Dr Jekyll lives in an expensive street in London, it has shop fronts that are bright and attractive. It is decorous, affluent and reputable. A particular contrast is highlighted between the appearances of Jekyll and Hyde’s homes. The respectable Jekyll’s house displays a sharp dissimilarity to the squalid conditions that Hyde lives in. The Hyde residence in Gaunt Street is bleak and neglected, compared to the impeccable and wealthy, commercial structure of Dr. Jekyll’s house. The dark places in Jekyll's house represent his dark and evil desires. This is also symbolized as street doors and windows, as they are veiled to society. Jekyll's house is outwardly clean, but it contains morbid desires. The closed door symbolizes a door that is shut to the truth, and only towards the end, is the truth broken open by Utterson. Dr Jekyll's mysterious cellar door is important to note, because it represents the possibility of all hidden secrets, which signifies the path to evil. The house can be envisioned as Jekyll himself, the dark areas being his innermost sinister longings, the door being the route to his heart and emotions, and the windows being the eyes to his soul, and all his struggles. At the start of the story, the three laboratory windows were shut but always clean. In the end of this novel, they become "three dusty windows barred with iron". The iron bars are symbolic to Jekyll and Utterson and the rest of the world. They represent the constraints of society upon him.
Notice also that as Dr Jekyll becomes Mr Hyde, he develops into an ape-like figure, so the novel could also be a comment on Darwin’s Origin of Species, which had argued that man was descended from the apes. Dr Jekyll seems to be turning evolution backwards and revealing the background of the human species, as if to say that the evil in mankind was still lurking in the depths of the mind.
Within the novel, social and historical situations played an important role in defining how the story was related to the time it was set in. As the story was set in the 19th century, people did things much differently and had different opinions than we do now. For instance, people would have had distinct ideas about good and evil. It would have been the Victorian period; the Victorians were particularly interested in psychology and science. Jekyll's discoveries were closely linked to the Victorian's fascination with science, "even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle". As the Victorians took their lives very seriously, Jekyll had to do so too, "in the course of my life, which had after all, nine-tenths a life of effort, virtue and control". This meant that Jekyll had to hide his darker more fun loving side, to remain adherent to the societies moralistic views. Many people also feared, that the quest for additional knowledge, as with Dr Jekyll, was dangerous, leading to consequences that had never been considered. Jekyll’s discoveries brought about the query, just like today, that, just because we are physically and intellectually able to do something, does that mean we should do it without carefully considering the consequences.
Dr Jekyll calls his personality Mr. Hyde because the evil, inborn, illicit desires were ‘hidden’ from human eyes. When the reader meets Mr. Hyde they are filled with a fear of his cold questionable appearance. Mr. Hyde is a horrible figure to look upon. His features portray, "A black sneering coolness". The evil in Hyde is born from the reaction of others. In contrast, Dr Jekyll is a “smooth faced man of fifty”, a mask of intelligence and kindness. The character of Hyde has lead to a hypocritical angle of Jekyll's face. His characteristics had changed and that is why he avoids society and is in constant hiding for fear that people might see his true self of evil through his changed features. The evil streak of Dr Jekyll has deformed his mind into thinking that he is a perfect scientist who could get rid of Mr. Hyde anytime. In the initial stages he looked upon Hyde's body as a 'fleshy vestment', which would," Pass away like a stain of breath upon a mirror". When people met or saw Mr. Hyde they were shocked by his appearance. "He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance, something downright detestable, I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.” The quote conveys that no one could understand why Hyde looked so repulsive, yet at first glance he was able to create an atmosphere of evil, with impeccable ease. He had a monstrous quality that no one could point out. Even Dr Jekyll went pale at the thought of Mr. Hyde: "The large handsome face of Dr Jekyll, grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes, I do not care to hear more." This shows that Dr Jekyll detested the reminder of his appearance as Hyde, which suggests the two were opposites in personality and appearance. Blackness about his eyes is also mentioned; the word blackness seems to imply evil.
Stevenson used his settings to create a lot of tension. They seemed to create an atmosphere of iniquity. "The dismissal quarter of Soho seen under these changing glimpses, with its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps, which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to combat this mournful reinvasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer's eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare.” By giving Hyde this terrifying setting, Stevenson encourages the reader to fear the man. All of the dark and dingy or depressing words add to the theme of good and evil, this makes the reader feel what Utterson is experiencing.
Several different people narrate the story. This leads to a fragmented tale, and the necessity for the reader to piece together the evidence to understand exactly what has happened. It also creates a more serious and authentic feel to the novel, as if several witnesses are presenting the evidence to a court. Enfield is the narrator but we are given the viewpoint of Utterson and Hyde as well. Throughout the chapter, our knowledge on each character is increased because Stevenson writes the story in a way, where each character becomes the narrator; therefore we gain their viewpoints and feelings. A lot of speech is used so we can see what their language is like and whether there is use of slang or not. We are shown that every character has something to hide when they are speaking, because they hold information back. These narrators help us understand issues from their perspective. A particular link of narration is shown between Dr Lanyon’s narrative and Henry Jekyll’s case. In a way, Jekyll is analysing Lanyon’s viewpoint, and explaining why he sent the letter and did what he did, whilst providing honest facts. This particular writing technique makes the reader piece together both of their stories, forming and revealing a jigsaw of utter tragedy.
Altogether, Stevenson uses, settings, weather, appearances, multiple narratives and various other techniques to create the impression of good and evil. Whilst this mainly centres on Jekyll and Hyde (which would today be known as schizophrenia), he compares every other living or non-living subject within the novel. Displaying contrasts, not only within people and their personalities, but also with the structure of buildings and doors, or the eerie movement of the mist. Each aspect of the story is wondrously contrasted therefore assisting the theme of the main characters. Every method helps the reader to associate between the good and evil within another, whilst still relating to certain aspects and issues nowadays.
