In Chapter Two of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, how did Robert Louis Stevenson create suspense and tension?

As Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde begins, the characters of Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer, and Richard Enfield, a distant relative of the former and regular companion during long strolls, are discussing a strange and particularly disturbing event witnessed by the latter. Enfield describes the scene as follows:

“All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the childs body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It wasnt like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut.”

Thus begins Stevenson’s macabre tale of the respected physician Henry Jekyll and his alter-ego, Edward Hyde, the latter the perpetrator of the horrific scene Enfield describes. As the two men continue their stroll, Utterson questions Enfield more about the strange man and about the house to which Enfield was led by the stranger. The man’s name, Enfield replies, was “Hyde.” As Chapter Two, titled “Search for Mr. Hyde,” begins, then, the atmosphere has been established. A peculiar, oddly-postured man, known to few, has coldly assaulted a young girl, and readily handed over financial restitution in response to the demands of Enfield and the girl’s family. Utterson, however, is bewildered by the events described by Enfield, and Stevenson begins to build suspense by focusing on this barrister’s sudden change of routine, a routine the injection of suspense into which is heightened by the observation that Utterson lives alone:

 “That evening Mr. Utterson came home to his bachelor house in sombre spirits and sat down to dinner without relish. It was his custom of a Sunday, when this meal was over, to sit close by the fire, a volume of some dry divinity on his reading desk, until the clock of the neighbouring church rang out the hour of twelve, when he would go soberly and gratefully to bed. On this night however, as soon as the cloth was taken away, he took up a candle and went into his business room. There he opened his safe, took from the most private part of it a document endorsed on the envelope as Dr. Jekylls Will and sat down with a clouded brow to study its contents.”

The will to which Stevenson refers specifies Edward Hyde as the recipient of Henry Jekyll’s estate in the event of the latter’s disappearance—an event that apparently has transpired. The lawyer’s possession of his friend Dr. Jekyll’s will, with the prominence accorded Hyde therein, has become suddenly problematic, to say the least. Utterson’s realization that this violent, bizarre stranger named Edward Hyde at the center of the events described earlier that day by Enfield is the same as the individual named in Jekyll’s will is described by Stevenson as “there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend.” Stevenson, then, is building suspense and tension through the revelation that a malevolent figure has appeared in the midst—a figure the identify of which is a mystery. Utterson, consequently, becomes determined to investigate this menacing figure.

Stevenson continues to build suspense through Utterson’s conversation with a medical colleague of Jekyll’s, Dr. Lanyon, and the two men, both close associates of Jekyll, mutually acknowledge that their friend has become increasingly scarce. What makes this conversation instrumental to the proceedings, though, is Lanyon’s observation of Jekyll as having begun “to go wrong, wrong in mind.” Utterson is determined to ferret out the identity of Hyde, and it becomes all-consuming. He lies awake in bed restlessly trying to reconcile the divergent personalities of Jekyll and Hyde. Utterson’s efforts soon lead to the desired encounter, but Stevenson injects tension into the proceedings, as the lawyer’s nighttime endeavor invariably involves the sound of approaching footsteps possibly attributed to a malevolent being:

“Mr. Utterson had been some minutes at his post, when he was aware of an odd light footstep drawing near. In the course of his nightly patrols, he had long grown accustomed to the quaint effect with which the footfalls of a single person, while he is still a great way off, suddenly spring out distinct from the vast hum and clatter of the city. Yet his attention had never before been so sharply and decisively arrested; and it was with a strong, superstitious prevision of success that he withdrew into the entry of the court.”

In the context of the story—the search for Mr. Hyde—Utterson’s nocturnal activities assume a greater level of tension. There is a sense of approaching danger, although the encounter with Hyde ends peaceably, but not before Utterson is able to get a good look at this stranger:

“[H]e had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him.”

Stevenson still has quite a bit of story left to tell when this chapter ends. He has, however, ably introduced the reader to the character of Edward Hyde, while injecting into his narrative the possibility that the lawyer’s friend, Dr. Jekyll, may have been the victim of Hyde’s evil machinations. That the two men—Jekyll and Hyde—are one and the same cannot, of course, have occurred yet to Utterson, but the suspense surrounding the identity of Hyde and the whereabouts of Jekyll set the stage for the resolution to come.

How does Stevenson create mystery and suspense in chapters 3 and 4 of Jekyll and Hyde?

Stevenson’s use of contrast heightens the tension in the already mysterious tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Unsure of their relationship, Utterson seeks to ask Jekyll about it out of friendly concern. Chapter three highlights the distinctions between the luxurious and warm setting of the doctor’s dinner party—"one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies, all intelligent, reputable men and all judges of good wine"—when Utterson, as the last remaining guest, sits by a cozy fire with his comrade. This is contrasted with the chill that comes with Hyde as a conversation topic, in which Jekyll’s face becomes pale and his eyes dark. Tension is increased with Jekyll’s request that Utterson care for Hyde in the event of his absence—a mysterious request which affects the lawyer’s scruples.

Contrast between the expected state of Hyde’s living arrangements and their reality bring more mystery to the tale. Following Carew’s murder, Utterson arrives at Hyde’s residence “the dismal quarter of Soho” to find the expected, dingy exterior, complete with a surly landlady to let them in the door. The interior, though it is clear its owner has run through it in a hurry, is unexpectedly lovely:

Mr. Hyde had only used a couple of rooms; but these were furnished with luxury and good taste. A closet was filled with wine; the plate was of silver, the napery elegant; a good picture hung upon the walls, a gift (as Utterson supposed) from Henry Jekyll, who was much of a connoisseur; and the carpets were of many plies and agreeable in colour.

The surprising contrast between Utterson’s expectations for the apartment and their true interior only serves to confuse the lawyer further and heighten the mystery of the full extent of the relationship between the two men—one now a murderer, and the other a well-known and amiable doctor.

How does Stevenson create mystery and suspense in chapters 3 and 4 of Jekyll and Hyde?

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is full of mystery and suspense, elements which Robert Louis Stevenson creates through the structure, narrative perspective, and language of the text.

The text is structured so that most chapters end with a cliff-hanger. For example, at the end of chapter 1 the reader is left to wonder as to the identity of the mysterious and devilish Mr. Hyde, and at the end of chapter 3, the reader is left to wonder as to the relationship between this Mr. Hyde and the seemingly respectable Dr. Jekyll. The text is also structured so that the events of the final chapters, chapters 9 and 10, occur before the events described in the previous chapters. Chapters 1 to 8 pose a series of questions to the reader, and chapters 9 and 10 provide the answers to these questions. The suspense of the story would be ruined if Stevenson had ordered all of the chapters chronologically.

For the most part, the story is narrated from the first-person perspective of Mr. Utterson. Mr. Utterson is reliable and sensible, but his perspective is, like any individual's, limited. Mr. Utterson plays the role of detective in the story. Indeed, in chapter 2, Utterson declares, "If he be Mr. Hyde... I shall be Mr. Seek." Readers, following the story through Utterson's limited perspective, adopt the role of detective along with him. Readers are thus as much in the dark as Utterson.

Finally, Stevenson creates mystery and suspense through the language of the text, and through pathetic fallacy, whereby descriptions of the weather reflect the mysterious mood of the story. For example, there is a recurring motif of fog. In chapter 2, Stevenson describes the "fogged city moon," and in chapter 4, he describes the fog which settles upon Soho as "as brown as umber." In chapter 5 the fog is so thick that it seems even to pervade Dr. Jekyll's house, where it "lie(s) thickly" and obscures the light that shines through the "foggy cupola." This frequent description of fog conveys the impression of a city shrouded in mystery. The reader's understanding is increasingly obscured just as the streets and houses of London are increasingly obscured by the thickening fog.

How does Stevenson make London seem sinister in Chapter 4 of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

It is not difficult to create a sinister depiction of London as, naturally, fog rolls in so often, giving all who walk through it an eerie appearance. Then, too, the moon, Stevenson writes, shines much like a search light, illuminating only certain places and casting shadows. This scene certainly proves to be nightmarish as the moon that shines upon the kindly face of the gentleman soon reveals Mr. Hyde, who carries a heavy cane. Suddenly, he breaks into "a great flame of anger," brandishing the cane, and acting "like a madman." Then, Hyde, breaking "out of all bounds," beats the old gentleman with the cane, knocking the poor man to the ground in "ape-like fury." The maid is so horrified and frightened that she faints.

The shifting shadows created by light, fog, and followed by a wind that moves these shadows make for an eerie scene, indeed. In addition, the Soho area is a neighborhood that has inhabitants of rather unsavory character--"slatternly passengers," as the author describes them. The weather and the denizens of this area truly create what the author describes as "a district of some city in a nightmare."

Near the end of Chapter 4, Stevenson captures the scene and its tone with this description:

It was....the first fog of the season. A great chocolate-colored pall lowered over heaven, but the wind was continually charging and routing these embattled vapors....here it would be dark like the back-end of evening; and there would be a glow of a rich, lurid brown, like the light of some strange conflagration; and here, for a moment, the fog would be quite broken up, and a haggard shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths.

How does Stevenson portray Dr. Jekyll in the novel?

Stevenson presents Dr. Jekyll as a suitably complex character. On the face of it, he's a thoroughly decent man, the very epitome of Victorian respectability. His friends—of whom there are many— describe him as showing "every mark of capacity and kindness." Moreover, it's telling that he's further described as "smooth-faced" implying that the face he presents to the world is completely different from what lurks inside him.

Yet Dr. Jekyll has a dark side, which gradually takes him over, body and soul. Although his diabolical alter ego Mr. Hyde is a murderous psychopath, and the complete opposite of Jekyll in all respects, Hyde doesn't just emerge out of nowhere. Even when outwardly normal, there's still an air of mystery about Jekyll that puts us on our guard, no matter how "smooth-faced" he is. For one thing, he's an incredibly secretive man, especially in relation to his scientific experiments; he also pointedly refuses to divulge his connection with Hyde to Utterson.

For all his superficial charm and kindness, we suspect there's a lot more to Dr. Jekyll than meets the eye. His single-minded, almost obsessive commitment to science compromises his relationships with others. Indeed, his friendship with Lanyon is cut off due to Jekyll's alleged "scientific heresies."

Jekyll's foolish experiments with Hyde could be interpreted as a sign of selfishness on his part. In allowing himself to be taken over by Hyde, Jekyll's indulging a hidden desire for freedom, a desire to break free from the numerous moral and social constraints of Victorian England. It is only by being Hyde that Jekyll can experience the kind of freedom that, deep down, he wants more than anything else. This is what makes him such a compelling character, as well as a complex one.

How is Hyde depicted as evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Mr. Hyde is presented as evil via a great deal of indirect characterization. Mr. Enfield, for example, describes the way Hyde "'trampled calmly over [a] child's body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear,'" he says to Mr. Utterson in the first chapter, "'but it was hellish to see. [Hyde] wasn't like a man; [he] was like some damned Juggernaut." Hyde is completely unfazed by the damage he does to the child and seems "'perfectly cool'" in response to Enfield's accusations. In fact, Hyde simply keeps walking even after he stomps right over the little girl. Hyde then gave a look "'so ugly that it brought out the sweat on [Enfield] like running.'" Even the doctor who was brought to examine the child and ascertain the extent of her injuries seemed to "'turn sick and white with the desire to kill'" the man. The women present had to be held back from tearing Hyde apart, and Enfield says that they were "'wild as harpies.'" Enfield declares that he never saw "'a circle of such hateful faces'" as were inspired by Hyde's actions, demeanor, and even simply by his person. Through this indirect characterization, we can gather that Hyde is callous, unfeeling, odious, and—yes—evil.

How does Stevenson present Mr. Hyde in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

Stevenson first presents the character of Mr. Hyde through the conversation between Mr. Enfield, a man who has actually seen Hyde, and his relative, Mr. Utterson. Enfield describes a scene he once saw where this man, Hyde, came out of a door that Enfield and Utterson happen to be passing on their walk. Hyde "stumped along" the street, trampling over a little girl with whom he crossed paths, and he kept going as though nothing had happened. Enfield says that he had "taken a loathing to [the] gentleman at first sight" and that every time the doctor who cared for the little girl looked at Hyde, the doctor "turn[ed] sick and white with desire to kill him." Hyde's mere appearance apparently inspires such revulsion and hostility in others that even a stranger to him would feel this way.

Further, Enfield says that Hyde had a "kind of black, sneering coolness," and his manner provoked everyone around him to look with "hateful faces" at him. He seemed to be such a "really damnable man" that "nobody could have to do with" because people just seemed to hate him immediately upon looking at him. Enfield describes Hyde's appearance as "displeasing, [...] downright detestable" and says that he'd never met anyone he "so disliked" even though he cannot figure out why. Perhaps it was because Hyde seemed to be somehow "deformed somewhere," but Enfield cannot be specific about in what way. Hyde is somehow, in some way, indescribable, except that he impresses others with his evilness without having to speak a word.

How does Stevenson create mystery and fear through setting in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Robert Louis Stevenson provides a number of creepy and mysterious settings conducive to the enhancement of fear in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde right from the opening of the novella. Notice this description of the entrance to Hyde’s quarters in chapter 1:

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 the street. It was two stories high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower story and a blind forehead of discolored wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence.

Although it’s not the archetypal haunted castle or mansion we’re used to seeing in gothic novels or Victorian ghost stories, it has that look of decay and dilapidation, making it seem abandoned and potentially dangerous. Note, too, the use of the word “sinister”—this is a plain giveaway that something malevolent lives on what the narrator later refers to as “Queer Street.”

There is more as Mr. Enfield describes his first encounter with Hyde:

I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning, and my way lay through a part of the town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps. Street after street, and all the folks asleep—street after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church—till at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman.

Everyone knows that things look a bit more frightening at night, especially late at night. The streets are all empty and isolated, hinting that peril (or at the very least, crime) cannot be far off—and, worse yet, that help is hardly to be expected if something does indeed happen. Note how Enfield emphasizes his anxiety, thereby heightening the tension and preparing us for something terrible: namely, Hyde’s attack on the girl. In the following chapter, this eerie scene reappears in Utterson’s imagination as he envisions “lamplighted labyrinths” which highlight the impression of vulnerability.

Another notable description can be found in chapter 4, right after Hyde attacks an elderly man. When Utterson takes a police officer to Hyde’s flat, it is already daylight—9 a.m. Nonetheless, there is a stubborn aura of darkness: specifically, a “A great chocolate-colored pall” and “a marvelous number of degrees and hues of twilight ... dark like the back end of evening.” That there might be something bad lurking there is conveyed by the “glow of a rich, lurid brown, like the light of some strange conflagration.” Here, the words “lurid” and “strange” lend an uncanny feel, just as the addition of the words “mournful,” “darkness,” “nightmare,” and “gloomiest” reinforce this preternatural impression.

That daylight doesn’t dispel terror altogether is similarly evident in the description of Jekyll’s lab:

It was the first time that the lawyer had been received in that part of his friend’s quarters; and he eyed the dingy, windowless structure with curiosity, and gazed round with a distasteful sense of strangeness as he crossed the theater, once crowded with eager students, and now lying gaunt and silent, the tables laden with chemical apparatus, the floor strewn with crates and littered with packing straw, and the light falling dimly through the foggy cupola.

Not unlike the exterior of Hyde’s flat, there is a predominant impression of decay, darkness, and isolation: the lab is “dim,” “dingy” “gaunt,” and “windowless” as well as “silent.” As if none of these words were suggestive enough, Stevenson tells us it is “distasteful” and “strange.”

There are more examples: pay attention to the ways in which Stevenson describes darkness, solitude, and eeriness.

How does Stevenson use descriptive imagery of the city at night to evoke a mood of dread in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

In the first chapter, Stevenson uses descriptive imagery to make the reader feel Mr. Enfield's apprehension before Hyde's trampling of the girl. He describes the "black winter morning" (Stevenson 3). "--[S]treet after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church--" (Stevenson 3). The procession in this grim sentence makes the reader think of a funeral procession and the church empty as if the mourners have gone to the burial site.

Another description is in chapter two in which Mr. Utterson is waiting in the street for Hyde to come home. "[T]he by-street was very solitary and, in spite of the low growl of London from all round, very silent. Small sounds carried far;" (Stevenson 10). The "low growl" is an ominous personification, foreshadowing some approaching base and ruthless creature. The long approaching footsteps are a classic technique of apprehension and anticipation of dread leading up to an appearance of evil.

In the eighth chapter, Utterson follows Poole home and Stevenson again personifies the night as a savage animal to heighten the dread and apprehension of Hyde, the beastly nature of man. He describes a "wild, cold" night, "with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, and flying wrack of the most diaphanous and tawny texture. The wind made talking difficult, and flecked the blood into the face" (Stevenson 35).  

In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, how does Robert Louis Stevenson create and continue a sense of suspense and intrigue?

Stevenson introduces the fiendish character of Mr. Hyde but does not reveal who he is or how he is connected to the esteemed Dr. Jekyll until the end of the book. At the outset, Mr. Utterson, Dr. Jekyll's lawyer, merely hears of the dastardly deeds of Mr. Hyde and then learns that his old friend Dr. Jekyll has bequeathed everything to Mr. Hyde in his will. Even more mysteriously, Dr. Jekyll leaves instructions that everything is to be left to Mr. Hyde in the case of his disappearance, which adds an extra layer of suspense. It is unclear why Dr. Jekyll would disappear for a length of time. 

Later, Mr. Utterson comes upon Mr. Hyde leaving Dr. Jekyll's laboratory, and he finds Hyde distasteful to the point of inducing nausea. However, Dr. Jekyll refuses to tell his old friend Utterson why he continues to befriend Hyde and wants to leave him his possessions in his will. To heighten the suspense and sense of intrigue, Mr. Hyde is always surrounded by fog, and Mr. Utterson comes upon him in the dark. Utterson can never fully see Hyde's face, and Utterson is wandering about in the literal and figurative fog trying to figure out who Mr. Hyde is and how he is connected to Dr. Jekyll—mysteries that he does not figure out until the end of the book.

In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, how does Robert Louis Stevenson create and continue a sense of suspense and intrigue?

Robert Louis Stevenson uses several structural elements to create and build suspense and intrigue in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Some of these structural elements follow.

1. Stevenson starts Chapter 1 with a detailed description about a character--actually two characters--other than Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde, the namesakes of the story. The reader expects to meet first Dr. Jekyll and then Mr. Hyde but instead Mr. Utterson and Mr Enfield are offered up.

2. He then introduces a narrative of an experience told by a participant--Mr. Enfield--in a horrible event centering on Mr. Hyde's inhuman behavior.

3. Next Mr. Utterson intimates that he has knowledge of the signatory of the bank check and of the physical relationship of the person's home with the building with the strange door entered by the vile Hyde.

All these structural elements create an instant suspense by (1) creating an interesting and intriguing  and trustworthy point of view (or focalizer) into the story (Mr. Utterson) and by (2) setting up a string of questions that inspire the reader to search for answers by turning the pages.

Stevenson continues in this vein of introducing characters or gradually deepening details about the characters and introducing puzzling events, such as Jekyll's peculiar will and Jekyll's that Utterson give Hyde help when Jekyll would be no longer there, as the conflict deepens and the plot unfolds.

The pivotal device for building and heightening intrigue and suspense is the introduction in Chapter 4 of the horrific murder of Sir Danvers Carew. Two things are accomplished at the point. First, the reader wants to know how it comes about that Hyde is tracked down and caught and whether he is made to pay for his crime. At the same time, the reader is horrified for the fate of Dr. Jekyll who at all times is presented as a sympathetic, although flawed and perhaps deluded, character.

Finally, Stevenson explores the emotional and psychological (combined emotional and cognitive) suffering of certain characters, particularly Jekyll and Hyde and Lanyon. All these elements--and the distance from Jekyll that is created by having the narrator tell the story through Utterson's experience of it instead of Jekyll's experience of it--contribute to the sense of intrigue and suspense in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

How does Robert Louis Stevenson describe Dr Jekyll?

The narrator says, of Dr. Jekyll, after his dinner party,

he now sat on the opposite side of the fire—a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness—you could see by his looks that he cherished for Mr. Utterson a sincere and warm affection.

Thus, the doctor is described as being relatively attractive, though perhaps providing evidence of the ability to be somewhat deceptive or even a bit, playfully wicked ("slyish"), though it is clear that he is a kind and good person overall. Further, he clearly seems to care for Mr. Utterson, his lawyer and old friend. When Utterson brings up the subject of the doctor's will, "A close observer might have gathered that the topic was distasteful; but the doctor carried it off gaily." Here, again, we have some evidence that Jekyll can be a little duplicitous. He does not want to discuss his will, and he would rather not even have it brought up, but he continues to behave in a cheerful and easy manner that would fool all but the most discerning observer. When Utterson presses the issue, "The large handsome face of Dr. Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes." Yes, so it is possible for the doctor to become disconcerted and upset, and the change is visible in his countenance.

How does Robert Louis Stevenson describe Dr Jekyll?

Here are three quotes about Jekyll:

"He was wild when he was young" from the end of the "Search for Mr. Hyde" chapter.

And later, in beginning the "Dr. Jeckyll was quite at ease" chapter:

"a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindnes"

And a few lines later his face is described as "large and handsome"

How is Mr. Hyde presented as a frightening outsider in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson presents Mr. Hyde as a frightening outsider mainly through his hideous physical appearance.

Just one look at Dr. Jekyll's evil alter ego tells us that this is someone—or something—that does not belong in decent society. He certainly has no place within respectable Victorian society, where a high premium is placed on how people look, how they dress, and how they conduct themselves in public.

Stevenson goes into considerable detail in describing Mr. Hyde. He is presented to us as “pale and dwarfish,” giving “an impression of deformity” and having “a displeasing smile.” We are left in no doubt by these descriptions that Mr. Hyde is not just an outsider but a frightening one at that.

He's not one who keeps to himself; he regularly enters society with the express aim of killing people. His unbridled murderous nature is what makes him so frightening, but as we've already seen, he looks the part; he looks like the psychopathic murderer he is. And Stevenson graphically illustrates just how dangerous Hyde is by giving such detailed descriptions of his appearance and his vicious actions.

How does Stevenson create a sense of evil in Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

In addition to the characterization of Hyde (particularly the repeated mention of deformity), Stevenson uses setting to help create a sense of evil. Check out the description of the back of what we learn is Jekyll's residence just before Enfield relates his story to Utterson; or the description of the night of the Carew murder. Surely Stevenson gives us a full moon so that the maid can identify Hyde, but a full moon often suggests something sinister.

Further, Stevenson uses events in the plot to suggest evil and foreboding--for example, the description of Hyde trampling the girl; the description of the confrontation between Hyde and Carew; the discussion between Jekyll and Utterson prior to the Carew murder; Dr. Lanyon's narrative; the incident at the window; and certainly Jekyll's full statement. Since the depravity and evil of human nature is so central an aspect of Stevenson's theme, he uses all of these and, of course, more to create a sense of evil in the story.

How does Stevenson create a sense of evil in Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

The author creates tension and evil with the creation of Edward Hyde, the product of Dr. Jekyll's experiment.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on the story of Edinburgh's infamous Deacon Brodie, who was discovered to have been living a double life, coupled with a dream Stevenson had one night, what he called "a fine bogey tale," about a man who drinks a potion made from a white powder and subsequently transforms into a devilish creature."

Suspense is also felt in not knowing what Mr. Hyde, who is a totally immoral individual, will do once he emerges and takes control of Dr. Jekyll.  Hyde is unpredictable and violent.

Edward Hyde reflects the ugly side of the human spirit.  He embodies evil with such ease, it is very frightening to imagine a killer more manipulative, sadistic and indifferent that Hyde. He represents the dark passions that exist in all of us, except in Hyde's case they are in total control of both mind and body.  What is really eerie, is that Jekyll finds himself enjoying his alter ego's escapades.

"Part of him as Hyde "felt younger, lighter, happier in body" and more free than Jekyll ever had, while at the same time he recognized this new creature as "pure evil." Jekyll continued taking the potion until one night he found himself transforming without the drug and noted that Hyde was getting stronger."

How does Stevenson use setting and descriptive language to convey character traits in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

There is an almost expressionistic quality to Robert Louis Stevenson's descriptions of the setting and characters in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

For example, Hyde is often associated with darkness and the night. He appears in nighttime scenes (such as when he murders Sir Danvers Carew in the dark of the night), linking him with danger and mystery. He is generally depicted as pallid and gross, inspiring disgust in everyone who comes across him:

Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him.

Stevenson never gives a specific description of Hyde's appearance. Instead, he hints at his grotesqueness, because this creates a stronger impression within the mind of the reader, who will project their own ideas of revulsion and ugliness onto what little details Stevenson provides. His pale complexion suggests sickness, and his leering smile suggests a sadistic and predatory nature.

Another character who gets an evocative sketch as his main description is Utterson, the lawyer. He is presented as a mild, slightly dull, but overall patient man through small details, such as the way his eyes look at a party or how he is often bewildered by the high passions of other people. Small details such as this say a lot about Utterson without going into too great a detail about the matter.

How does Stevenson create a sense of intrigue that engages the reader's interest in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

A mythopoetic figure, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde fascinates readers because of the human wonder about good vs. evil: Can they be separated? Can evil be summoned? Stephen Gwynn calls the novella

...a fable that lies nearer to poetry than to ordinary prose fiction.

Indeed, it is a penetrating psychological work that Robert Louis Stevenson has written. One critic writes,

...the notion of evil and the frailty of conscience coincides here with Stevenson's imaginative treatment and literary craftsmanship to form a work of remarkable power....

Indeed, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde creates intrigue that engages the reader's interest through various techniques.

• Imaginative Intensity

In Chapter II, the lawyer Utterson dreams of the ghoulish man he has seen trample a child and continue on. As he dreams, he has wild imaginings:

Or else he would see a room in a rich house, where his friend lay asleep... and then the door of that room would be opened, the curtains of the bed plucked apart, the sleeper recalled, and lo! there would stand by his side a figure to whom power was given, and, even at that dead hour, he must rise and do its bidding.

Of course, the descriptions of the changes that transform Jekyll into Hyde are also intense, as are Jekyll's struggles to surpress Hyde.

• Narrative Pace

The changes that occur in Dr. Jekyll as he tests his evil side are swift, too swift. As Jekyll finds himself transforming into Hyde unexpectedly, he must procure more of the chemicals needed. At this point in the narrative, the pace of the novella quickens. In Chapter X, for instance, Jekyll writes in desperation to his old friend Dr. Lanyon to supply him with necessary chemicals. Dr. Lanyon brings the drugs to Jekyll and describes how Jekyll "sprang to it" and the terrifying movements against hope.

• "Delicious Horror"

In Chapter I, the lawyer, Mr. Utterson, relates to Mr. Enfield,

I saw... a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of may be eight or ten.... Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground.... it was hellish to see. It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernault.

Later, of course, the horror increases as Hyde, the evil side of Dr. Jekyll overtakes the man. He writes in his statement that he is doomed to "a dreadful shipwreck." He writes that both sides of him are at war, "polar twins" that struggle.

How does Robert Louis Stevenson create mystery and intrigue in the opening chapter or chapters in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.'?

To me, you can see plenty of mystery and intrigue that is created just in the first chapter of this book.

In the first chapter, Richard Enfield tells Mr. Utterson the story of how he met the man that we will later find out is Mr. Hyde.  Just the description of that incident creates so much intrigue and mystery.

We know that there is a many who could just run over a little girl and completely trample her and not seem to care.  We know that his looks and/or his manner is such that it makes people "turn sick and white with desire to kill him."

From there on, you are left to wonder what kind of man this could possibly be and the mood is set for the story.

How does Stevenson depict Edward Hyde in "The Strange Case Of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

Stevenson paints a clear picture of Edward Hyde for the reader by tapping into the baser parts of our human nature.   We recognize him as real for he is us.  (This notion is akin to the assertion Gustave Flaubert made of his own hopelessly flawed character Madame Bovary:  "Madame Bovary, c'est moi!")

Vladmir Nabokov, in his lecture on Stevenson's novella, addresses the character composite of Hyde:

Is Jekyll good?  No, he is a composite being, a mixture of good and bad, a preparation consisting of a ninety-nine percent solution of Jekyullite and one percent of Hyde -- thus, in a sense, Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll's parasite... It follows that Jekyll's transformation implies a concentration of evil that already inhabited him rather than a complete metamorphosis.  Jekyll is not pure good, and Hyde (Jekyll's statement to the contrary) is not pure evil.

The warning Stevenson issues through the character of Hyde is that we must understand the duality of our moral and immoral selves.  When Jekyll proclaims, "I will tell you one thing:  the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde," he does himself a great disservice.  Denial, rather than embrace and control, dooms both Jekyll and Hyde, and anyone else who denies their conflicting nature.