Question

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

The court was very cool and a little damp, and full of premature twilight, although the sky, high up overhead, was still bright with sunset. The middle one of the three windows was half-way open; and sitting close beside it, taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner, Utterson saw Dr. Jekyll.

"What! Jekyll!” he cried. "I trust you are better.”

"I am very low, Utterson,” replied the doctor drearily, "very low. It will not last long, thank God.”

How does this event best connect to the theme "Secrets isolate people”?

Dr. Jekyll is trapped at home because he is afraid the truth will be discovered.
Dr. Jekyll feels excluded from his friends and their secrets.
Dr. Jekyll’s friends are concerned, and they think he is physically ill.
Dr. Jekyll’s feelings are low because he does not get enough physical activity.

Answer 1

"Dr. Jekyll is trapped at home because he is afraid the truth will be discovered."

Explanation: Jekyll's "infinite sadness" and likening to a "disconsolate prisoner" show emotional and physical isolation. His secrecy about Hyde forces him to withdraw, which fits the theme that keeping secrets isolates people. The other choices misread the passage (Utterson and friends are concerned, but the key is Jekyll's self-imposed isolation, not mere physical illness or lack of activity).