Question

Read the excerpt from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"I saw Mr. Hyde go in by the old dissecting room, Poole,” he said. "Is that right, when Dr. Jekyll is from home?”

"Quite right, Mr. Utterson, sir,” replied the servant. "Mr. Hyde has a key.”

"Your master seems to repose a great deal of trust in that young man, Poole,” resumed the other musingly.

"Yes, sir, he does indeed,” said Poole. "We have all orders to obey him.”

In this excerpt, which elements of the plot would create the most suspense about Mr. Hyde?

why Mr. Utterson is observing and asking about Mr. Hyde
why Mr. Hyde has a key and authority over the servants
why Mr. Poole trusts Mr. Hyde and agrees to obey him
why Mr. Utterson thinks Dr. Jekyll trusts Mr. Hyde greatly

Answer 1

The most suspenseful details are that Hyde has a key and apparent authority over the servants, and that Poole (and the household) obeys him.

Why: a key implies secret access to Jekyll’s private rooms and the power to come and go when Jekyll is “from home,” and the servants’ obedience suggests Hyde has unusual control or influence over the household. Those concrete, odd facts raise immediate questions (How did he get that power? What does he do when he’s alone in the house?) and therefore generate the greatest suspense.

Utterson’s watchfulness and Jekyll’s presumed trust in Hyde also heighten the tension—they frame the mystery and make the reader worry—but the tangible signs of authority (the key and obedience) are the most chilling.