Duality In London

The various locations in London described by Stevenson often reflect the character of their inhabitants. For instance, the first London area described is the place where Mr Utterson, Dr Jekyll and their social group reside and is presented as affluent and salubrious, full of buildings which ‘wore a great air of wealth and comfort’. As a result of this, the reader assumes that the residents are of high social standing and well educated. This does prove to be the case, with Dr Lanyon’s district being hailed as a ‘citadel of medicine’. Contrarily, the ‘dingy neighbourhood’ of Soho is recognised for its unattractive appearance and ‘slatternly passengers’, unsavoury characters such as Mr Hyde. Hyde’s residence bears the marks of ‘sordid negligence’
For example, Utterson’s midnight journey to Jekyll’s residence reveals a new side of the area; indeed, Utterson admits that ‘he had never seen that part of London so deserted’. Cavendish Square is transformed from innocuous to threatening via the traditional Gothic technique of pathetic fallacy, as evident in the phrase ‘the thin trees in the garden were lashing themselves along the railing’. The opposing and often juxtaposed descriptions serve to mirror and underline the concept of Jekyll and Hyde’s split personality. This is also true of the fact that the ambience of London locations fluidly changes with the alteration of certain factors (in this case the progression from day to night). In terms of its symbolism, this represents the drug which transforms Jekyll into Hyde, causing Jekyll’s features to ‘melt and alter’. This fluctuating sense of setting, combined with the recently discovered truths about Jekyll and Hyde, affects Utterson deeply, resurfacing in his nightmares along with the ‘stealthy’ figure of Hyde. Evidently at home in the murkiness of London streets, ‘blackguardly’ Hyde can be seen as a representation of the ‘nocturnal city’ and all the odious connotations of Soho. This appears to terrify Utterson and the reader too feels the ‘crushing anticipation of calamity’ as the story nears its
Victorian London represents civilisation which is at the forefront of new scientific theory and progressive ideas. Declining church attendance and contemporary ideas such as the Darwinian theory of evolution in the mid- to late nineteenth century may have indicated to Stevenson (who was brought up in a religious household and had a minister among his immediate family) that the ideals of culture and civilisation were becoming further estranged from traditional Christianity. A sense of danger and uncertainty is certainly present in the London of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; the fact that Jekyll, who possesses ‘every mark of capacity and kindness’, and the ‘pure evil’ Hyde are a single unit represents the unpredictability of the shifting times. Stevenson’s dissatisfaction with what he saw in London may be a reason for his presentation of it in the novella as a city of murky conscience and often indecipherable