Question

What is the setting in the Robert Louis Stevenson novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Accepted Answer

Setting is defined as the "social environment, place and time" in which a story's events unfold (Literary Devices, "Setting"). The setting of a novel will consist of one general time and location, such as Paris during the French Revolution, but if a story takes place in multiple locations and times, then the setting will encompass those as well. Beyond place, time, and social circumstances, setting will include "geographical locations, weather, [and] immediate surroundings" ("Setting").Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set in London during the Victorian era, a very morally restrictive era and the same era Stevenson grew up in. The moral restrictions of the era serve to help develop Stevenson's theme of the dual good and evil natures of mankind.Beyond being set in London during the Victorian era, there are also more specific details that make up the setting. For example, the novel opens with Dr. Jeckyll's lawyer, Mr. Utterson, and Mr. Utterson's distant relation, Mr. Enfield, walking down a small "by-street," or private side street, in Soho, London. On the side street, they see a very uninviting door that Enfield has seen Mr. Hyde entering and exiting, using a key. Utterson happens to know that on the other side of this building is where Dr. Jeckyll lives.Other aspects of the setting include where and what time of day individual scenes take place. For example, we learn of Dr. Jekyll's strange will in Utterson's house after dinner, and Utterson first approaches and speaks with Hyde in the courtyard in Soho at night.

Answer

Robert Louis Stevenson's dramatic fable of good and evil, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set in Victorian London with its protagonist Dr. Henry Jekyll seeming to embody the conflicting drives of that burgeoning society.
The swift economic growth of the early stages of the industrial revolution in England produced vast disparities in wealth and social class. Standards of behavior for both the upper classes and those striving to enter them had become increasingly exacting. Religion, morality, the work ethic, and sexual restraint were dominant forces in both private and public life.
The public manifestations of Victorianism, which sought to end inhumane practices and physical cruelty, such as the abolition of the slave trade, the end of child labor, the reform of the treatment of prisoners, and the elimination of sadistic sports such as cock-fighting and bull-baiting were undoubtedly positive achievements. However, the sexual repression and newly restrictive codes of behavior that were also integral to Victorianism clearly came at a psychological cost that proved difficult for most and unbearable for some, as the immense popularity of Stevenson's haunting novella suggests.
As Dr. Jekyll himself is almost eager to admit, Mr. Hyde is an extension of himself and his own limited predilection for sin; a way of experiencing evil through an exponentially more powerful medium. His own previous moral lapses which he describes as

undignified; I would scarce use a harder term, began to turn monstrous (in Mr. Hyde)...This familiar that I called out of my own soul, and sent forth alone to do his good pleasure, was a being inherently malign and villainous; his every thought centered on self; drinking pleasure with bestial avidity from any degree of torture to another; relentless like a man of stone.

Mr. Hyde is, indeed, nearly a textbook example of the kind of sadistic personality that Sigmund Freud, a contemporary of Stevenson's, would consider likely to emerge from a sexually repressive society such as that of Victorian London.

Answer

The novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set mainly in London, with some streets being part of the Soho area. The time period is the Victorian era of England, and this is important in part because, like Jekyll and Hyde, the city of London during Victorian times (and prior) was a dichotomy in itself.
On one hand, Victorians lived by the same rules of etiquette, decorum, morality and social order that Dr. Jekyll represented. He and his peers would have encompassed the society of the well-educated middle class that appeared to live by the dictum of what came to be known as the "polite society." In reality, it was all a battle to cover ground and gain power in a society that, thanks to industries and factories, was growing richer for some sectors while making the poor even poorer. According to the article "The middle classes: etiquette and upward mobility" (Hughes, 2014):

Up and down the country middle-class men managed factories, traded stock, wrote in ledgers, oversaw building sites, and sparred in the law courts. They made their fortunes and tested their metal by competing with their colleagues. Even before Charles Darwin’s ideas about natural selection started to circulate in the 1860s, the middle classes understood that life was essentially one long competition.

Regardless, while this London "set" may have lived in the best neighborhoods and networked with families of "good name," their explosive scandals and double lives (Charles Dickens's included) rocked a good part of the 19th century. These well-known "secrets" included, among many others, the arrests of Fanny and Stella, the trial of Florence Maybrick, the three trials of Oscar Wilde, and many more. This being said, the duplicitous nature of London society is very much mirrored in the characters of Jekyll and Hyde and this is why the setting is so important in this novel.

Answer

The setting of a story is the environment where the story takes place, which often includes a time period and specific location. The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes place in London during the late 1800s, which is considered the Victorian era. Stevenson chose the setting of central London in the late-nineteenth century for various reasons. Victorian London was a rather dark, gloomy city, which adds to the ominous atmosphere and Gothic elements throughout the story. Stevenson also chose Mr. Hyde's home in Soho because of its bad reputation. During the Victorian era, Soho was an infamous location where thieves, prostitutes, and poor citizens congregated. Jack the Ripper was also terrorizing the streets of London during this time period, which adds to the spooky atmosphere of the story. The Victorian era was also a time of scientific discovery and significant breakthroughs, which correlates with Dr. Jekyll's creation. Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published during this time period, which dramatically upset religious communities. Overall, Stevenson chose to set the novella during a turbulent time period in the gloomy area of London, which created a tension-filled, uncomfortable atmosphere where a creature like Hyde could terrorize the city.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Questions and Answers
by Robert Louis Stevenson

What is the setting in the Robert Louis Stevenson novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

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