Grade 7+ thinking approach - Mystery and the unknown

 Genre features of both detective mysteries and of gothic horror

Videos to help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HswUs7acw08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVwSIjMhens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hguD1cni4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecUk5Oqlhls

How to approach:
Introduction:
What is mysterious and tense about this extract?
What comments can you make about why Stevenson focuses on these ideas at this point in the novel?
What is the impact of these choices (broadly!) on the reader?

Focus of paragraph 1

Focus of paragraph 2

Focus of paragraph 3

Conclusion:
Why are mystery and tension an integral part of the novel?
How do mystery and tension affect readers and their views of the characters in the novel?
Mock Answer – How is mystery presented in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

Mystery – the window (ch.7)

Throughout the text Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson builds up several moments of mystery to
build up tension in the reader and create greater anticipation before the revelation at the end.
Stevenson shapes mystery in the text through Hyde’s violent and unexpected behaviour, Lanyon’s
strange death and the duality shown in the confusing relationship between Jekyll, a man of
reputation, and Hyde, a murderer, as well as the strange door in contrast to the pleasant street.

In the extract, before we learn that the extract concerns Enfield and Utterson visiting Dr Jekyll,
mystery is created through abnormal weather. Stevenson’s pathetic fallacy sets the eerie tone for
the extract as we are told that the court is ‘very cool’ and ‘a little damp’ and ‘full of premature
twilight.’ This immediately creates an unsettling feeling and tension is built as something does not
feel right. That fact that court is ‘cool’ and ‘damp’ builds a setting that is typical of gothic literature,
particularly foreshadowing that something awful is about to happen. This is furthered as ‘twilight’
has connotations of darkness, something which typically connotes evil and suffering, making the
reader anticipate something terrifying. This is even more prominent when we realise that the
‘twilight’ is ‘premature’ and that outside of the courtyard the sun still shines. This isolates Jekyll’s
courtyard and identifies it as having a supernatural atmosphere and as being a place of danger. As
Jekyll has been described previously as a Victorian gentleman who has friends with high
‘reputations’ this builds mystery for the reader as they cannot comprehend how he could be related
to such dark and gothic imagery.

This is not the only time that Stevenson uses setting to create mystery. In the opening chapter he
juxtaposes the ‘sinister’ door that is ‘blistered’ and ‘distained’ against a very pleasant street. The
adjectives used imply that the door is a place of pain and is a menacing and threatening residence.
Of course, this is mysterious to the reader (as they do not know that the stained door of Jekyll’s
home parallels that Hyde is a stain on Jekyll’s life) and so they are left to wonder why it looks like this,
especially as the street it is on is compared to ‘smiling saleswomen.’ This alliteration suggests that
the street is inviting and welcoming and filled with friendly faces – a complete contrast to the door.
This evokes plenty of questions in the reader as they try to work out the mystery behind the door.
Arguably, Stevenson was inspired to write about mysterious and contrasting settings due to his own
experiences in Edinburgh. Despite living in the wealthy and highly regarded section of Edinburgh,
Stevenson couldn’t help but be drawn to the mysterious darker alleyways and disconcerting parts of
old Edinburgh.

Mystery is also developed in the extract due to Dr Jekyll’s unusual behaviour, especially towards a
friend for whom he ‘cherished a sincere affection’. The way Jekyll ‘thrust’ the window down portrays
his sudden panic and alarm. However, as neither Utterson nor Enfield (or a Victorian reader upon
their first reading of the text) are aware that Hyde is spontaneously taking over, this creates great
mystery and suspicion in the reader. The verb is almost violent, very out of a character for Jekyll,
causing even greater mystery as the reader is not used to such shocking behaviour from him.
Perhaps, Stevenson’s vocabulary choice is to imply that Jekyll’s ‘thrust[ing]’ of the window is meant
to mirror the way that Hyde has ‘thrust’ himself upon Jekyll.

This sense of mystery is built upon in the responses of Utterson and Enfield. Stevenson creates a
semantic field of fear using ‘pale’, ‘horror’ and ‘silence’ to portray exactly how startling Jekyll’s
unusual behaviour is. The adjective ‘pale’ implies that both men feel physically unwell or even shell-
shocked by what they have glimpsed - which is not revealed to the reader – heightening the tension
and mystery. This is reiterated in the ‘silence’ as if they are almost speechless with fear but, again,
the reader is left hanging over the situation. The only speech that punctuates the ‘silence’ is
Utterson’s repetitive cry of ‘God forgive us, God forgive us’ which implies to a Victorian reader that
whatever he has seen is both scarily unforgettable and a sin. During the Victorian period, religion was
a heavy influence and for Utterson, who has only witnessed something frightening, to ask for God’s
forgiveness emphasises the sheer revulsion and implies that it is something unlawful and unnatural.
Desperate to discover the truth around this growing mystery, the reader would be on the edge of
their seats reading.

A sense of mystery is also created through Hyde’s violent actions, which went against both Victorian
society and their values based on reputation, as well as against God and religion. In chapter one, we
are told that he ‘trampled calmly’ and left a ‘girl’ on the ground ‘screaming.’ This oxymoron is
shocking to the reader as it connotes brutality and cruelty – mysterious behaviour when society was
so focused on maintaining a polished reputation. The adverb ‘calmly’ intensifies this as it suggests
Hyde acted without any sense of compassion or remorse, something that is particularly shocking
when we consider that he did this to a young ‘girl’, the epitome of innocence and purity. In this
opening chapter, when we first hear about Hyde, let alone meet him, the reader is flummoxed by his
mysterious behaviour.

This is emphasised even further in chapter 4 when, unprovoked, Hyde murder Sir Danvers in cold
blood. Stevenson’s description of how with ‘ape-like fury’ Hyde ‘clubbed Sir Danvers’ is outrageous
and, again, bewilders the reader who are focused on his out of place and mysterious behaviour. The
simile ‘ape-like fury’ implies how animalistic Hyde is and how he is untameable and unpredictable. In
a period when reputation was everything, it is a great mystery to the reader as to how he would step
out of line like this. By acting like an animal, Hyde does not conform to society’s expectations. In fact,
this image coupled with the verb ‘clubbed’ implies Hyde is primitive and dangerous, much like
Darwin was expressing in his controversial book Theory of Evolution. Hyde’s destructive nature is
built on in the metaphorical quote ‘great flame of anger’ which implies that he is unable to control
the rage within him. In fact, Stevenson compares it to a flame, something that is destructive and
powerful and can easily flair out of control, making it unpredictable like Hyde. Perhaps the colours of
the flame, red and orange, are designed to warn against Hyde, another mystery as we would assume
that he is approachable and respectable based on his relationship with Jekyll. However, this violent
and brutal behaviour only adds to the enigma of why such a reputable man would be associated with
a brute like Hyde.

Finally, mystery is presented in the sudden and unexpected death of Dr Lanyon. Previously described
as ‘rosy’, suggesting health and happiness, Lanyon rapidly deteriorates for no clear reason, suddenly
moving to ‘pale’ with a ‘death warrant written upon his face.’ This metaphorical description connotes
that Dr Lanyon’s death is inevitable and inescapable as a ‘warrant’ is confirmed and guaranteed so Dr
Lanyon can’t escape his fate of death. Furthermore, not only is it mysterious that he has had a rapid
decline in health but a ‘warrant’ is usually signed by someone hinting that someone is responsible for
Dr Lanyon’s mysterious and tragic demise, which is clearly shocking enough to be ‘written’ on his
appearance. In fact, Stevenson goes so far as to say that is was a ‘swift physical decay’ where ‘decay’
suggests that Lanyon is literally rotting and decomposing, a grotesque image that appals the reader
but reinforces that sense of mystery once more.

Example extracts