The conventions of the horror genre to create a vision of Victorian London Essay Example for Free

The conventions of the horror genre to create a vision of Victorian London Essay Robert Louis Stevenson uses the conventions of the horror genre to create a vision of London in the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to great effect. Stevenson uses all the different conventions of horror together to create a disturbing tale of good an evil, and incorporates the features of mystery, crime and death, suspense and atmosphere. One of Stevensons most effective themes in Jekyll and Hyde is the use of mystery. Stevenson asks and sets up countless questions throughout the novel, but answers only a few. This means that the reader is continually having to answer questions for themselves, but before you have come to a conclusion, Stevenson has set out another for you to try and answer. The first question, one which lasts throughout the novel, is the background of the characters and what has happened in the past between them. At first Stevenson gives a small description of Mr. Uttersons appearance and some of his background: Mr Utterson the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, and his few hobbies, but little background information is given about any of the characters. Utterson, Jekyll and Lanyon all seem to be close friends at the start, but throughout the novel Lanyon and Jekyll grow apart as Lanyon discovers the truth about Jekyll. Lanyon also says that what Jekyll had been prior to this had been unscientific balderdash, and that Jekyll had begun to turn wrong in mind. This shows that Lanyon thought that Jekyll may uncover something untoward. During the novel we are never actually told what Jekylls plans are, but we are able to assume that something extraordinary and peculiar is about to be revealed. We know that he is a doctor, but no specific information on what the areas of science that he practices in are, what he has achieved to make him so important, and what his current areas of work are. The Victorian audience at the time would have thought that Jekyll may have been doing something wrong ever since the mention of the door being connected to Jekylls house, as body snatchers brought dead bodies to scientists through secretive measures so that the scientists could do medical experiments. They may have thought that at the time, but is not something that comes to mind for the modern day reader, as this is a very rare event in modern times. One of the largest unanswered questions in Jekyll and Hyde is what was Sir Danvers Carew actually doing on the night he was murdered. We get the impression that Carew was intending to meet Hyde, but no definitive answer is given by Jekyll as to what both Hyde and Carew were doing there in the first place, and why it was necessary for Hyde to kill him. Carew was meant to be a kind and well respected MP, but we never know what he was doing in that disreputable part of London in the first place. As is normal in a horror novel, the use of crime and death is hugely prominent in Jekyll and Hyde, with the whole novel and interest in Mr Hyde beginning with a horrific act of violence. Mr Hyde is walking through London one evening, when he and a little girl ran into one another. This though is not the horrifying part, as after they had collided Mr Hyde trampled calmly over the childs body. Mr Hyde casually walks off, and justice is only done when Mr Enfield chases after Mr Hyde. If it had not been for Mr Enfield, then this hideous crime would have just occurred, and nothing would have been done about it. As it is, Mr Hyde pays the girls family a sum of one hundred pounds so that his name does not become disreputable. Possibly the most disturbing thing about this incident though, is the fact that Hyde shows no remorse for what he has done, and all that he cares about is his name and whatever honour that he may have had, which can also be said for many people in both Victorian times and modern day. Appearance and reputation is the most important thing, what is on the outside, yet their secret and evil side that is on the inside is overlooked. Another terrifying theme is the death of Dr Lanyon. At first Lanyon is described as a hearty and healthy man, who has a boisterous and decided manner. This though changes drastically as the novel unfolds. He is said to have grown pale, and he was visibly balder and older, yet this has only happened over a short period of time. We know that Lanyon has discovered something terrible about Jekyll, and that he is quite done with that person. We later find out what it is that Lanyon had found out, the terrible truth behind Jekyll, and his true feelings which are disclosed in Doctor Lanyons Narrative. Lanyon is so distraught after finding out the truth, that not only his mentality suffers, but his usually excellent physical state rapidly deteriorates and is shortly followed by his death. A different aspect of crime that is connected with Jekyll and Hyde is homosexual blackmail. Although Stevenson never specifically mentions homosexuality, it is fair to say that it is what the reader is meant to believe and if he had talked directly about it then he would have been thought of badly when it was first published. In Victorian times homosexuality was a crime, and was thought of a lot worse then than it is now, and it would have been thought that Jekyll was being blackmailed by Hyde and that he was homosexual. We find out that this is not the case, and that Hyde is in fact Jekylls evil side. As well as Lanyons death, there are also a number of other deaths. The first of these, Sir Danvers Carew, is described as Suspense is a very important horror them in Jekyll and Hyde, as it incorporates lots of other themes, and is what makes any horror story terrifying. Suspense is a build up of lots of different things, and the excellent use of atmosphere and mystery is what makes the novel so terrifying. Probably the greatest cause of suspense is that the reader only finds out the truth about Jekyll and Hyde towards the end of the novel. Mr Utterson is used as a cipher, as the story is told with the reader only finding out what Mr Utterson finds out. The reader is gradually able to piece bits together from what Utterson uncovers, but as facts are rarely given, only opinions, nothing is ever particularly clear. Due to all this personal opinion, we are unable to tell what is fact and what is just incorrect and what is just incorrect personal opinion. Throughout the novel we just get given what Utterson thinks and knows, and even with Lanyons and Jekylls statements, we are still unable to tell what is the truth, as both narratives contradict each other. Lanyon describes Jekylls transformations as horrific: , yet Jekyll says that they are: . Either way, the thought of the evil side of someone taking over their body is horrifying, but with this varying of opinions it leads us to think what other things described are inaccurate. Atmosphere and the descriptions of London used by Stevenson are very important aspects of horror in Jekyll and Hyde. It shows the importance for all of the different aspects, as they all closely link together. The atmosphere that Stevenson creates builds suspense and adds mystery, and the eerie atmospheric descriptions are metaphors for the crime and death that goes on throughout the novel. One of the most important descriptions of London and the positioning of places is Soho. In Victorian times Soho was an extremely disreputable part of London, and crime and indecent activities were widely linked to this part of the city. That is why it is strange that a place like Soho was positioned in the middle of the supposedly respectable west side of London. This is the same as with Hyde, as he is a bad and disreputable person among a group of important and well respected people. Throughout Jekyll and Hyde Stevenson uses vivid descriptions of the city of London to portray the eeriness of the people and events that occur. He regularly talks about the fog and mist that hung over the city, which some may say was because of the huge industrial changes that Britain was going through, but after looking deeper into the story you can tell that this is not the reason, and that Stevenson is cleverly using the idea of physcogeography. When bad and mysterious events are happening, this is shown in the weather and atmospheric descriptions that Stevenson uses. This is excellently shown by: The fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city, and: a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her. Both these descriptions of London are implying that the city is dead, but this is only a metaphor for the terrible events that are happening in the city. The second quote occurs when Poole and Utterson are preparing to break into Jekylls cabinet, which is shortly followed by the death of Hyde and Jekyll. The first is shortly after the death of Sir Danvers Carew, and illustrates the feelings of the characters being described, in this case Utterson and Mr Guest. From Jekyll and Hyde we can tell that all of the different conventions of the horror genre are required to create a truly terrifying novel. Stevenson uses these conventions to create a vivid and horrific vision of Victorian London, with not only its physical description but of the people inside it. Mystery, suspense, crime and death and atmosphere are all incorporated and closely joined to create a truly spine chilling horror novel.