Question

Starting with this extract, how does Stevenson use settings to create mystery and fear? Write about:

Answer 1

Stevenson uses setting in chapter 10 to provide the reader with a clear contrast between the beautiful aura of London with 'freshly painted shutters', 'well polished brasses' and general cleanliness, comparing it to the street which Hyde resides*in a 'sister block of buildings'

He utilises the home of Hyde to create mystery through description as the reader constantly questions why there is 'no window' and neither nor bell nor knocker. Equally he identifies differences between soho and London such as the 'row of smiling salesmen' as opposed to the ,tramps slouched in streets.’ This, he achieves through the rapid transition from the 'gaiety of London to the distasteful state of soho, which was relevant to the society at the time as back in the Victorian era Soho was identified as a place full of prostitution and poverty as aristocrats that used to reside in Soho set out at migrated to other places, leaving behind the poor working class and resulted in the state that Soho was in at the beginning of the novella

Stevenson purpose for creating the setting in such a way that allows the reader to make note of the differences is his tool to show the duality of London and clear divide between itself and soho- Hyde’s house is a crucial example of Gothic structure as it is presented to be a dark and gloomy place 'discoloured' and with ‘sordid negligence.’

Equally Stevenson uses setting throughout the play as a whole to create mystery and fear primarily focusing on the divide and duality of London itself. One of the most important reasons for he underlying fear in the novella was the setting itself as traditional and stereotypical gothic novels were*often set in places far away- however Stevenson choice of setting being Soho induced fear and resulted in the gothic nature of the story as much more harrowing due to being a place that was close to home and initially frightened Victorians who read the novella in the victorian era as it forced them to be aware of the Jekyll's and Hyde within themselves which they would have much rather preferred to conceal as part of their rigid code of conduct, however Stevenson challenges this by coercing them into acknowledging their dark desires by choosing to set the novel in a familiar place.

There is mystery through the notion of Hyde home being situated in the middle of a poverty stricken area as questions arise of why he chose to reside in such a dilapidated place when he was supposedly 'the man who was heir to a quarter of a million sterling. Mystery is clearly evident through Hyde as critic Singh Bram states that '(victorians) had dark secrets to hide behind the high walls of the mansions in which they lived and Hyde is no exception*

Mystery is also present through the fog deployed by Stevenson as a facade to cloud the unpleasant aspect of soho - equally it could be perceived as a symbol for not only the physical pollution that was present at the time but also the moral pollution through the inhabitants of soho and their obscured life and the constant obscurity of truth.

'A district of some nightmare accentuates the fear in that is brought by Soho as it is a hellish imagery that likens soho to a nightmare, which is also seen through 'labyrinth of the lamp lighted'. Stevenson purposefully uses juxtaposition as the 'lighted lamp should provide a sense of safety and warmth, however the labyrinth connotes the inevitability of fear and inescapability as the* labyrinth of false hope and protecting entraps the reader and renders them unable to solve the mystery and find the exit to the labyrinth that Stevenson created.