Revision lecture The strange case of dr. Jekyll and mr. hyde How does Stevenson use settings in the novel to emphasise key ideas and themes?

How does Stevenson use settings in the novel to emphasise key themes? Duality Hypocrisy Tension, mystery and suspense

How does Stevenson use settings in the novel to emphasise key themes? Theory: Victorian society and its moral values and expectations is a façade. People claim to be upstanding citizens with high moral values, but everyone has a ‘devil’ that is ‘caged.’

Victorian society is a façade… What society and its gentleman display on the outside… Is not the same as what is on the inside…

DUALITY THE HYPOCRISY OF VICTORIAN SOCIETY ‘…for the buildings are so packed together about that court, that it’s hard to say where one ends and another begins.’ (Page 10)

‘a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street.’ Explain the settings in relation to each other

‘heirs of a celebrated surgeon’ Was Jekyll’s house based on a real one? Dr Jekyll’s house was possibly based on the residence of famous surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793), whose respectable and renowned house in Leicester Square in the late 18th century also had a secret. Hunter required human corpses, many of them supplied by ‘resurrection men’ who robbed fresh graves. These were brought, usually at night, to the back entrance of the house, which had a drawbridge leading to the preparation rooms and lecture-theatre. Stevenson mirrors the idea of duality/ appearance vs reality/ sense of distrust – a rich and respectable front could be hiding evil, dark deeds.

Story of the Door The description of the door represents a disreputable character… Page 2 – 3

Story of the Door Page 5

Story of the Door Into the building that the ‘blistered and distained’ door leads to, disappears Hyde. He returns with a cheque signed by (as we later discover or infer) Jekyll, who is described as the ‘very pink of the proprieties’ which emphasises his respectable reputation. This is the first indication that a ‘sordid’ exterior and a respectable interior can be linked, even though this is not apparent.

Jekyll’s house Page 16

Jekyll’s house (‘Search for Mr Hyde’) The respectable nature of Jekyll is emphasised through the description of his house: Utterson regards Jekyll’s hall as ‘the pleasantest room in London.’ Jekyll’s house remains the only house that is still in sole occupancy and still seems wealthy and comfortable when all around it have ‘decayed.’ The irony is that Jekyll is not the upstanding pillar of the community that he appears to be. His house creates a façade; he seems better than those around him but is, in fact, just as disreputable.

Jekyll’s cabinet This description provides another indication of the ‘normal’ and respectable existing alongside the unusual and ‘deviant.’ Page 51

Jekyll’s laboratory Page 28 The laboratory gives a clue to the ‘chemical’ nature of Jekyll’s work; ‘normal’ science has been abandoned, indicated by the appearance of the laboratory. On entering the door to Jekyll’s house, Utterson is led to the laboratory which has an entirely contrasting appearance and tone. Page 28

Hyde’s house in Soho Page 26 Hyde’s house also helps to emphasise the duality of Jekyll. It contains luxury items but is also disordered and ‘ransacked.’ Page 26

How does Stevenson use settings in the novel to emphasise key themes? First key idea…the settings help to show the two sides of Victorian side and indicate its hypocrisy.

How does Stevenson use settings in the novel to emphasise key themes? Theory: settings are used to create mystery, tension and suspense.

Story of the Door The building also helps to introduce an air of mystery into the novella… Page 6

Foggy settings The novel uses a constant motif of fog to emphasise the hidden nature of Jekyll’s ‘other side.’ Examples include… Page 24: ‘A great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven…’ Page 25: ‘the fog settled down again upon that part, as brown as umber and cut him off…’ Page 28: ‘for even in the houses the fog began to lie thickly…’ Page 31: ‘the fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city.’ The fog motif also adds to the sense of mystery, symbolising the way that Utterson is cut off from the truth.

The city represents the Victorians fear of crime and of the darker side of life, a fear of the unknown… Page 12 – 13 Utterson’s nightmare

Later Gothic texts (like the novella) were set in familiar locations… Hyde’s attacks both take place on London streets: ‘London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity…’ The threat is presented as being closer to home which intensifies the fear created.

Darkness and isolation help to build a sense of horror… Page 3: ‘I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning…Street after street, and all the folks asleep…’ Page 13: ‘By ten o’clock, when the shops were closed, the by-street was very solitary and, in spite of the low growl of London from all round, very silent.’ Page 25: ‘this mournful reinvasion of darkness…like a district of some city in a nightmare.’ Page 42: ‘the streets unusually bare of passengers…Mr Utterson thought he had never seen that part of London so deserted…so sharp a wish to see and touch his fellow-creatures…’

Soho Soho is presented as dark, nightmarish, poor, and morally corrupt. This reflects the ‘evil’ of Hyde and also Utterson’s distance from this kind of life and behaviour. Page 24 - 25

How to use this information to answer an exam question… Settings expose the duality and hypocrisy of Victorian society. Write about: Jekyll’s house and its relationship with the ‘door’ in ‘Story of the door’ and the laboratory. Jekyll’s cabinet. Hyde’s house in Soho.

How to use this information to answer an exam question… Settings create mystery. Write about: The door The motif of fog

How to use this information to answer an exam question… Settings create a sense of isolation and horror. Write about: The motif of darkness The description of the streets of London Utterson’s nightmarish view of London The description of Soho