H/W 29th January 2018
Compare the ways in which settings are created and used by the writers of your two chosen
texts. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors (40 Marks)
Settings are used in both novels to emphasise and portray the fear of the unknown that was
prevalent in the Victorian era, the time in which both Wilde and Stoker were writing which allowed
the authors to engage the audience in a tense and frightful novel.
One way in which the authors emphasise and portray fear through settings to their contemporary
audiences in via the use of night time and darkness. Wilde uses the theme of the night for the basis
of the chapters where Dorian visits East London in order to portray the darkness within Dorian’s
soul, which is also physically represented by the disturbing changes on the portrait throughout the
novel. This evilness is not something that can be revealed in the day light or at all in the more
respectable West End, shown by how ‘the only thing that matters in this world is good looks,’
implying that looking ‘good’ is a part of high society and a determining factor that does not create
fear, and contrasts the East End, which therefore reflects reality. This contrast can be seen by how
Wilde describes the street lamps in the East End as ‘ghastly in the dripping mist,’ and this setting
emphasises the fear the contemporary audience may have had of the East End as the adjective
‘ghastly’ means to cause great fear. You can infer from this that Wilde used this night time setting to
create an eerie atmosphere within the East End, and with the use of particular adjectives such as
‘ghastly,’ ‘narrow,’ which suggests the close proximity of the streets within the East End, and
therefore creating a feeling of being trapped in a nightmare between the walls of the opium dens
and bars, as if suggesting that there is no escape from this gross behaviour, and ‘gloomy’ further
emphasising the darkness in which the East End is set in the novel and therefore helps Wilde to
describe the setting in such a way that it emphasises the fear, and frightens the audience,
particularly the Victorian audience as London during this time had a more pronounced divide
between the richer areas and the poorer areas, and so as a result the readers – most likely wealthier
and more educated Victorians – would have prejudices against the poorer areas that would
stimulate fear from descriptions like this. Likewise, Stoker shows a parallel of the novels regarding
the differences between the East and West by implying that this area of London was similar to that
of Eastern Europe: foreign, dark and uncivilised. This stereotyping can be seen in ‘Dracula’ when
Harker comments that ‘the impression [he] had was that [they] were leaving the west and entering
the east.’ The alliteration of the ‘e’ sound puts stress and emphasis on the east of Europe, and in
turn implies a more intense tone, particularly as they were ‘leaving’ the west to an unknown place,
which can be proven further by how Harker found ‘to [his] great delight, a vast number of English
books’ in the library. His ‘delight’ signifies that the familiar language was welcomed against the
foreignness of Transylvania, and indicates that unfamiliarity of something during the Victorian era
would develop a fear of it, such as in this case a fear of the East.
Also used to portray and emphasise fear through settings is the ‘Old schoolroom’ in ‘Dorian Gray’
and ‘Dracula’s castle’ in ‘Dracula.’ The old schoolroom could be interpreted as a modern style of
gothic setting for the contemporary audience, especially as it may have been a familiar room or
place in the richer population’s homes. This attic area is ‘covered in cobwebs,’ suggesting that it has
been out of use for some time, emphasised by the alliterated hard consonant sounds of the ‘c’ in
‘covered’ and ‘cobwebs.’ This perception of the attic alongside the alliteration of its ‘decoration’
outputs an element of eeriness, particularly as the harsh sound of the consonant creates a uneasy,
possibly frightening, tone which may build the fear and tension the reader could be feeling; from
yellow = analysis | blue = question relation | red = quote | green = point to explain | brown underlined =
context
Compare the ways in which settings are created and used by the writers of your two chosen
texts. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors (40 Marks)
Settings are used in both novels to emphasise and portray the fear of the unknown that was
prevalent in the Victorian era, the time in which both Wilde and Stoker were writing which allowed
the authors to engage the audience in a tense and frightful novel.
One way in which the authors emphasise and portray fear through settings to their contemporary
audiences in via the use of night time and darkness. Wilde uses the theme of the night for the basis
of the chapters where Dorian visits East London in order to portray the darkness within Dorian’s
soul, which is also physically represented by the disturbing changes on the portrait throughout the
novel. This evilness is not something that can be revealed in the day light or at all in the more
respectable West End, shown by how ‘the only thing that matters in this world is good looks,’
implying that looking ‘good’ is a part of high society and a determining factor that does not create
fear, and contrasts the East End, which therefore reflects reality. This contrast can be seen by how
Wilde describes the street lamps in the East End as ‘ghastly in the dripping mist,’ and this setting
emphasises the fear the contemporary audience may have had of the East End as the adjective
‘ghastly’ means to cause great fear. You can infer from this that Wilde used this night time setting to
create an eerie atmosphere within the East End, and with the use of particular adjectives such as
‘ghastly,’ ‘narrow,’ which suggests the close proximity of the streets within the East End, and
therefore creating a feeling of being trapped in a nightmare between the walls of the opium dens
and bars, as if suggesting that there is no escape from this gross behaviour, and ‘gloomy’ further
emphasising the darkness in which the East End is set in the novel and therefore helps Wilde to
describe the setting in such a way that it emphasises the fear, and frightens the audience,
particularly the Victorian audience as London during this time had a more pronounced divide
between the richer areas and the poorer areas, and so as a result the readers – most likely wealthier
and more educated Victorians – would have prejudices against the poorer areas that would
stimulate fear from descriptions like this. Likewise, Stoker shows a parallel of the novels regarding
the differences between the East and West by implying that this area of London was similar to that
of Eastern Europe: foreign, dark and uncivilised. This stereotyping can be seen in ‘Dracula’ when
Harker comments that ‘the impression [he] had was that [they] were leaving the west and entering
the east.’ The alliteration of the ‘e’ sound puts stress and emphasis on the east of Europe, and in
turn implies a more intense tone, particularly as they were ‘leaving’ the west to an unknown place,
which can be proven further by how Harker found ‘to [his] great delight, a vast number of English
books’ in the library. His ‘delight’ signifies that the familiar language was welcomed against the
foreignness of Transylvania, and indicates that unfamiliarity of something during the Victorian era
would develop a fear of it, such as in this case a fear of the East.
Also used to portray and emphasise fear through settings is the ‘Old schoolroom’ in ‘Dorian Gray’
and ‘Dracula’s castle’ in ‘Dracula.’ The old schoolroom could be interpreted as a modern style of
gothic setting for the contemporary audience, especially as it may have been a familiar room or
place in the richer population’s homes. This attic area is ‘covered in cobwebs,’ suggesting that it has
been out of use for some time, emphasised by the alliterated hard consonant sounds of the ‘c’ in
‘covered’ and ‘cobwebs.’ This perception of the attic alongside the alliteration of its ‘decoration’
outputs an element of eeriness, particularly as the harsh sound of the consonant creates a uneasy,
possibly frightening, tone which may build the fear and tension the reader could be feeling; from
yellow = analysis | blue = question relation | red = quote | green = point to explain | brown underlined =
context
