Richard Enfield is Mr. Utterson¹s cousin, a younger man who is assumed to be slightly wilder than his more respectable and calm cousin.
Dr Lanyon is a former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll. Ten years before the events in the novel, he broke his friendship with Dr. Jekyll because of a disagreement over scientific happenings. This doctor is highly respected and wise, someone who values the truth and goodness above all else.
Dr. Henry Jekyll is a prominent middle-age doctor. Throughout the novel, he is physically described as both tall and handsome. He is also extremely wealthy, having a fortune well over £250,000 in 19th century money. By all that know him, he is described as well respected and proper. This, however, was not always true, as throughout the novel we slyly witness his deceitful behaviour; something that Stevenson claimed was Jekyll¹s fatal flaw. The doctor belief that within each human being there exists two countering forces, good and evil, leads to his experiments that try to separate the two. This, however, was not done merely for scientific reasons, but also because he enjoyed escaping the restrictions of the respectable appearance of Dr. Jekyll.
Edward Hyde is a small, deformed, disgusting young man who is devoid of an apparent profession. Despite the many descriptions of the horror that Edward Hyde invokes, we are never told precisely why or what features are so disgusting to observers. He is often compared to animals, implying that he is not a fully evolved human being. Despite these horrific descriptions, Hyde is generally civilized in his interactions with others, most notably Utterson and Lanyon. Dr. Jekyll describes Hyde as "pure evil," and he menaces society at night, trampling a girl in the street and murdering Sir Danvers Carew.
Richard Poole is Dr. Jekyll¹s faithful butler. It is he who goes to Mr. Utterson because of his concern for Dr. Jekyll and the mysterious occurrences in the basement of Dr. Jekyll¹s home.
‘The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels...'
This is the description of the back entrance to Dr Jekyll laboratory. Not only is the filthy entrance anonymous and unidentifiable, it is a haven for the outcasts of society.
This is the point when the reader is first told about the evil Mr. Hyde hidden in the novel. By setting the story at a particular time, the narrator is increasing the sense of foreboding and fear. His curious comment about 'the end of the world' introduces the supernatural other-worldly theme of the novel. Setting our first encounter with Mr. Hyde in daylight might have been less effective.
Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set in Victorian London, when Stevenson was alive. Contemporary readers would have been interested in the setting because the novel would reflect in some way the society in which they lived. More importantly, society in Victorian times was deeply divided between the slums of the poor, who struggled to exist and the lavish lifestyles of the rich. This divide in society is useful for an author exploring the divided psychology of the self.
Narrative structure is particularly important in novels. In Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson uses a number of narratives to build up a sense of mystery and suspense. Contemporary Victorian readers would have read Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a mystery story, wondering throughout about the connection between the two men. The narrative point of view here is crucial in revealing the truth.
The story opens with a third person narrative. We are told about Mr Utterson; his personality, lifestyle and qualities. We are told that Utterson is Jekyll's lawyer and that he has some suspicions about the shadowy friend of Jekyll, Mr Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson could have moved on to tell us about other characters including Jekyll and Hyde but instead he stays with Utterson's narrative.
Stevenson has a good reason for this. The effect is to keep us in the dark, along with Utterson. We share his sense of mystery, fear and bewilderment as we ponder the situation that unfolds. This makes us focus more clearly on the themes of the nature of evil and man's divided self.
The central section of the novel is a short account written by a friend of Dr Jekyll's who gives his eye-witness account of Dr Jekyll's change from human to monster. The link between Jekyll and Hyde is for the first time established two-thirds of the way through the book.
This technique is especially effective in that this eye-witness account is explained in Dr Lanyon's own words in the first person narrative. This way despite the horror, because it is seen through his friend's eyes, our sympathies remain with Dr Jekyll and we remain curious to find out what will happen next.
The final section is Dr Jekyll's own statement written before Mr Hyde takes him over completely. It takes the form of a letter written in the first person by Dr Jekyll himself.
Using this narrative technique, Stevenson is able to give us the sense that we are finding out what has happened from the man himself. It is a first-person 'confessional' narrative and is therefore all the more convincing.
The beginning of the book creates mystery and it is later on followed up that mystery with horror. There are themes running through both, however, that provide undercurrents of a dark and forbidding atmosphere.
The language throughout refers constantly to darkness, evil and religion. Utterson drinks gin to 'mortify a taste for vintages' although there is no specific reference to death, the reader immediately associates the word subconsciously thus adding to the build up of atmosphere.
Mr Enfield’s story is akin to telling ghost stories around a fire. Utterson is really quite perturbed by this story and goes on to have nightmares about it. The reader takes on some of his fear and unease. Enfield decides not to mention the matter again making the reader immediately want to know more.
Locations are described very effectively and almost become personified and very foreboding e.g. a 'sinister' block in a 'dingy' neighbourhood. At the beginning of the book we are left with a mysterious location and a mysterious stranger. Enfield is exceedingly secretive and creates a desire in the reader, aided by the desire in Utterson, to know the whole story. This acts as a narrative hook to lead into later on in the book.
later on in the book, we actually see Mr Hyde, through the eyes of Utterson, and find him to be somehow disfigured. Fear and horror are often created in literature when someone is different from the norm and the reader can feel repulsed and afraid.
Dr. Jekyll in his will leave all of his possessions to Hyde in the strange case of his disappearance. The readers are truly mystified to find that a highly thought of person such as Jekyll wishes to leave all of his possessions to such a horrible person such as Hyde. I found that the part of the story containing the most suspense was when Jekyll had locked himself in his room. Stevenson describes what goes on in this extract. But the words were hardly uttered, before the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below. They saw it but for a glimpse, for the window was instantly thrust down; but that glimpse, had been sufficient, and they turned and left the court without a word. In silence, too they traversed the by street; and it was not until they had come into a neighbouring thoroughfare, where even upon a Sunday there were still some stirrings of life, that Mr Utterson at last turned and looked at his companion. They were both pale; and there was an answering horror in their eyes God forgive us! God forgive us! This creates a very strong and shocking image in the readers mind and builds up the suspense. The reader wants to know what caused Dr Jekyll to react in such horror as it obviously disturbed Enfield and Utterson considerably.
Mr utterson is described relieved to be denied admittance into Dr Jekyll's home. Mr Utterson went on to describe Dr Jekyll's house as a," house of voluntary bondage", with an" inscrutable recluse", in which he preferred not to be admitted into. While here he is told about DrJekyll's strange confinement to his cabinet.
Hasan Ehsan 10BL