Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(Robert Louis Stevenson)

Chapter 1 – Story of the Door

Mr. Utterson is a lawyer with a reserved personality and austere tastes. He might relax after a glass of wine but never entirely lets down his guard. Utterson has more tolerance for the misdeeds of others than for any weakness in himself. It was often his role to be the last influence on men who had committed misdeeds and he keeps his judgements to himself. He enjoys the close friendships of mostly old friends and relatives. He maintains a close relationship with a distant relative, Richard Enfield. Those who know them are surprised at their friendship, for they seem to have little to say to each other on their frequent Sunday walks together.

The men live in London and enjoy exploring its many neighborhoods. One street in particular is a favourite and for the most part is attractive and clean. There is one building that stands out – it is dingy and somewhat neglected. Homeless people linger in its doorway and signs of vandalism, old and new, are evident. There is an entry-door to an inner courtyard next to this building. Mr. Enfield begins to tell Utterson a story about the court.

One day, at about three in the morning, Enfield was walking home from a distant point in the city. Suddenly he saw a young running girl collide with a small man on the corner – and the man kept walking, trampling the child underfoot. Enfield chased and caught the man – by then a small group of family members had gathered around the screaming child. A doctor arrived and said the child was not badly hurt, just frightened. The people there, including Enfield himself, were full of disgust for the man, and he sensed the doctor wanted to kill him. The girl’s female relatives were ready to assault the assailant and Enfield and the doctor threatened the man with damaging his reputation. He agreed to pay the family a hundred pounds in damages. He led them to the house next to the door and went in, soon returning with ten pounds and a check for the balance. Enfield commented that the man’s name was a well-known one but would not reveal it to Utterson. He said that he thought the man was not actually the same individual as appeared on the check. The man agreed to spend the night in Enfield’s chambers and cash the check in person when the banks opened. It turned out that the man was the prominent individual whose name was on the check, although he lived somewhere else.

The men discuss the house and Enfield states that he has found no other entrance but the front door. Very occasionally he has seen the “man of my adventure” come out of the house. He has seen smoke coming from the chimney so knows someone lives there.

Utterson asks Enfield to tell him the name of the man – he says it is Hyde. Enfield admits to having a strong aversion to his appearance although he cannot say for sure what is wrong with him. Utterson asks Enfield if Hyde had a key to the house and Enfield says yes, and he still possesses one. He saw the man use it just a week before.

The two men decide never to discuss the incident, or Mr. Hyde, again.

Chapter 2 – Search for Mr. Hyde

Mr. Utterson returns home alone to a quiet dinner. On a Sunday evening he would usually read until bedtime. This evening he goes into his office and opens his safe. He removes a will that had been written by the testator, Dr. Henry Jekyll, M.D., without Utterson’s involvement while it was being made. Jekyll has left all his possessions to one Edward Hyde, described as a friend and benefactor. Jekyll instructed that Hyde should inherit everything if he had disappeared for three months or more. Utterson does not approve of this will – from both a legal viewpoint and because of the mysterious reference to Edward Hyde. It bothers him that he does not know who Hyde is. Utterson even wonders if the will does not reflect a touch of insanity in Jekyll. He decides to consult with Dr. Lanyon, his friend, who is a highly successful doctor. He sets out for Cavendish Square.

Dr. Lanyon is very happy to see Utterson. He is dining alone when the lawyer arrives. Lanyon is an exuberant man, showing much emotion, but his friendly welcome is sincere. He and Utterson had gone through school together and have known each other for years.

Utterson tells him about his unease concerning Dr. Jekyll. Both men have known Jekyll a long time. Utterson explains that he began to worry about Jekyll about ten years before and thought the man might be losing his grip on reality. Lanyon admits he has not seen as much of him as he previously did. He suggests a difference of opinion on a scientific point may be at the heart of it.

Utterson asks Lanyon if he has ever heard of a protégé of Jekyll’s, a man by the name of Hyde. The doctor says that he has not. Utterson soon makes his way home, where he tosses and turns in bed, worrying about Dr. Jekyll. He sleeps little, if at all; the story Enfield told him runs through his mind again and again. He is determined to find this Edward Hyde and see him with his own eyes.

Utterson begins to haunt the place where Enfield said Hyde lived. Late one cold night he hears the footsteps approaching and hides himself in the entry to the court. He sees a small man walking toward the house on the corner and when he comes near enough Utterson moves out of the shadows and greets him by name – Edward Hyde. The man is momentarily afraid but soon recovers and admitted he is Hyde. Utterson tells him he is an old friend of Dr. Jekyll’s and asks if Hyde would let him in to see Jekyll but Hyde tells him that the doctor is away. He demands to know how Utterson knows him. The lawyer asks if he could see his face and Hyde complies. He then gives Utterson his address in Soho and asks again how the lawyer knows him. Utterson says “by description” and states that they have common friends, such as Jekyll. Hyde angrily says that Jekyll would not have told Utterson about him and slips inside the house.

Utterson leaves the neighborhood, all the while thinking about Hyde and his own feelings of revulsion for the man, almost as though his soul were tainted and possessed by Satan.

Around the corner Utterson comes upon a row of houses mostly turned over to professional offices. One building, though, has remained as a private home. It is the home of Dr. Jekyll. The elderly butler, Poole, opens the door and admits Utterson. He waits for Jekyll in the hall. The servant returns and tells him Jekyll is out.

Utterson asks about Hyde and the servant tells him the man has a key to the old dissecting room in the outside laboratory. The servant admits he has not seen much of Hyde. Utterson leaves and heads home, brooding on Jekyll, fearing he has lost his mind and that Hyde is taking advantage of him.

Chapter 3 – Dr. Jekyll Was Quite At Ease

A couple of weeks later Utterson was invited to a dinner at his old friend’s, Dr. Henry Jekyll. He deliberately stays after the other guests have gone and Jekyll is quite happy to talk to his old friend.

Dr. Jekyll is a middle-aged man with an open face and an easy manner. Utterson immediately asks him about his will and Jekyll lightly teases the lawyer about how the will seems to be upsetting him. Jekyll mentions that Dr. Lanyon also seems to be bothered by it, and that Lanyon has been too judgemental and nit-picking about some of Jekyll’s scientific ideas. Utterson bluntly says he has never approved of Jekyll’s will and the doctor accedes that is true.

Utterson mentions Edward Hyde and Jekyll turns pale while his eyes darken. Utterson hints that he has heard something abhorrent about Hyde. Jekyll tries to dismiss the subject by saying he is in a bad position and cannot change anything. Utterson urges him to tell him the truth, that he can be trusted. Jekyll agrees that he has faith in the lawyer but assures him that the situation will eventually be resolved but that it is a private matter.

Utterson agrees to let it go and gets up to leaves and as he does, Jekyll tells him that Hyde has spoken to him about seeing Utterson. He apologizes for Hyde’s rudeness and begs Utterson to give the young man the benefit of the doubt. The lawyer says that he can never like Hyde. Jekyll says he is not asking for that, but for Utterson to help Hyde when he is no longer around. Utterson reluctantly promises to do so.

Chapter 4 – The Carew Murder Case

Nearly a year later, in October, London is shaken by a heinous crime. A young maid, gazing out of her window in a house near the river sees a young man approach an elderly gentleman with white hair. The elderly man spoke politely to him and seemed to be asking directions. The maid realized she knew the younger man as Mr. Hyde – he had previously called on her employer.

Suddenly Hyde became angry and began screaming and waving his cane about. The elderly man stepped back and Hyde began assaulting him with the cane and then stomping on the man as he lay on the ground. The maid fainted.

The maid was unconscious for about three hours and when she came to, she called for the police. The injured man still lay in the lane outside the house. Half of the broken cane lay in the gutter. The victim, now dead, had money and a gold watch but they had not been taken. A letter addressed to Mr. Utterson was found on him.

The letter is taken to Mr. Utterson the next morning. He decides to head immediately for the police station, where the body has been taken. Utterson identifies the body as Sir Danvers Carew. When the policeman tells him that the maid has identified the assailant as Hyde, Utterson is dismayed. The policeman shows him the half of the cane found at the scene and Utterson is shocked to realize it is the remains of a walking stick he himself gave to Dr. Jekyll.

The maid’s description of Hyde matches Utterson’s memory of the man and he takes the policeman to Soho to the house next to the court. The neighborhood has such a gloomy atmosphere that Utterson feels uncomfortable and even a little afraid.

An elderly woman answers the door and says Hyde is not at home. She tells him that he keeps irregular hours. Utterson tells her they want to see Hyde’s rooms – and that the man with him is an Inspector from Scotland Yard.

Hyde is only using two rooms in the house; well furnished and luxurious, they have a stock of good wine. The rooms look as though they have just been ransacked. There is a pile of fresh ash in the fireplace, as though papers have recently been burned. The policeman finds the butt end of a check book which did not burn. The men proceed to the bank where they discover Hyde had several thousand pounds on deposit.

The officer indicates that they could just wait at the bank for Hyde to eventually show up. Few people seem to know much about him, his origins, his family, and no photo of him can be found. They all agree that there is something strange about Hyde.

Chapter 5 – Incident of the Letter

In the afternoon Utterson goes to Dr Jekyll’s where his servant Poole leads him through the lower level of the house, outside and across a yard to the building that houses a laboratory. It is dingy and windowless. Utterson has not been in the laboratory before and notes with interest an unused operating theater – on the other side is Jekyll’s office. The office is large with many instruments and a fire is burning in the grate. Utterson notices that Jekyll looks very ill. He raises his hand weakly to the lawyer.

Utterson mentions Carew’s death and asks Jekyll if he is giving Hyde a place to hide. Jekyll assures him that he has set eyes on Hyde for the last time but that he is not helping him, although the man is safe. He also says that Hyde is not guilty of the murder but he is unsure of what to do about a letter he has received from Hyde and wants to give it to Utterson. Jekyll is concerned about his own part in what has happened and Utterson is surprised at his friend’s self-interest.

The letter tells Jekyll not to worry about his (Hyde’s) safety and that he had a plan for escape. Utterson asks his friend if he has the envelope the letter came in and is told that it has been burned. Jekyll says it had no postmark as it was hand delivered. Utterson tells him he will take the letter and think things over. He asks him if Hyde dictated the terms of Jekyll’s will. The doctor nods and appears to be upset. Utterson says he is lucky to have escaped being murdered by Hyde.

As Utterson leaves he asks Poole about the hand-delivered note. Poole says he knows nothing about it – that everything came by post that day and there were no letters at all. Utterson is convinced the note was either delivered or written in the laboratory office.

Walking through the neighborhood, Utterson hears the newsboys crying out the headlines of Carew’s murder. He feels uneasy about the murder of one client and the behavior of Jekyll, who is also his client. He worries about the doctor being at the center of a scandal.

Later at home he meets with his head clerk, Mr. Guest. They share a bottle of wine. Utterson does not keep secrets from Mr. Guest, who knows both Jekyll and his servant, Poole. Utterson mentions that the murder of Sir Danvers is a “sad business” to which Guest readily agrees. The clerk believes the killer was insane.

Guest is considered to be something of an expert on handwriting and Utterson shows him Hyde’s signature – Guest compares it to a sample of Jekyll’s says the writing is similar.

Later Utterson locks Hyde’s note in his safe, worried that Jekyll has forged the note for the murderer.

Chapter 6 – Remarkable Incident of Dr. Lanyon

Although a reward of thousands of pounds has been offered, no one has seen Hyde and no trace of him has been found. Investigation into his past life has revealed cruelty and hatred of others as well as his questionable associates. Time moves on and Mr. Utterson’s feelings about Hyde begin to cool. In one way he is glad the man has disappeared for his friend Jekyll can now go on with his life.

Jekyll has come out of his seclusion, seeing his friends again and attending church and spending time outside. A couple of months after Hyde’s disappearance, in early January, Utterson and Lanyon dine at Jekyll’s. All seems well. A few days later and then again a couple of days after that, Utterson tries to visit Jekyll but his servant Poole says that the doctor would see no-one. This worries the lawyer. The next night he goes to dine at Lanyon’s and is shocked at the doctor’s appearance; he looks like he is at death’s door and also appears to be mentally unhinged, as though in terror. Utterson comments on his friend’s appearance and Lanyon says that he is “a doomed man”.

Lanyon explains that he has had a terrible shock that he will not recover from. He is resigned to death. Utterson mentions that Jekyll is sick as well and asks if Lanyon has seen him. Lanyon declares that he has no desire to see Jekyll ever again and that he regards him as dead. Utterson asks what he can do and Lanyon brushes him off and Utterson should speak to Jekyll himself. Lanyon is not surprised that Jekyll refuses to see Utterson.

Lanyon tells Utterson that after his death the lawyer may learn all the details of what is going on. He refuses to speak anymore about it. Utterson goes home and writes a letter to Jekyll asking him why he is estranged from Lanyon. Jekyll replies that he has chosen a life of seclusion. Utterson is tempted to think Jekyll is insane but feels there is something else at play.

In three weeks Lanyon is dead. In sadness, after the funeral, Utterson opens a sealed letter for him from Lanyon, meant to be read after his death. But inside there is another sealed letter, only to be read if Jekyll dies before Utterson. For some reason Utterson thinks Hyde is behind all this – and is tempted to read the second sealed letter. He does not though, and puts the letter in his safe.

Utterson continues to call on Henry Jekyll, but is always refused admittance. He chats with Poole on Jekyll’s doorstep and in some way this is satisfactory – he does not have to face his friend, who he fears, has changed beyond recognition. As time goes by, he visits the house less and less.

Chapter 7 – Incident at the Window

On another Sunday, Utterson and Richard Enfield are taking their usual walk. They come upon the house with the door next to the courtyard where Hyde used to live. Enfield states that they will not see Hyde again. Enfield admits he knows that the courtyard serves as a back way to reach Jekyll’s and Utterson suggests they go into the court and look through Jekyll’s windows.

The court is cool in the twilight as the sun is setting. Three windows are half open and sitting by one of them is Dr. Jekyll. The men greet each other and Jekyll says he is feeling very low. He says he will not invite them in as the house is not in a state for guests and Utterson suggests they just speak through the window. Jekyll attempts to smile but almost at once his face takes on an expression of terror - he suddenly slams the window shut.

Utterson and Enfield leave the court without speaking. They do not speak for a while as both are horrified. Utterson begs God’s forgiveness, Enfield nods, and they keep walking in silence.

Chapter 8 – The Last Night

Utterson is sitting by his fireside one evening after dinner when Jekyll’s butler, Poole, stops for a visit. Poole tells him something is wrong. The butler is very upset and says he “can bear it no more.” He states that he believes there has been foul play and asks Utterson to come with him.

The two men head out into a cold and wet March evening. There are few people around and the wind batters Utterson’s face as they walk. It all feels eerie to Utterson and he wishes more people were out and about.

Jekyll’s servants are waiting at the house and let the men in. Utterson scolds them for being crowded into the hall but Poole explains that they are afraid. A maid begins to cry and Poole shouts at her to be quiet, revealing his own frayed nerves.

Poole leads Utterson to the laboratory building, through its surgical theater, and to Dr. Jekyll’s office. Poole calls out that Utterson is here to see Jekyll who replies that he cannot see any one. Poole leads Utterson back outside and asks the lawyer if he thinks that was Jekyll’s voice. Utterson admits it does seem different. Poole excitedly says that Jekyll has been done away with and something else has replaced him. Utterson questions this logic, asking why the murderer would remain in Jekyll’s office.

Poole explains that for the past week that whoever is in the office has been crying day and night for some sort of medicine. No one has been allowed in, and meals have been smuggled in after servants leave them outside the office. Poole has been sent to the druggists with orders for all sorts of medicines and drugs. He has one of the notes which he shows Utterson. The request is for a drug of purity that had been ordered some years before. Utterson states that Jekyll must be suffering from some form of degenerative disease but Poole maintains that the man he saw was not his master, was “more of a dwarf” and completely unlike Jekyll.

The two men decide the inner office door must be broken down, whatever the consequences. They agree that it might be Mr. Hyde hiding in the office; Poole is certainly convinced of this and that Hyde has killed Jekyll. They send for a couple more servants to stand guard.

By the time they approach the office, it is dark and they must use candles to see their way. They can hear footsteps in the office and they agree it is not the sound of Jekyll’s footfalls. Poole tells Utterson he has heard the man weeping.

Utterson calls out to Jekyll to let him in – the voice in the office begs him to have mercy. Using an axe, Poole breaks the door in. In the middle of the office floor lays Edward Hyde. There is a phial in his hand and Utterson is convinced he has overdosed on a self-inflicted drug. He tells Poole Hyde is dead and they must find Jekyll.

They search the laboratory building but do not find Hyde. The key to the court appears to be broken. They more thoroughly search the office. A kettle is boiling and Poole mentions that the drug on the table is the same as the one he has been bringing to Jekyll. Their search turns up some strange items, including a will made out by Edward Hyde leaving everything to Utterson himself. The lawyer is puzzled as to why he would be the beneficiary. There is also a note to him from Dr. Jekyll telling him to read Lanyon’s narrative. Poole gives Utterson another item from Jekyll which he places in his pocket.

Utterson goes home to read the two documents and tells Poole to say nothing and that he will return before midnight.

Chapter 9 – Dr. Lanyon’s Narrative

Dr. Lanyon’s narrative begins with a note explaining that he received an envelope four days before, on January ninth, from his old friend Henry Jekyll. He was surprised as he had seen Jekyll only the night before and they were not in the habit of corresponding.

Jekyll began the letter by telling Lanyon that if he fails him he will be lost. He wanted him to clear his evening that night and to come to his house. His butler Poole would be waiting with a locksmith. They are then to force the door of his laboratory office and Lanyon was to go in alone and to take all the contents of a certain drawer back with him to Cavendish Square. Later, around midnight, when all his servants are asleep, he would let a man into his house who will identify himself as Henry Jekyll. He is to give the contents of the drawer to this man. Jekyll concluded the letter by saying he is confident Lanyon will do as he wishes.

Lanyon states that he decided Jekyll is insane but that he felt he should do as his friend requested. He drove straight to Jekyll’s house where Poole was waiting and soon a locksmith and a carpenter arrived. The locksmith needed two hours to open the doctor’s office door. Lanyon removed the drawer as he had been instructed and returned home.

Lanyon examined the powders at home and concluded that Jekyll had made them himself. The phial contained perhaps phosphorous and ether. A little book was full of dates covering many years, and the last date was from a year before. Generally only one word, and sometimes two, was written against the dates.

Lanyon could not make sense of it and concluded Jekyll might be suffering from a mental illness. He sent his servants to bed and loaded an old revolver, for self-defense. At midnight a small man, not known to him, appeared at his door saying he had been sent by Jekyll. Lanyon told him to come in, keeping his hand on his gun.

Lanyon’s impression was that the man was physically ill – he had a lot of nervous energy and was behaving strangely. He was wearing good clothing that was too large for him.

The man immediately demanded to see the drawer. Lanyon was shocked by his facial expression and told him to compose himself. The man mixed the red tincture with one of the powders – as it changed colors the man asked Lanyon if he dared try it himself. Lanyon refused and the man drank the liquid. His face went black and his facial features underwent a change.

Lanyon then reported that he screamed for God – for the man in front of him changed into Henry Jekyll. Horrified, Lanyon listened to Jekyll’s story that he was really Hyde, and wanted for the murder of Sir Danvers Carew.

Chapter 10 – Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case

Henry’s Jekyll’s statement, left for Utterson, begins with an assessment of his life; that he was born into wealth, was healthy, respected by his colleagues and friends, and was looking toward the future with confidence. His only regret was a character that enjoyed pleasure and fun – he wished he was a more serious man. He felt there was a divide in his personality and he partly hid his pursuit of pleasure. He directed his scientific studies toward “the mystic and the transcendental” which was not always well regarded by his fellow men of science. Jekyll felt a constant tug between the moral and the intellectual. He was convinced that man is naturally of a dual character and he wished he could live both of his dualities openly. Jekyll also felt that the truth of humanity can be stymied by nature – by our animal bodies.

Jekyll was thus tempted with experimenting with drugs despite the possibilities of injury or death. The sensations he experienced excited him and made him want more of the same. He also knew he was going through some physical changes. One day when he looked in a mirror he saw a man who he gave a new identity to – Edward Hyde. He regarded Hyde as the evil side of his character, and a smaller, younger version of Dr. Jekyll. He regarded Hyde with affection and welcomed him, despite realizing he was pure evil.

He was able to return to being Jekyll by drinking more of the drug which returned him to his usual self. As time went by, he was more attracted to the character of Hyde. He rented the house in SoHo where the police traced Hyde. He drew up the will so that Hyde would “inherit” Jekyll’s fortune.

Jekyll was soon almost shocked at the depravities his alter-ego could sink to but in his mind it he was not responsible for it. His injury to the child he saw as merely an inconvenience that had been rectified by opening a checking account in Hyde’s name and paying off the family.

In time he realized that Jekyll was indeed being absorbed into the persona of Edward Hyde. One morning he awoke as Hyde, although he had gone to bed as Jekyll although he had not taken the drug. When he went downstairs his servants were shocked – they had not seen Hyde in the house before so early in the morning. Ten minutes later Jekyll was back in his old guise.

Jekyll by then was concerned that Hyde was going to take him over completely and that he would have to choose which would predominate, the man of self-indulgence or the man of respectable character? For two months he chose his old self – Jekyll. Then “Hyde” began the pressure to express himself. He went back to the drug and Hyde reappeared, with a vengeance, leading a life of self-indulgence and crime, which included the murder of Carew.

When Jekyll realized the murder of Carew had been witnessed he again battled with his two personalities to keep Hyde under control. Again, for a few months Jekyll prevailed, and again, Hyde clamoured for the upper hand. By January, Hyde was on control but as Jekyll had destroyed the keys to the office, his drugs were unavailable and if he showed his face as Hyde, he would be arrested. He devised the plan to have Lanyon retrieve the drugs, all the while referring to Hyde as “he” rather than “I”.

In possession of the drugs, and back in his office, Hyde now fed his addiction. In the end, to stop Hyde from taking over Jekyll entirely, he committed suicide, with the full intent of his friends finding his body and knowing what his experimentation with drugs had done.