Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Setting Analysis

Stevenson writes ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ with the intention of showing the reader the duality of man and explores this through the juxtaposition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this novella, Stevenson also uses the environment and setting of the story to represent the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Stevenson develops the idea that evil can be seen visibly through physical appearance, and is always the ugliest form of a human being. When Dr. Jekyll transforms into the 100% evil Mr. Hyde his mentality and mindset changes, but so does his appearance. Stevenson depicts the change from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde as a change that can be visibly seen. Mr. Hyde is much uglier than Dr. Jekyll, as well as more evil in nature. When Mr. Utterson first sees Mr. Hyde he considers him deformed and repulsive, “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky,

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

Within the Novella – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson depicts moments of graphic horror in order to convey the chilling story of duality and the ordeals of Dr Jekyll. The two moments where the theme of horror is particularly prominent are in the Carrew Murder Case and Dr Lanyon’s Narrative, where the character of Mr Hyde succeeds in being the epitome of evil in the reader’s eyes. Stevenson uses descriptive imagery, intense behavior (especially for Victorian circumstances) and the senses, of which I am going to be focusing on sound in order to instill this terror onto the readers. This combination of devices combined with the plot during these moments makes them so frightening and memorably so.

Inside the house of Mr. Hyde, there are rooms that are decorated in conflicting ways. One room was “furnished with luxury and good taste”, additionally it was decorated sophisticatedly and elegantly Stevenson 27). Even though the room was decorated elegantly, it looked as though the room was hurriedly ransacked. The dual theme of the room symbolizes the struggle between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the lower class overthrowing the upper class. Dr. Jekyll’s lab and house are connected but the two buildings have two very different appearances. Dr. Jekyll’s lab has “the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence”, which symbolizes the neglect of the lower class (Stevenson 6). However the house of Dr. Jekyll symbolizes the upper class and is the opposite of the lab.

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Jekyll talks about the years before the creation of the potion that transforms him into Hyde. He summarises his finding of the dual nature, human beings are half good and half evil. Jekyll’s goal in his experiments is to separate two opposite elements, creating a person with only good characteristics and a being of only evil. He does this because he wants to free his good side from dark urges. He fails this experiment, in fact he only manages to create a whole evil person ‘Mr Hyde’. In the letter, Jekyll says ‘I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man . . . if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.’ The events of the novel inform the reader that the dark side (Hyde) is much stronger than the rest of Jekyll, this is why Hyde is able to take over Jekyll. This letter is really important for the reader so that the whole novel is understood. A lot of horror is created and it is all quiet in the reader's mind. The reader feels horrified by the way in which Jekyll seems to love and care for Hyde. Jekyll’s words make the reader angry that a man who was so good could enjoy becoming so

The key ideas in chapter 1 of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr

king of bad places. You wish to know what types of evil deeds go on in

“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil.” Robert Louis Stevenson was no fool when it came to understanding the duality of human nature evident within mankind. In his novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson is able to explore his interests concerning the dark, hidden desires that all human beings are guilty of possessing. In his story, a well-respected professional by the name of Dr. Jekyll experiments with the idea of contrasting personalities and successfully undergoes a physical separation of such identities—one which would soon wreak havoc upon his very existence. As a result of his success, Edward Hyde is born. Hyde, characterized as a miniscule and terrifying, apelike figure from the start,

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was wrote in 18th centuries, the times that were defined as ‘Gothic revival’. The literature in this times had similar thematic elements include supernatural or ‘fantastic’, violent crime (death and murder), passionate romance (often with death). The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was considered as typical Gothic literature. Particularly, repression and hypocrisy are highly emphasized in the novel. Repression is undoubtedly a cause of conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The root of this repression can be found in Victorian England where there was no sexual appetites, no violence and no freedom of expressing emotion in the public sphere. Everything should be restrained and people in that times all behaved solemn and were not allowed to show their joys and sorrows. This repression can be well reflected within Dr. Jekyll in the novel. According to quotation of Stevenson’s description:

The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to

Jekyll’s outward actions may disguise his internal disarray, but it is clearly depicted in his environment. The habitations of Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde parallel the arrangement of his mind state. While Jekyll’s home is open for all to view and enter, every abode highly associated with Hyde is kept locked and off-limits. Hyde’s residence, or the nether-side of Jekyll’s, is an impenetrable fortress with no windows and which showed every sign of “prolonged and sordid negligence” (8). Jekyll’s private cabinet, which contained the chemical components for bringing about his transformation into Hyde, had a door that was “very strong, the lock excellent,” and which required “two hour’s work” by a locksmith to allow admittance (43). The most obvious representative residence is that of Jekyll’s last refuge in the inner sanctum of his scientific research building. The door had to be repeatedly axed to allow forced entry as “the wood was tough and the fittings were of excellent workmanship” (38). This area proved to be the most revelatory of Jekyll’s unconscious, containing many “closets” that

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consists of reputation, good vs. evil and damage control. In other words, Utterson tirelessly works to prevent his good friend Dr. Jekyll from being dragged into the horrid affairs of Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll goes to the greatest of lengths to prevent his Hyde identity from being discovered, in order to avoid anyone knowing of his somewhat questionable scientific work and morally despicable behavior. Much of the novel is based on the characters reputations and how they have to maintain a good public image, as they are upper class people. The novel takes place in Victorian England and the main characters are all male members of upper class London. Enfield, Utterson, Lanyon and Jekyll are all aware of social

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde