has anyone read dr jekyll and mr hyde? i need help?

Question

how does the setting affect the plot and characters? Is the setting strongly felt throughout the work or is simply a backdrop?

Answer 1

Setting is everything to plot - Stevenson was quite radical in this. Generally gothic tales are set "elsewhere", like Dracula for example or somewhere where we expect something spooky to happen. In J&H, Stevenson reverses this and brings the "monster" to Victorian London. At the time, people would have recognised street names and districts mentioned in the book and be able to imagine this cruel horrible inhumane creature lurking around the corner. Also, the "story of the door" is brilliant, a whole chapter about a door that cannot be accessed, if i remember it has no bell, knocker or handle. All these things play with our expectations and what we consider to be normal. something as simple as a door that cannot act as a door is unnerving. There is a reverse to everything too, the settings reflect the characters so Hyde resides in Soho, a sleazy horrible neighbourhood while Jekyll's house is nice, lovely fire place and servants. However the front of Jekyll's house is the horrible, inaccessable door. Psychoanalytically, the house represents the two sides of Dr Jekyll.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I thought the setting reflected the air of underling depression that Jekyll suffered from and a sort of hopeless feeling he had about his life. Remember, he was a very successful Doctor at the time, wealthy and well liked but his depression drove him to create Hyde. This book seems to be more about manic depression (bipolar disorder) than science fiction, at least that is how I related to it.

Answer 3

When I read it, I felt the setting throughout the whole story. Does "creepy" come to mind?

Answer 4

great book did u read it?