Asked by jeff

“What I heard was abominable,” said Utterson.
“It can make no change. You do not understand my position,” returned the doctor, with a certain incoherency of manner. “I am painfully situated, Utterson; my position is a very strange—a very strange one. It is one of those affairs that cannot be mended by talking.”

–The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
Robert Louis Stevenson

Write two to three sentences explaining how this passage creates suspense.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The characters’ startled, clipped dialogue and loaded words like “abominable” and “painfully situated” signal that something shocking has happened, while the doctor’s repeated, incoherent insistence that his situation is “very strange” makes him seem unstable. His claim that the matter “cannot be mended by talking” withholds information and implies irreversible consequences, leaving readers anxious to know what secret or danger lies behind his fear.