The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This story is as brilliant as it is brief. In less than 100 pages Stevenson presents a story rich in applicability: Vice and Virtue, man and vice, virtue and man. One and the same? Or polar opposites? Or a befuddled mixture?

The reader begins the story by being introduced to Mr. Utterson, a lawyer. Utterson has been employed to oversee the drafting of a last will and testament of one Dr. Jekyll. Dr. Jekyll is a highly esteemed, sophisticated, intelligent, and very wealthy member of the community. The will states, peculiarly, that upon the death or disappearance of Dr. Jekyll that all his estate, all his possessions, are to be inherited by one, Mr. Hyde. This Mr. Hyde is all but completely unknown to everyone, except, seemingly, to Dr. Jekyll.

Some time later Utterson’s close friend, Mr. Enfield, tells Utterson a story about this supposed Hyde character. Enfield had been walking home one night and through a chance occurrence happened to have a brief interaction with Hyde, who appeared to be monsterly, grotesque, loathsome, and terrifying to behold. Through a related event, Enfield witnessed this Hyde use a key to enter into Dr. Jekyll’s home and return with a signed check for a large amount of money. It turned out the check was not forged—signed by the good doctor himself. This story intrigues Utterson all the more. It was not long after this story that Utterson has his own run-in with Hyde. Utterson was also moved to great fear and concern after his meeting of Hyde. Utterson begins to harbor apprehensions that his client, Jekyll, would be so trusting with this Hyde person—this frightening creature. Not only was the will written to give Hyde all Jekyll’s possessions, but it seemed that Hyde was also able to use the Jekyll home as his own, even employing his own key.

Then there was a murder. Hyde was the number one suspect. Jekyll, however, explains that Hyde, who likely did commit the murder, fled the country and will likely never return. The murder goes unresolved for some time.

Jekyll eventually falls ill and his house staff contacts Utterson, not knowing where else to turn because of Jekyll’s strange behavior. Jekyll had himself locked up in his room. Nobody had seen him for some days, as he requested that his food and drink merely be left by the door. One of Jekyll’s servants even posits that Hyde had returned and had murdered Jekyll, and it was Hyde after all who is barricaded inside the room.

Jekyll finally wants to come clean with Utterson, the only person by this point he can actually consider a friend and trustworthy. Utterson meets Jekyll alone and at night. Jekyll gives Utterson a packet of papers and then drinks a potion. Right before Utterson’s eyes Jekyll becomes Hyde and the mystery is revealed.

Jekyll dies shortly thereafter. Miraculously, upon the opening of the papers, Utterson finds that Jekyll had crossed out the name of Hyde on his will and leaves everything to John Gabriel Utterson.

Gabriel Utterson

Lawyer and Confidant of Dr. Jekyll

Mr. Enfield

Close friend to Mr. Utterson

Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde

Respected doctor and fiendish monster, respectively

Poole

Dr. Jekyll's maid-servant

Mr. Lanyon

Close friend to Dr. Jekyll

Though so profound a double-dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead earnest; I as no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I labored in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering.

…[this] perennial war among my members

Even at that time, I had not yet conquered my aversions to the dryness of a life of study

I incline to Cain’s heresy, I let my brother go to the Devil in his own way