Setting as Metaphor
The setting in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" serves as a powerful metaphor for the characters' inner struggles and the duality of human nature. The description of Jekyll's house reflects his own dual nature:
Quote: "The house wore a great air for wealth and comfort"
This personification of the house suggests outward respectability, mirroring Jekyll's public persona. However, the subsequent description reveals a darker truth:
Quote: "Though it was now plunged in darkness"
This darkness symbolizes the evil lurking within both the house and Jekyll himself.
The fog that permeates the city and enters homes serves as a metaphor for the blurring of moral boundaries:
Quote: "For even in the houses the fog began to lie thickly; and there, close up to the warmth, sat Dr Jekyll, looking deadly sick"
This imagery suggests that evil can infiltrate even the most respectable facades, just as Jekyll's darker nature begins to consume him.
The back of the house, where Hyde enters, is described in sinister terms:
Quote: "A certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street"
Vocabulary: Gable - the triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a ridged roof
This description personifies the building, giving it violent characteristics that reflect Hyde's nature. The lack of windows and the general neglect of this part of the house symbolize the consequences of ignoring one's darker impulses:
Quote: "Blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the mars of prolonged and sordid negligence"
Highlight: The deterioration of the house's appearance mirrors the moral decay of its inhabitant, emphasizing the theme that neglecting one's inner darkness can lead to its eventual dominance.
