Question

Read the passage from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it; and it may be doubted if, from that day forth, Utterson desired the society of his surviving friend with the same eagerness. He thought of him kindly; but his thoughts were disquieted and fearful. He went to call indeed; but he was perhaps relieved to be denied admittance; perhaps, in his heart, he preferred to speak with Poole upon the doorstep and surrounded by the air and sounds of the open city, rather than to be admitted into that house of voluntary bondage, and to sit and speak with its inscrutable recluse.What internal conflict does the passage describe?

Answer 1

Your question is incomplete because you have not provided the answer options, which are:

Poole is conflicted about barring Utterson from the house.

Utterson is conflicted about his attitude toward Jekyll.

Jekyll is conflicted about isolating himself from society.

Utterson is conflicted about bothering Poole repeatedly.

Answer:

Utterson is conflicted about his attitude toward Jekyll.

Explanation:

In Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Utterson has ambiguous feelings regarding his friend Jekyll. On the one hand, he thinks sympathetically and thoughfully of Jekyll. On the other hand, after seeing the harmful change Jekyll has caused in his friend Lanyon, Utterson cannot help but feel uneasy and hesistant about him. In fact, deep in his heart he prefers not to be allowed to see Jekyll at his house.