How Stevenson Uses Setting and Place in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay Example

his routine is governed by the clock of the church which is near to his house. He keeps his important work in a safe in his study.Stevenson makes Utterson's home lonely which is also Utterson's character - he is a lonely man.

Mr Utterson is a very private man, a bachelor who lives in the sort of house we would imagine, few ornaments and definitely no flowers in vases. We are told it has a writing desk, the safe which contains Dr Jekyll's will, and a "great dark bed". The author makes a point of mentioning the fire as if it is representative of Utterson's warm character which gives the reader a sense of security. The lawyer is made to sound a little drab which makes me think that his home was probably the same, and provides a good contrast with that of Dr Jekyll.Mr Utterson seems to be a strong character and is the connection between the other characters. The story is dependent upon the interaction between Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, Mr Utterson and Dr Lanyon.

The interior of Dr Jekyll's house by contrast is highly detailed and shows how wealthy he is. The house is in an area which had once been sought after but has now come down in the world. Many of the houses in the street had been converted into flats, but the doctor's house has remained untouched. It is a typical Victorian house with a large front door and hall.

Even the hall has a fire burning in it and the rooms contain expensive oak furniture. Mr Utterson thought the hall "the pleasantest room in London". Dr Jekyll has a

laboratory which was across the yard from the house. In contrast to the house it was untidy, but then this is a laboratory and the doctor probably does not expect his servants to clean and tidy here. There was a door covered with red baize which led to the doctor's cabinet.

This was a large room, a typical laboratory with big glass cupboards and a large table.The windows had iron bars across them and the reader is left wondering whether these are to stop people entering or the Doctor escaping! This shows that he wants his other state to remain secret by trapping it inside. The final setting of significance is Mr Hyde's home. Surprisingly he had a house of his own. I say surprisingly because, although you don't know at this point in the story that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the same person, the author deliberately leads you to believe that they are not, by having them inhabit different addresses. The villain does not use all of the space in his house; he lives in just two of the rooms.

This could be Stevenson's belief that we are not filled with evil all the time, it just happens on odd occasions. We are led to believe that Hyde is a man of some refinement since it was 'furnished with luxury and good taste'. The point at which we are told about the interior of his house, is also the last we find out about it since he has left there in a hurry leaving evidence of his past crimes. But from the outside Dr Jekyll's home is deliberately daunting: "a sinister block of

building thrust forward its gable on the street".

It is two storeys high with discoloured walls.The front door is mysterious from the start. Stevenson makes it look unwelcoming by mentioning: "The door is equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels". This also adds an eerie feeling.

It is almost as if he doesn't want visitors; if there is no means of letting you know someone is at the door then you can't let them in. Nobody stops the tramps from vandalising it. In addition this building stands out from the line of the rest of the street, showing that this house and hinting that Jekyll, is the odd one out.Stevenson's descriptions of the weather are vital for setting scenes, and inviting the reader's imagination to fill in any gaps.

In "The Carew Murder Case" a 'fog rolled over the city in the small hours, the early part of the night was cloudless. ' We are almost invited to believe that something is about to happen every time the fog rolls in. It can also seem that it masks the truth. The murder scene was actually 'brilliantly lit by the full moon', which tells us that this crime was not committed in Soho but a wider street where the moon's light could penetrate to street level.These are the ideal conditions for a murder; the murderer can make a getaway under the cover of smog, whilst the clear weather allows someone to witness the ghastly deed.

The description of the houses leads us to the conclusion that this is a more wealthy area

such as the West End, a place not frequented by the working classes unless it was for work purposes. At no point throughout the novel is there any indication of an in-between class, which was exactly how the London of the late nineteenth century was - very much "us and them".This would gradually change as tradesmen developed their businesses and were able to raise themselves from the misery of the overcrowded slums, particularly in the east end. Stevenson came from a wealthy family, and he writes the story from the viewpoint of Mr Utterson who is a lawyer. This means that he would certainly not be poor and provides Stevenson with a comfort level from which he can write in a familiar way.

The main events of the story take place in Soho, which is very close to the wealthier West End.Even today it is an area of narrow winding lanes, inhabited by people of varying nationalities and I think is very much working class, full of restaurants, drinking establishments and houses of ill repute. Back in the late nineteenth century it was not very different from this. There would have been poor people on the streets selling goods, 'many ragged children huddled in doorways'. The London smog which was a well known factor of the London of the nineteenth century 'cut him off from his blackguardly surroundings'. These are very powerful words indeed, leaving the reader with no doubt about what the area was like.

The smog (fog and smoke), meant that it was often impossible to see much more than a couple of feet in front of you, and led to horrendous health problems

with respiratory diseases. It was very useful for crime, because the thief could escape without being identified and once they entered the maze of streets it was easy to lose a pursuer who was not familiar with the area. Many lanes were very dark due to their narrowness and the close proximity of buildings, and the gas powered street lamps were not as effective as argon is today.In contrast the West End had wide open streets to allow the gentlemen's carriages to pass easily. The houses were large with many servants, and there certainly would not have been beggars on the street.

Workmen would not enter by the front door; there would be a tradesman's entrance either at the side or back of the house. The use of allegory in this novel is clever and extensive. Every time I re-read sections of the book it raises another question and I wonder if Stevenson is hinting at a deeper meaning.There comes a point where you can find allegory in all the major events, and many of the descriptions.

It is possible to become almost obsessive about seeking the second meanings for example Dr Jekyll uses the front door but Mr Hyde uses the back door. Is Stevenson saying that Hyde and subsequently evil attract wealth more than Jekyll who is the more normal of the two persona? Science is made to look dark in this novel by using it to transform a respectable man, Dr Jekyll, into a downright evil Mr Hyde.This is the equivalent of producing drugs and being addicted to them as Dr Jekyll eventually became. It also demonstrated the inner voice we all

have from time to time where our angel tells us to do one thing, but our devil tells us to do the opposite. Stevenson creates another personality who can take on the cloak of darkness to save Dr Jekyll from being the devil.

It is interesting that the doctor remains the saner person who should save lives, whilst his plain human reincarnation becomes the evil one, therefore maintaining the reputation of doctors.Stevenson not only uses allegory and psychology in abundance but the weather plays an important role in helping to show what kind of character he is describing. If he is talking about a villain, then the weather will be dark with wind or fog, this helps to illustrate that the character has a dark side. When Utterson and his entourage go to confront Dr Jekyll in his laboratory, they are standing outside and suddenly everything becomes quiet which you know means that something is going to happen. Hyde's reaction to the axe blows is 'a dismal screech, as of mere animal terror'.

The weather is clear as if this is an opportunity to rid the air of its foulness permanently, a sort of inkling about how perfect the air could be if this person no longer existed. In this story Stevenson explores how one person can be respectable but at the same time uncaring. He looks at the extent to which we can be taken over by our evil side, whether we can control it and what happens if we can't. One minute one side of his personality is good, but the next minute he could be clubbing someone to death with his walking stick.This

man keeps his reputation unsullied by changing his appearance from Jekyll to Hyde when he carries out an evil deed by taking a drug which he has prepared in his laboratory. It is as if the evil is kept separate from the good if the two people are kept apart, and one person can't be responsible for the deeds of the other.

The author says that Mr Hyde was afraid of dying 'his terror of the gallows drove him continually to commit temporary suicide' a direct reference to his need to change back to Jekyll to save his neck.At the same time he revelled in his ability to be so evil, and despised Dr Jekyll's 'despondency' at his inability to control the situation. So there is a gradual triumph of evil over good, until the point is reached where Jekyll realises that he has lost control and probably will not appear as his true self again. His earlier words have returned with a vengeance 'solely occupied by one thought! The horror of my other self'. There is a brief lighter moment towards the end of the novel when Stevenson describes the scene of Dr Jekyll enjoying Regents Park on a sunny day.

He also talks about the spring smell and the sound of birds, a near perfect scenario. He tries to justify his actions by saying that he is no different from anyone else. As soon as he has completed the thought he is taken over by Hyde and we see the hopelessness of the situation. The reader also realises how he has to use other people in order to reach the drugs he so badly

needs.

He forges Jekyll's handwriting so that Dr Lanyon will go to the laboratory to find the drugs. This is a novella which manages very effectively to cover the enormous topics of good, evil, human relationships and the importance of science in eighty eight pages.This could not be done without making the reader associate certain places with particular feelings and expectations. These places never disappoint in their delivery, even Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are predictable in their behaviour and attitudes. There is a constant tug of war with Dr Jekyll trying not to become Mr Hyde. He fails which begs the question can we stop ourselves becoming evil? Without place and setting this novel would not be nearly so successful, and therefore would not have become the classic it is today.

Most people have heard of Jekyll and Hyde and have a vague idea of who they are, sadly not so many have read the book. The remarkable thing is that these are well known representative characters for good and bad even though these people may not have read the book. The reader is introduced to the sinister nature of the story very quickly, and Mr Utterson soon becomes the detective 'if he be Mr Hyde' he had thought 'I shall be Mr Seek'. In order for the book to succeed so well it must have been meticulously planned, the interaction of the characters and revelation of the clues.Even when you read the book for the first time and you know who Jekyll and Hyde are, it is still a voyage of discovery and wonder to see if they will both die at the end.

We know at the beginning that there will be something nasty to follow when Dr Jekyll tells Mr Utterson that 'this is a private matter, and I beg of you to let it sleep', and so the sorry tale unfolds. This was the first instance of man evolving into a monster with the aid of a drug, and led to horror stories and films of werewolves etc. worldwide. "What a lesson I have had! ' And he covered his face for a moment with his hands.