The cane

Though only mentioned in one chapter, Hyde’s walking cane with which he beats to death the innocent Sir Danvers Carew is one of the most significant objects in the text. The cane is a symbol of wealth and class, carrying an inherent respectability to the gentlemen who own one. This image is both physically and metaphorically destroyed when, through Hyde’s brutal attack, it is “broken in the middle under the dress of this insensate cruelty.” The cane can symbolise Jekyll’s two personas: whole, the stick is reliable and sturdy; split in two, it represents the destruction of Jekyll’s respectable character, thus intimating his inability to control both Hyde and his impulses. As “one splintered half [...] rolled in the neighbouring gutter,” Jekyll’s ability to separate the actions of Edward Hyde with his own vanishes, with the gutter symbolic of complete degradation and hopelessness. This broken image represents the fragility of upper class sensibilities and reputation, exposing the reliance of Victorian society on ideologies which are easily damaged.