Setting and urban terror

No aspect of the novel propounds the Gothic undertones more than Stevenson’s setting and the motif of urban terror. Stevenson localises London as a centre not only for scientific advancements but for crime and depravity, seeping from the very weather onto the streets and physicalised through Hyde’s villainous actions. Within this setting, Stevenson juxtaposes the luxurious, wealthy medical sphere of Cavendish Square and Jekyll’s street of “handsome houses” filled with servants with the “nightmare” of Soho where Hyde resides, filled with disreputable “ragged children.” By establishing these contrasting locations, Stevenson quickly undermines the prejudices of lower class immorality as London becomes a dual entity in itself, thereby illustrating the universality of vice.