day here. It was hard not to be able to touch any of it! Just know I took way more photos than these.
Two of the Creature's outfits, very detailed in the weathering - particularly the moss-covered coat.
A life-sized statue of the Creature in his Spirit of the Forest outfit. I spent far too long documenting it from various angles. Look at the detail in his hands! Photos don’t quite do it justice, but they went so far as to make his eyes look moist with tears unshed, just to give him even more of a wounded look.
So much detail was put into rendering the prosthetics for the Creature. There was a full video (which you can see here) explaining how the special effects makeup was put onto Jacob Elordi in this section, essentially like a jigsaw puzzle piece. They allowed him as much range of motion as possible in the face to allow him to emote, particularly in the eyes.
I quite liked this larger than life bust as well showing the differences between the Creature and the actor.
And that’s about it. I do wish more people can see this exhibition, and I hope they tour it around Europe at least!
van Helsing WIP because otherwise i will go insane thanks.
I started this drawing a while back (such as i feel like i have to go back and redo things), it's meant to capture the moment Abraham van Helsing receives word from his ex-student John S. Seward, about Lucy Westenra's condition and it's absolutely packed....PACKED, i tell you, with references and eastereggs. I think it's a shame to have him hidden in my gallery while i keep procrastinating finishing him so here he is.
Can you spot or take a guess at some of the symbolism and references? Answers straight from insanity down below :)
Wallpaper is from a 19th century Dutch wallpaper catalogue.
Smoke coming from the pipe is skull shaped.
Smol Queen Victoria portrait on the stamp.
Cross pendant is the cross of an honored knight in the knightly order Balije van Utrecht (I wanted to do something cool with this but then later i realised that i made a grave error because that's a protestant order and my man here is a catholic, so that'll be dropped from his design in favour of a new 'club' that fits the story better)
he smokes a chinese longpipe, tobacco only, ;) believe it or not this is actually a freaking soft Hetalia reference to aph Netherlands as well.
There's a traditional Indonesian tapestry framed as a painting depicting a scene of Wayang (Javanese puppet theatre) made by a Saartje Jacobs, his wife (she is indo) This is a reference to Dutch Colonialism.
Little framed picture is going to be his family in miniature.
Mink and Mina - Mina the mink, she makes me think of a mink.
Lithurgical comb on the shelf to brush those long lucious locks for ritual.
A carton of silver bullets on the table and a wolf skull in the small cabinet.
Runes on the table, which he's probably deciphering.
Delfts blue vase depicting an oriental style with garlic flowers inside.
I'm glad he's out there now... message to my fellow artprocrastinators, post that WIP you have chained up in your basement.
I know we make fun of Victor Frankenstein for not actually being a doctor, but genuinely feel like that makes him 100% more relatable
That is not a grown man who knows what he's doing. He's not a doctor. He's not a scientist. Yes, he's a genius, but he's a genius teenager. A college student. He rocked up to the college and went "I'd like to study alchemy please" and they were like "?? What the fuck are you talking about? Alchemy doesn't exist??"
He doesn't have a lab. All his books are outdated by 600 years. He's only ever had two (2) friends in his entire life and one if them is his adoptive sister. One of his professors hates him. He's got three presentations and two essays do tomorrow and he hasn't started any of them.
The creature is a three months long allnighter made in an unholy mix of hubris, sleep deprivation and spite. It's an essay finished at 3:40 in the morning after you consumed nothing but energy drinks for 24 hours straight. While writing it you felt like you were god himself creating the most perfect thing to ever exist. And then you prove read it and it's so horrible that you just straight up pass out because you can't deal with this right now. Or maybe that's just because you haven't eaten in the last four days. You wake up. The essay has stolen your clothes, escaped your dorm and is going to kill your family
A couple of months ago now, I, through my own volition, got victimized by best selling book of the 1890's, Richard Marsh's 'THE BEETLE' I was under the asumption--- foolishly, that this was a work of political intrigue, gothicism and strange forces messing with London. What i got was a very unintentionally humorous discount Dracula, with insane characters and surprising Victorian slang (yes, it’s canon: a character calls someone’s house a “crib”).
Let's just say i had a good time. Down below I discuss some of my thoughts on the novel and my design.
Do scroll down for Beetle's portrait!
FEATURES
One character i was partcularly taken with is the book's namesake! heavily summarised 'The Beetle', is a shapeshifting scarab type creature/person out for revenge due to bad past liasons with a famous british politician of the time....! what drama.
Unfortunately Marsh's predjudice does show strongly in his writing, this book and several of the other books he has written feature heavily the theme of 'foreign invasion' and the dangerous seductive and primitive nature of 'the other' particularly those in what at the time was called the 'oriental region'. (it's alarming how many times he wrote the same book if just judging by the abstract, makes me feel like he has a thing for this lol...)
Marsh clearly harbors the obviously racist views of his time and some may find the book difficult to read because of this. Beetle is treated without much nuance: the discriptions in the book are a clear give away the writing leans heavily into stereotype, which is a shame, March actively forgoes interesting plotlines and twists by leaning in to his dogma. I wish he had touched on so much more than just 'egypt thingy bad.' The potential was there.
Hence why i like to feature the character in my own universe. The design I have drawn up for Beetle here depicts them as the form they take as 'the woman of songs', not the form Beetle appears in for most of the novel. Which i haven't seen anyone do yet. I took Dick's discriptions with a grain of salt and have hopefully brought them to life in a more nuanced way.
The book does not give a discription for the woman of songs, but it's reasonably assumed that she and Beetle are the same person. Therefore i presumed that her facial features should be a more youthful (and less stereotypically exagerated) version of Beetle's.
Beetle has a soft, rounded face with a prominent but gentle aquiline nose, full lips, and naturally curly hair styled in a loose updo distinct from Victorian fashions. Her skin is a rich ochre, and her striking amber-yellow eyes are shaped to subtly echo the Eye of Horus symbol. You can see on her hand crawling tiny scarabs, they are a part of her.
COSTUME
Segmentation; when drawing up initial ideas in my mind, i was reminded of another insect like woman; Coraline's Beldam. i carried it over to Beetle with her outfit divided distinctly into three sections.
When creating her costume i imagined her in her WOS persona to be well situated, having access to wealth because of her affiliation with other characters in my story.
This is the garment of a prietstess and idol. The general silhoutte follows the standard trendy shape for the mid 1880s and is egyptian revival themed.
Colour and materials; Real scarabs shimmer with structural pigments, giving them iridescent greens and golds which I tried to mimic with satin fabric. The skirt bustle is layered over cooler blue tones for depth. Underlayers are wool, the garment is worn in England.
Chitin plating and elytra; Scarabs have a chitin exoskeleton you can see the bolero mimics this plated look .
The elytra, these are the armoured bits that cover the insects wings, is seen in the draping of the skirt bustle. This actually worked extra well because this is honestly very reminiscent of ancient egyptian headdresses with falcon wings. Happy accidents.
Embelishment;
-The Scarab is literally present, if you look closely you can see a scarab lace shape at the base of the neck. Scarabs roll dung balls and in Egyptian Mythos, this was seen as sun imagery. In Beetle's case the sun is represented by a bold carnelian brooch. The lace even has the falcon's wings and was directly inspired by Tutankhamun's Lapis Scarab amulet.
-The bodice embroidery hints with an abstract rib cage design at the asociations of scarabs with death and rebirth.
- The cord you can see dangeling at the hips i added to suggest an even more exotic look.
- On the hem you can see what is a directly borrowed 19th century egyptian revival wallpaper pattern.
Beetle is a creation from the ancient world now unearthed by the forces of the modern era. In my story, her character explores themes of 19th century archaeological greed, colonial manipulation, the exploitation of local women by foreign men, human sacrifice in the ancient world and the influence of Egyptian Revivalism on cult worship during the period.
Her special abilities include hypnotism and shape-shifting. Beetle’s body is composed of countless tiny scarab like creatures; with the faintest flutter of their wings, she can assume another human form. Once transformed, her assumed identity functions similarly to a false hydra, concealing her true nature and influencing the memory and will power of those around her.
@crowthingexe for you, a concept sketch of utterson’s “Hyde”, Antony Law.
my utterson is very apathetic, so it was kinda difficult to figure out how he would act having a new identity.
Antony really is just Hyde’s henchman/alibi/parter in crime. And the only real difference is that as Antony, Gabriel is more willing to put away his moral code to Jekyll/hyde
he also doesn’t see any reason in dressing proper, since as Antony, he’s not a lawyer (despite his last name) and doesn’t need to dress professional.
hey i kinda want to make an “everyone drinks the potion” au
edit: just realized i forgot to draw Hyde’s glasses
I have spent some time analysing Jekyll’s speech patterns to see if there is anything curious and noticed a couple things (ignore my chipped nails)
1: He LOVES repeating things. Double, even triple repetitions everywhere to ensure his opinion and viewpoint
2: A lot of black and white morality. Good, good good good is everywhere. He repeats good so much that it becomes an empty word.
3: rapid switches in mood. “He’s a good fellow, an excellent fellow, but a pendant, an ignorant blatant pendant.” He’s goes from praising Lanyon to criticising him in the same sentence.
4. Linking onto nr. 3 and 2. Exagrerrations. A lot of them. Utterson is drowning in his flattery. Manipulative Jekyll is very much real (my apologies)
so yea, I did that to be able to company his speech to that of Hyde, but in fact Hyde speaks so little, we can’t see any similarities at all. The only thing I could pick up would be short and snappy sentences.
Like prize-fighting (pugilism), were contests that saw one on one combat and the spilling of blood. While fighting was perceived as traditionally English and masculine, pugilism and other bloodsports were considered a blight against the pending civilisation of the world as pushed by Victorian 'moral entreperneurs', such as renowned philanthropist and London socialite Dr Henry Jekyll. Prize-fighting enabled rioting, social-disorder, betting and other debaucherous activities. By this time, 1885, the sport has mostly lost its edge, being sanitised into gloved boxing, for a more respectable audience in more respectable times.
However even if stereotypically considered enjoyment of the so called 'plebian classes', enjoyment of prize-fighting and other bloodsports cut across class lines more often than not in the shadowed underbelly of London's foggy districts, where demand remained high. Particularly for those with a taste for blood.
New to London's underground prize-fighting scene is a Mr Edward Hyde, a Mysterious young scottish brute who doesn't mince his words for anyone. Despite not possesing an impressive stature, Hyde punches hard and precise, creating rumours of his naming every bone that he breaks whilst even leaving most Goliaths struggling against him.
Hyde's reputation leaves him with an intersting nickname both inspired by his vibrant eyes and his alleged victory against eight different opponents in his first fight as well as his tendency to leave his bling on his fists; Blue Rings
He likes to see and be seen, basking in the infamy that comes with his 'hobby' and ocupation as an underground bare-knuckle boxer. Whispers and reputation often percede him in certain crowds and he's getting used to not needing to fear predatory roadmen whenever he prowls the alleys and streets to his favourite Soho haunts, wether it's Dick's or Chez Jules.
Want to learn more about the exact history i'm referencing? Check out the links below. (academic papers require access)
Woolnough, G. (2014). Blood Sports in Victorian Cumbria: Policing Cultural Change. Journal of Victorian Culture, 19(3), 278–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/13555502.2014.947190
Pugilistic prosecutions: prize fighting and the courts in nineteenth century Britain https://web.archive.org/web/20050925170147/http://www2.umist.ac.uk/sport/SPORTS%20HISTORY/BSSH/The%20Sports%20Historian/TSH%2021-2/Art3-Anderson.htm
Like prize-fighting (pugilism), were contests that saw one on one combat and the spilling of blood.
While fighting was perceived as traditionally English and masculine, pugilism and other bloodsports were considered a blight against the pending civilisation of the world as pushed by Victorian 'moral entreperneurs', such as renowned philanthropist and London socialite Dr Henry Jekyll.
Prize-fighting enabled rioting, social-disorder, betting and other debaucherous activities.
By this time, 1885, the sport has mostly lost its edge, being sanitised into gloved boxing, for a more respectable audience in more respectable times.
However even if stereotypically considered enjoyment of the so called 'plebian classes', enjoyment of prize-fighting and other bloodsports cut across class lines more often than not in the shadowed underbelly of London's foggy districts, where demand remained high. Particularly for those with a taste for blood.
New to London's underground prize-fighting scene is a Mr Edward Hyde, a Mysterious young scottish brute who doesn't mince his words for anyone. Despite not possesing an impressive stature, Hyde punches hard and precise, creating rumours of his naming every bone that he breaks whilst even leaving most Goliaths struggling against him.
Hyde's reputation leaves him with an intersting nickname both inspired by his vibrant eyes and his alleged victory against eight different opponents in his first fight as well as his tendency to leave his bling on his fists; Blue Rings
He likes to see and be seen, basking in the infamy that comes with his 'hobby' and ocupation as an underground bare-knuckle boxer. Whispers and reputation often percede him in certain crowds and he's getting used to not needing to fear predatory roadmen whenever he prowls the alleys and streets to his favourite Soho haunts, wether it's Dick's or Chez Jules.
Want to learn more about the exact history i'm referencing? Check out the links below. (academic papers require access)
Woolnough, G. (2014). Blood Sports in Victorian Cumbria: Policing Cultural Change. Journal of Victorian Culture, 19(3), 278–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/13555502.2014.947190
Pugilistic prosecutions: prize fighting and the courts in nineteenth century Britain https://web.archive.org/web/20050925170147/http://www2.umist.ac.uk/sport/SPORTS%20HISTORY/BSSH/The%20Sports%20Historian/TSH%2021-2/Art3-Anderson.htm
Consider this post a little resting place. Warmed by a campfire with space to rest and chat…
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Just checking in—
Hey there, it’s been awhile since I’ve been active online. Just wanted to drop by and say yes, I’m still alive (just taking things easy when it comes to my online presence). Life has been busy with work and future plans. I’ve graduated college, been working full time, traveled a bit, and am working towards my long term career goals! 🙌 All of which has left me little time and energy to devote to my creative projects. 🥲
That being said, I have plenty to share when it comes to creative works. I oftentimes look over my art channel and realize how little I’ve actually posted despite having years of artwork and story bits archived (does anyone else do this?). I want to share polished pieces, but they often require weeks of effort and time that I struggle to find during my busy schedule. For the sake of my personal wellbeing I have not pushed myself to create deadlines for these projects since they are an outlet I do for personal enjoyment, but I know it can be frustrating to go months at a time between posts/updates.
While I’m still trying to reignite that creative spark, I don’t want to lose contact with the community that I’ve found myself to be a part of for years now. I want to thank everyone that has supported me even through these dry seasons. Y’all mean the world to me.
For now though, I would love to just connect. Sit down to rest for a moment in this corner of the internet. How is life? What things have fascinated you lately? What stories have captured your heart?
A follower tagged me on a post that was talking about how Edward isn't actually a bad guy but rather he's misunderstood and I'm not going to reply to that post because I don't want to start drama on someone else's blog but I've seen the sentiment brought up a few times so I'm going to make a blanket post about the topic rather than single anyone out.
The post I was tagged in mentions the trampling of the child and seems to frame it like an accident so I'll start there and I'll let Henry himself tell you how he views that incident.
"An act of cruelty to a child aroused against me the anger of a passer by,"
He outright says it, it's an act of cruelty. He doesn't deny that. And that's what I hate about fanon Hyde. A lot of interps seem to forget that Hyde is a middle aged man struggling with a repressed sadistic streak and not a social awkward teenager.
I think the most concrete evidence we have of Jekyll/Hyde's nature is in Jekyll's letter and how he describes himself and his relationship to Hyde.
“To cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die to those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper. To cast it in with Hyde, was to die to a thousand interests and aspirations, and to become, at a blow and forever, despised and friendless. The bargain might appear unequal; but there was still another consideration in the scales; for while Jekyll would suffer smartingly in the fires of abstinence, Hyde would be not even conscious of all that he had lost.”
As afraid as he is of losing the life he's built for himself there's so much LONGING to be Hyde despite the evils Hyde has done. He wants to indulge in his appetites and he knows if he embraces Edward he won't even grieve his losses. I find it interesting that he notes that becoming Edward would cost him his "aspirations and interests," because he would be losing everything to his vice, choosing pleasure and indulgence over his own goals and ambitions. "If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also,"
Henry Jekyll is a complex and repressed but also very selfish man and here's where the interpretation of Edward as a metaphor for addiction comes most strongly into play.
Jekyll shows textbook signs of a drug user: experimentation, denial or minimization of the harmful effects, attempts to quit, withdrawal when he goes too long without being Edward and eventually he develops a dependency and falls into a spiral. The fact that he's taking a potion just drives the imagery that much harder. Even the description of the effects of the potion itself mirror drug use.
"something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body ; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a mill race in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul. I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked"
It's agony at first but once the "high" hits and he becomes Edward he feels good and his inhibitions are gone. He can indulge every depraved and twisted act his heart desires without having to take the hit to his reputation or the responsibility.
“since then I had been obliged on more than one occasion to double, and once, with infinite risk of death, to treble the amount” - Jekyll risks an overdose because he keeps taking more of the serum. This illustrates his dependency on Hyde and his inability to quit.
One thing I've noticed about Hyde interps that favor the lighter, softer, readings of the character is that they almost always neglect the characterization of Henry Jekyll. Either depicting Jekyll as the good half or all but erasing them from their fanon version of Hyde and that's something you can't really do because it misses the point of Jekyll and Hyde. Which is about Henry Jekyll and his repression and his eventual turn to a destructive outlet.
"The pleasures which I made haste to seek in my disguise were, as I have said, undignified; I would scarce use a harder term. But in the hands of Edward Hyde, they soon began to turn towards the monstrous. When I would come back from these excursions, I was often plunged into a kind of wonder at my vicarious depravity. This familiar that I called out of my own soul, and sent forth alone to do his good pleasure, was a being inherently malign and villainous; his every act and thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another, relentless like a man of stone. Henry Jekyll stood at times aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde."
once the leash is off Jekyll is shocked by what he's capable of, what Hyde is capable of. The words used by Stevenson paint a lurid picture, Depravity, bestial, torture, villainous. He can't outright say what Hyde is doing but it's pretty clear he has a sadistic streak. He also lets slip at one point by using "My" instead of referring to Edward as separate. "My vicarious depravity."
He's aware, he is complicit and he enjoys himself. You cannot separate Jekyll from Hyde therefore any interpretation of Hyde as being soft, innocent, unaware or merely mischievous is not only incorrect but it directly contradicts the purpose of the story and strips Jekyll of his complexity.
If you can't like this character as he is written then you don't like this character. There are some things you can leave up to interpretation but Hyde's sadism and Jekyll's addiction to Hyde are both very clear cut and Jekyll's confession spells everything out in a way that you'd have to reach pretty far to claim that Edward is being misrepresented by Utterson throughout the bulk of the novel.
I wonder if Hyde had any calm moments. Any times where the erratic thoughts slowed and he could only feel the glee of being truly alive again. Would it have been in Soho, with another man beside him?
Did he ever take a simple walk, just to see the world with fresh eyes? If he went to drug dens, did the opium cloud his mind enough to stop his thoughts and emotions?
I’m sure Hyde had a lot of happy moments, but how often was he truly calm? Was Hyde ever truly at peace?
This post!!! I had the absolute pleasure of being able to visit London recently. I walked the route from Soho to Leicester square, and on the way back, I was hit by a profound quietness in the city. It was late, but it was beautiful.
