How does Stevenson build up tension in 'Dr Jekyll'.

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How Does Stevenson Build Up Tension In The Novella ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’?

‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish writer, and was first published in 1886. It was an instant success, especially in North America and Britain, and was one of the author’s best selling works.  Its success was and still is, in part, due to the sense of tension built up through the detail, the language, structure and themes within the book. It was written at a time of great change in the scientific world when there were many new medical discoveries being made and these were a central inspiration for Stevenson in this novella. There was also great interest in the recently published Darwin theories, which suggested that humans had evolved over millions of years from monkeys. The novella attempts to harness the interest in these new ideas and discoveries and puts them into a dark and compelling mystery. In order to draw people in and keep them persuaded by the idea that what they were reading was not only possible but highly plausible, the story needed to have great suspense, tension and mystery.  This is still valid and Stevenson’s use of many different and varied techniques are fundamental in building that suspense and tension which keeps the reader engrossed even in today’s very different world. ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ incorporates the mystery and horror genres to satisfy its audience. These genres are used as a springboard which allows Stevenson to successfully build tension, using a number of techniques including pathetic fallacy, thought provoking themes, terrifying characters and an uneasy atmosphere.

People’s curiosity and apprehension is now, as it was when this Victorian novella was first written, aroused and maintained from the very first pages. Stevenson uses long, descriptive sentences with many intriguing and evocative adjectives. These help us get a partial and suggestive image of the setting and characters. When describing Utterson as ‘lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow loveable’, the author immediately gives this central character a sense of ambiguity, leaving the reader intrigued and wanting to find out more about him. Stevenson continues to build tension by describing the friendship between Mr Utterson and Richard Enfield, a relative, as ‘a nut to crack for many,  what these two could see in each other or what subject they could find in common.’ This tantalising description forces the reader to start forming opinions about what is going on and gives away just enough information to keep the reader wanting to find out more, thereby leaving space for Stevenson to develop the character of Mr Utterson slowly. This technique is used throughout the story and lets the reader slowly see the character of the reliable, tolerant and intelligent man change as the story of Dr Jekyll unravels, gradually revealing the significance and horror of the case.

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Before there is even a hint of a case however, Stevenson uses the strange door, referred to in the title of chapter one, as a symbol of mystery in order to build up tension. Utterson and Enfield are on a walk in ‘a busy quarter of London’ when they come upon a door which stands out in contrast to the rest of the buildings in the street because of its shabby and dilapidated state. Stevenson makes the door mysterious by describing ‘a sinister block of building’ which ‘showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower story and ...

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