ipl-logo

Socioeconomic Conditions Of Victorian London

477 Words2 Pages

Aidan Marinace Mrs. Cunningham English 10 13 April 2023 The setting of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is essential in highlighting the cultural and socioeconomic conditions of Victorian London. The contrasting settings of the luxurious and the poverty-stricken areas of the city emphasize the duality of human nature. The two settings of the novel expose Victorian class division and problems. With the use of detailed descriptions, the author describes buildings and weather to explore the novel’s grim setting. The differences in setting in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde highlights Victorian London’s Class divisions. The lavish town that Dr. Jekyll lives in is described as clean, lively and respectable while poorer …show more content…

Through these descriptions, the novel emphasizes socioeconomic conditions at the time with higher classes living comfortable lives, lower class citizens struggling constantly in the city’s slums.The setting reflects the connection between specific characters in the novel such as Dr. Jekyll and Edward Hyde. Although Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the same people they live completely different lives. Dr Jekyll home is respectable and well kept representing his economic status and personality. “ One house, however, second from the corner, was still occupied entire; and at the door of this, which wore a great air of wealth and comfort, though it was now plunged in darkness” (Stevenson 16) Contrary to the streets of Soho, where Hyde is often seen is grim, frightful and crime-ridden reflecting the current society at the time of the novel. “Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east, the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point, a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on

Show More
Related
780 Words | 4 Pages

Jekyll and Hyde practice In this extract, Robert Louis Stevenson has used his description of the setting to create mystery and tension. This can be seen with his use of “great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven” and “here it would be dark like the back-end of evening”. Stevenson’s use of pathetic fallacy and imagery in this extract sets up the mystery of the chapter, as his use of language portrays the gloominess and darkness of the area of London that Utterson is in. This adds to the mystery and tension, as the surroundings are obscured from vision by the weather, thus creating uncertainty within the reader of what is to happen.

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

In the novella of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the night time and fog backdrop wherever Edward Hyde showed himself suggested to the alluding of Hydes indescribable physical attributes along with his strong impulses that goes on deep in the human mind, shown through his out lashes on his victims, from his lack of morals and sense of ego and

Read More
641 Words | 3 Pages

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a mystery novella, is told through the eyes of Mr. Utterson, who, in appearance, is described as a “lawyer of a rugged countenance” (Stevenson 1). He is inexpressive and looks as if time has worn him thin. While he is loved by his close friends, he comes across as someone who is reserved. As the story progresses, Mr. Utterson struggles to allow himself to venture away from his traditional rational thinking and begin exploring his curious thoughts. Mr. Utterson holds the values of a Victorian gentleman.

Read More
1891 Words | 8 Pages

The dreadful origins of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde is a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson published in 1886. In the 1880s, one of the leading forms of literature in Britain was called the “Penny Dreadful”. The term “Penny Dreadful” is used to describe a form of cheap serial literature that was targeted toward the masses: these texts often had thrilling plots filled with crime as well as dark undertones. As a result of the popularity of penny dreadfuls at the time, it is no surprise that Stevenson’s novella was heavily influenced by this form of literature. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’s vivid descriptions of London life.

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” because the story takes place in Victorian England we see that the characters have no room for expression of emotions or violence. Everything they do is secret, so the more Dr Jekyll is repressed, the more he wants to be Mr Hyde. The original characteristics of Henry Jekyll are reflected as “...life of effort, virtue, and control” (pg. 172) because, most of his life his vice activities were maintained a secret. According to Jekyll, when evil is separated into one body, one will not know right from wrong because there is no conscious in a being of complete evil which was Hyde for

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

Theresienstadt served three purposes. First to gather the Jewish people, then to dispose of them, and finally to deceive the world into thinking this place is different from what they had been telling the world (“Theresienstadt”). The camp of Theresienstadt, first known as Terezín, was a ghetto-like place in Czechoslovakia during the Hitler regime. Not only was Theresienstadt a place where they kept Jews, it was also used later on for propaganda. Propaganda was a huge part of the Holocaust and Theresienstadt kept many secrets hidden away from the outside world.

Read More
322 Words | 2 Pages

In the article, “Women and Sadism In Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Campbell covers the absence of women throughout the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Campbell states that some of the reasons of why women seem absent include Victorian censorship, theme of homosexuality, the theme of patriarchy’s failure and the lack of what Jekyll requires to avoid his experiment (the love of a good woman). Although it seems women are absent they are present as inhabitants of the city, defining the cityscape, and receiving all the violence of Mr. Hyde either direct victims or shocked witnesses, some examples being; the little girl, the angry women accusing Hyde of hurting the girl, the housekeeper, the match girl and the maidservant at the window.

Read More
1037 Words | 5 Pages

The novella Jekyll and Hyde tells the tragic story of a battle between good and evil, a battle for total control over the mind and soul. The clash between the pure and impure sides of man: a fight to the finish. It explores the aspect of a person’s good and bad side; holy and unholy, the one who bathes himself in God’s light and the one whom plays with The Devil’s fire. The battle between the good-willed Dr. Jekyll, and his evil persona: the murderous Mr. Hyde. The author, Stevenson, presents this in numerous ways and describes the two conflicting sides well.

Read More
592 Words | 3 Pages

As Stevenson was fascinated by Darwin theory of evolution he decided to portray it in his work. Due to the fact that in Victorian times the idea of rationalism was popular and that people weren’t supposed to show their strong emotions their darker sides were repressed and The locked doors and curtained windows of Jekyll’s house form the imagery of a man locking away the truth that lurks inside; Jekyll turning into Hyde is a metaphor of what happens when the unconscious mind is revealed; the murder of Carew symbolizes the repressed mind striking out at the conscious mind. The whole narrative is about unpeeling the layers that hide the repressed desires inside Jekyll Stevenson also uses several narrative points of view to intensify the feeling of a frightening outsider. As Hyde is often narrated in a mysterious way through different characters perspectives which slowly reveals horror a feature used in gothics.

Read More
855 Words | 4 Pages

So, perhaps Jekyll’s experiment reduces his being to its most basic form, in which evil runs freely without his reputation as Jekyll being tarnished at all. Jekyll and Hyde are not the only examples of duality in this novel. The city of London is also portrayed in contrasting terms as both a foggy, dreary and ‘nightmarish’ place, and a well kept, bustling center of commerce. Indeed, just as men have both positive and negative qualities, so does society.

Read More
313 Words | 2 Pages

The setting in the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson is more than just a place where things occur, it is also a metaphor for the characters. In the case of Dr. Jekyll, his personality changes throughout the story and so do the settings that he is in. For the first part of the poster we put a picture of the entry hallway in Dr. Jekyll’s house, it is warm, inviting and a very homely room. This room reflects what we learn about Jekyll from Utterson, he is a kind, well-made and smooth faced man. The room is inviting and kind just like the person that lives there, Jekyll.

Read More
586 Words | 3 Pages

Hyde the embodiment of Jekyll’s repressed homosexuality, he also represents all of the negative aspects of being a homosexual in the 19th century. The most visible homosexual men in the 1800’s were middle to low class men and outsiders (Evans and Onorato). Hyde lives in the “dismal quarter of Soho” (Stevenson 22) which is described as a “dingy street [with] many ragged children huddled in the doorways, and many women […] passing out, key in hand, to have a morning glass” (Stevenson 23). This shows the reader that Hyde is indeed a man of low standings, which fits the stereotype of the 19th century gay man. Another key point is that Hyde is accused of blackmailing Jekyll by Enfield as he calls Hyde’s house the “Black Mail House”

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" is a gothic novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson. The whole manuscript concentrates on the concept of human duality and tries to explain that there are both elements of good and evil in every person through the main character personality changes. The choice of using a non-linear plot was done to convey an increasing sense of curiosity and anxiety simultaneously and frequently not to spoil the mystery of the plot. The first chapter narrates "The Story of the Door" , which was told by Mr Enfield to Mr Utterson, and is the first time that the author doesn 't respect the chronological order. This passage portrays the meeting between Mr Enfield and Mr Hyde in a busy quarter of London, where in a small street the gentleman saw Mr Hyde running into a little girl and hurting her carelessly.

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a short novel written by Robert Stevenson, shocking the audience with its sudden twist. Told mostly from the view of Mr. Utterson, Jekyll’s lawyer, he goes through the mysterious connection between Jekyll and a horrible man named Mr. Hyde. In the end of the novel, it is discovered that Jekyll is Hyde, taking a potion to transform into the hideous man. After several transformations into Hyde, Jekyll finally glances into a mirror, seeing a short, hideous and hairy man, much different from the tall and clean Jekyll. In the novel, Stevenson uses mirrors to represent Hyde’s physical manifestation, an object that reflects within the person, and he uses the mirrors to show the unstable duality of the individual's psyche.

Read More
1492 Words | 6 Pages

This distinct use of visual imagery creates a stark contrast between two seemingly different personas who will later be revealed to be different sides of Dr. Jekyll himself. The use of environment and setting also aids in distinguishing the two characters. When Mr. Utterson visits Hyde in his home, the surrounding environment is portrayed as a “dingy street” and “a gin palace” with “many ragged children huddled in the doorways” (Stevenson 1689). These images are symbolic of vice and poverty, all of which emphasise the perverse and deviant nature of Hyde as he commits several sins in the novel and is lacking in morals. On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll’s home is often depicted as “warmed by a bright, open fire”, “large”, and “comfortable” (Stevenson 1685), an embodiment of the Victorian outward respectability and “moral”

Read More

More about Socioeconomic Conditions Of Victorian London

Related Topics

Open Document