The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The novel’s title foregrounds the presence of a mystery, and the mood throughout the initial chapters is one of foreboding and suspense. The first chapter is disorienting, evoking the reverie and dreamy state that John Jasper experiences while under the influence of opium. Jasper also mutters “unintelligible” repeatedly while in a drug-induced trance, even though “it has had no sense or sequence” (5); this word sets the tone for much of the novel, in which events and motivations are often unintelligible to the reader. The effect is heightened because Dickens never completed the novel, compounding the “mystery” that is central to the text: Unlike most mystery novels, readers will never have the resolution and satisfaction of having ambiguities resolved.

The opening chapters introduce two contrasting settings: an opium den in London, and the small town of Cloisterham. When Dickens was writing in 1870, opium played an important economic role in the British empire, to the extent that Great Britain instigated two wars (the First and Second Opium Wars) largely driven by conflict about the commodity. While opium was commonly used in household remedies and for pain relief, the idea of consuming opium purposefully to induce an altered state tended to be more stigmatized. Opium consumption was also often associated with the urban poor, and with stereotyped and racist depictions of Asian people. The “Chinaman” Jasper encounters in the opium den plays on this stereotype and also introduces the context of colonialism into the novel, which will become prominent in the storyline around Neville and Helena Landless.

Cloisterham is introduced as “an ancient English Cathedral town” (3), and its prominence in the novel’s first line signals the importance of this locale. Cloisterham is a fictional town that is most likely modeled after the English town of Rochester (the location of Rochester Cathedral); between 1857 and 1870, Dickens owned a country home (Gads Hill Place) nearby, and he died there while writing Edwin Drood. Dickens evokes the oppressive sense of history in the town by describing how “it was once possibly known to the Druids by another name, and certainly to the Romans by another” (18), and how it is “a city of another and bygone time … [where] all things in it are of the past” (19). This emphasis in the setting is appropriate for a plot where events are often driven by actions and decisions that took place before the novel begins, namely the betrothal between Edwin and Rosa, which was engineered when they were small children. This dreary atmosphere, with its focus on the past, is enhanced by the late fall/early winter setting in which “not only is the day waning, but the year” (7). Given that Dickens was writing the novel later in life, and while experiencing declining health, this setting and mood may have also been influenced by his own state of mind.

In addition to the ancient past, the presence of Cloisterham Cathedral evokes England’s Catholic past, as does the girls’ school (the Nuns’ House) and Dickens’s explicit references to the town “abounding in vestiges of monastic graves” (18). Cloisterham Cathedral would have been originally established as a Catholic church (hence the associations with monks and nuns), but when King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England in the 16th century, established English cathedrals became incorporated into the new Anglican religion. In the world of Edwin Drood, the religious services practiced in Cloisterham Cathedral are Anglican (not Catholic), and Reverend Crisparkle is a member of the Anglican clergy who holds an administrative role related to the running of the cathedral (as a minor canon). By highlighting the vestiges of earlier Catholic history, Dickens evokes the tradition of Gothic literature, which was often set outside of England in explicitly Catholic countries. This Gothic context sets the stage for sinister secrets and tropes associated with the Gothic novel, such as an older man (often a distant family member) posing a threat to a sheltered and innocent young woman.

The opening chapters introduce the titular character, his love interest (Rosa), and a potential antagonist (Jasper). Although the novel’s title mentions a mystery connected to Edwin, it is Jasper who is immediately depicted as secretive and enigmatic. Jasper seemingly lives a double life: He consumes opium (which he conceals from everyone around him, feigning a vague illness instead), but he masquerades as a respected member of the Cloisterham community (his position as the choirmaster is a secular role, but a highly visible and important one) and a seemingly affectionate uncle. Jasper’s opium habit develops the theme of Self Control Versus Compulsion: To conceal his drug habit, he masquerades as a normal townsperson, but he can’t control his drug use. Rosa’s discomfort around Jasper, and Jasper’s strange behavior toward Edwin (lingering and watching the younger man sleep, for example) also foreshadow Jealousy and Hidden Desire.

Dickens’s use of memorable minor characters is often considered a trademark of his literary style, and the small, interconnected community of Cloisterham readily allows for the introduction of minor characters. These characters are often somewhat ridiculous (for example, the pompous Mr. Sapsea), adding elements of comic relief to offset the sinister and brooding tone. However, figures like Durdles and Deputy also contribute to the mystery; Jasper’s intense interest in the secrets and potential hiding places known to Durdles creates further evidence that he is plotting something, while Deputy’s tendency to follow Durdles everywhere puts him in an ideal position to witness events that Jasper might be taking pains to conceal.