How does R. L. Stevenson create suspense in The Last...

Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a gothic novel in many of its aspects, but one of the most important reasons is that there is constant building of suspense. There are many ways that this is done: through his characters, through his vocabulary, the setting and even through the origins of the character of Hyde. Stevenson created the character of Utterson as a neutral base for the whole story; much like the table on which the dinner is served. But in the chapter of The Last Night, the table creates suspense too. Because the story is seen through the eyes of Utterson, the reader feel what he feels, so when he gets scared, the reader feels the same. When he is told not to go into the room that Jekyll is supposedly locked in,†¦show more content†¦He does this throughout the chapter; when they decide to break down the door (Poole, if you say that, it will become my duty to make [murder] certain. I shall consider it my duty to break in that door.), they take another 3 pages of planning and talking before they actually do it. Again, this makes the reader more and more impatient of the climax, which would be when they find Hyde behind the door. When information is finally given as they break down the door, there are more gaps for the reader to fill in. As they are breaking in, Hyde says: Utterson, for Gods sake, have mercy! There lay the body of a man sorely contorted and still twitching. Will make the reader think that something really terrible must have happened to make Hyde beg for mercy and kill himself. You then assume that Hyde is dead, therefore they will find Jekyll for him to then explain what happened. But Stevenson twists in the other direction. Poole and Utterson then go to find Jekylls body. [Utterson] said sternly, Hyde is gone to his account; and it only remains for us to find the body of your master. Nowhere was there and trace of Henry Jekyll, dead or alive. Stevenson has been deceptive in this state deliberately because the reader will think that they are near the happy, explained ending, but the author changes direction and adds yet another mystery for the reader to attempt to explain, building further suspense before the final chapters in which all is explained. Another way that