“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,” (13).
The passage is demonstrative of the awkward position in which Dr. Jekyll sits. It is evident that Jekyll’s situation cannot be discussed because of the horror that it evokes, but it also becomes pertinent when discussed in the context of his personal internal battle. A classic (but more realistic) case of a man vs. himself conflict is both the cause and the effect of this ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ complex.
“A very strange,” is repeated twice, to emphasize the abnormality of his situation, but also to make Utterson and the reader even more curious as to what is happening. The words ‘painfully,’ ‘strange,’ and ‘mended,’ stick out to me, as I feel that they go hand in hand. Pain is something that we as humans try to avoid or fix, and doctors are usually the people whom we seek out to “mend our pain.” This is significant because Jekyll, a doctor, cannot seem to mend himself, and instead, slips further and further into an evil impostor of himself who seeks to fulfill his strange “un-doctorly” desires. This brings oppositional irony into play, in conjunction with the strands of similar words.
The excerpt implies that Jekyll knows that what he does is sick and strange, but he cannot stop doing it. It seems almost as an addiction to wrong-doings, but drastic measures to ensure that his “good” reputation is not tainted. It ties in with identity and the fact that people cannot suppress who they are (or even half of who they are) without some sort of unfavorable consequence. The internal battle will prove to be far too overpowering and self-destructive.