Theme & Key Quotes: Settings and Locations

Theme & Key Quotes: Settings and Locations

Locations in London

  • Dr Jekyll’s House: The residence is described as having a pleasant, welcoming front, and an eerie, dark back door, which symbolically represents the dual nature of Jekyll. Robert Louis Stevenson uses this to mirror Jekyll’s public respectability and hidden wickedness.
  • Mr Hyde’s House in Soho: This residence is described as a dingy, grimy, and uninviting area, vessels the corrupt and evil nature of Mr Hyde. It reflects the lawless and vile personality of Hyde.
  • The Streets of London: Stevenson uses the streets as a symbol of societal norms and values. When Hyde tramples over a child, it happens in a London street - implying the disruption of societal norms.

Important Locations in the Story

  • Cabinet Room: A site of the physical transformation, expressing Jekyll’s ‘cabineted’ or hidden persona. Stevenson utilizes this space to explore the theme of secrecy.
  • Laboratory: Critical location where Jekyll’s experiments take place. The lab mirrors the experimental and risky nature of Jekyll’s pursuit of separate entities.
  • When describing Hyde’s house in Soho, Stevenson writes “a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street”; this quote underpins the uninviting and eerie character of Mr Hyde.
  • On discussing Dr Jekyll’s House, “Round the corner from the by-street, there was a square of ancient, handsome houses”, symbolizes the dual personality of Dr. Jekyll.
  • The laboratory is described as a place where “dissecting rooms and dark holes of science” exist, thereby portraying the risky and dark nature of Jekyll’s experiments.

Remember, for the SQA English Higher, you should be able to explain not just the significance of these locations, but also how Stevenson uses them to illustrate the broader themes of the story - duality, reputation, science, and morality.