"The Devil, can sometimes do a very gentlemanly thing"
About this Quote
Stevenson’s Devil isn’t horns and pitchforks; he’s the sort of moral trespasser who knows which fork to use. “Can sometimes” is the little legal clause that does all the work here: evil doesn’t need to be nonstop monstrous to stay evil. It can pause, adjust its cuffs, open the door for you, and still be headed for your throat. The line weaponizes the reader’s reflex to trust manners, making “gentlemanly” feel less like virtue and more like camouflage.
The subtext is a Victorian suspicion: that respectability is a social costume, not a soul. In an era obsessed with propriety, Stevenson needles the comforting equation of polish with goodness. If the Devil can perform gentility, then gentility proves nothing. It’s a devastating downgrade of moral certainty, delivered with a dry, almost conversational shrug. The effect is cynical in the best sense: it refuses the fairy-tale clarity where villains are visibly villainous.
Contextually, Stevenson’s work (most famously in the neighborhood of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) is preoccupied with split selves and the theatrics of reputation. The “gentleman” was a social role with real power: credibility, access, the presumption of decency. By giving that role to the Devil, Stevenson hints at how systems of class and etiquette can launder corruption, even make it charming. The chilling implication: the most dangerous evil isn’t the snarling kind; it’s the kind that knows how to behave in drawing rooms.
The subtext is a Victorian suspicion: that respectability is a social costume, not a soul. In an era obsessed with propriety, Stevenson needles the comforting equation of polish with goodness. If the Devil can perform gentility, then gentility proves nothing. It’s a devastating downgrade of moral certainty, delivered with a dry, almost conversational shrug. The effect is cynical in the best sense: it refuses the fairy-tale clarity where villains are visibly villainous.
Contextually, Stevenson’s work (most famously in the neighborhood of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) is preoccupied with split selves and the theatrics of reputation. The “gentleman” was a social role with real power: credibility, access, the presumption of decency. By giving that role to the Devil, Stevenson hints at how systems of class and etiquette can launder corruption, even make it charming. The chilling implication: the most dangerous evil isn’t the snarling kind; it’s the kind that knows how to behave in drawing rooms.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
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