Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde summary

 

Summary

Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, is modest, a little dreary but endearing, with something very warm in his eyes, though his dinner conversation is not very impressive. This warmth can be seen in the way he lives too, being loyal to his old friends even when they have been abandoned by others. Modest as he is, Utterson has kept a set of friends without seeming to choose them along the way and his affection is based on the bond of time, not quality.

One of Mr. Utterson’s friends is Richard Enfield, with whom he takes regular Sunday walks. To see the pair walking together, one would think they had nothing in common, but they both claim to look forward to these walks. One day, they are walking and come to a particular busy by-street in London. The houses are bright and everything has an air of prosperity, apart from one property two doors from the corner of the street, which has a bleak gray front and a door in need of repair.

Utterson asks Enfield if he has ever noticed this door and Enfield says that he has, and that there is a strange story associated with it, which he proceeds to tell. One night, so late that the street was totally deserted, Enfield was walking near the house in question and had worked himself up into a frightened state. Suddenly, a little girl and a man had appeared running from opposite streets and knocked into each other. The man had trampled the little girl and left her crying in the street. Mr. Enfield describes how he caught the man and brought him back to the girl, who was then being helped by her family.

To Enfield, the strangest part of the incident was the way the man looked. It was so powerful and hateful that it caused him to sweat. Everyone involved seemed to be affected in the same way. Even the doctor, who had been called to aid the child, was visibly enraged at the sight of this man and looked like he wanted to kill him.

But instead of using violence, they threatened the man, promising to undo him if didn’t disappear. The man replied calmly that a gentleman never wishes to make a scene, and then went into the bleak-looking house and got a check for a hundred pounds. Not only that but he offered to stay with the injured girl and her family until the banks opened so he could cash it for them. When they saw the name on the check, they recognized the man as a celebrated gentleman, though Mr. Enfield in his story does not reveal the man's name to Utterson.

Mr. Enfield can see that Mr. Utterson is affected by the story too. He continues, troubled by how the man can be so obviously damnable but also celebrated for doing good things with his money. Utterson asks if the man lives at this house but Enfield claims his address is in a square in another area. Enfield admits he didn’t ask the man about the house, because he makes it a rule not to ask questions about things that seem suspicious. Utterson thinks this is a good rule.

Mr. Enfield says he took a look about the house and noticed that it had no other entrance and nobody seemed to go in or out except, occasionally, for the man, but that the house's chimney is always smoking. Mr. Utterson asks to know the gentleman’s name, and Mr. Enfield doesn’t think much harm can come of telling it. It’s Mr. Hyde.

Utterson asks what Mr. Hyde looks like, but Enfield can hardly describe it. He says that the man has a detestable appearance but for no visible reason he can see. This isn’t a fault of his memory, for he can remember the figure of the man exactly. Mr. Utterson is deep in thought. He admits that the story is not foreign to him, and he knows of the man in question. Mr. Enfield feels bad for telling the story now, but the friends shake hands and part.

Summary

Mr. Utterson returns to his house, in a somber mood. It is his usual routine on a Sunday to read until late but tonight he goes to his private safe and finds the will that has been entrusted to him by a Dr. Jekyll. The will bequeaths Dr. Jekyll’s estate to Edward Hyde and also notes that should Dr. Jekyll disappear for any reason for longer than three months, Mr. Hyde should also take over his fortune.

This document has always angered Mr. Utterson. At first it was because he didn’t know Mr. Hyde, and didn’t know why this man should be placed so high above Dr. Jekyll’s own family, but now, his anger comes from his knowledge of the “detestable” man. He had thought this bequest showed madness on Dr. Jekyll’s part but now he thinks it shows disgrace.

Mr. Utterson goes to visit his friend Dr. Lanyon, whose house is always crowded with eager patients. The butler brings Mr. Utterson straight to the doctor, who is sitting, ruddy and energetic, in his dining room. He is an old school friend of Mr. Utterson’s and greets him warmly. Mr. Utterson gets to the point of Dr. Jekyll and asks if he and Jekyll not Dr. Lanyon’s two oldest friends. Dr. Lanyon agrees that they are but says that his own friendship with Dr. Jekyll has soured. According to him, Dr. Jekyll has become devilish and unscientific.

Mr. Utterson is glad of this explanation from Dr. Lanyon because he thinks that his dispute with Dr. Jekyll is based on a difference of medical opinion, but when Utterson hears that Dr. Lanyon has never heard of Edward Hyde, his restlessness returns. That night he can’t sleep. The nearby clock strikes six and he finds himself replaying Mr. Enfield’s story in vivid pictures in his mind. Then he imagines Dr. Jekyll in bed in his rich house and the figure of Mr. Hyde approaching and blackmailing him in the night.

As Utterson sleeps, the images become more repetitive and nightmarish but he can never make out Mr. Hyde’s face. He becomes obsessed with knowing what Mr. Hyde looks like. He thinks it might explain how Dr. Jekyll has been so influenced by the man. The next day, Utterson starts to hang about the stoop of the bleak-looking house in the hope of spying the mysterious figure. At last, on a frosty night, when the street is silent and sounds are sharply magnified, Utterson hears someone approaching.

The steps draw nearer until Mr. Utterson sees the plain figure of the man in question and quickly surprises him at the door, addressing him. Mr. Hyde is afraid for a moment but answers to the name. Mr. Utterson introduces himself as a friend of Dr. Jekyll’s but Mr. Hyde tells him that Dr. Jekyll is not inside. Utterson asks to see Mr. Hyde’s face and Mr. Hyde obliges, after a brief hesitation, and agrees that it is good that they have made each other’s acquaintance, as if Hyde has also been thinking about Jekyll’s affairs. He gives Utterson his address in the neighborhood of Soho.

Mr. Utterson explains to Mr. Hyde that they have mutual friends, naming Dr. Jekyll as one of them. Mr. Hyde becomes suddenly defensive and tries to cover up the snarl that forms on his face. He rushes inside and Mr. Utterson is left to make his way through the dark street and ponder the inexplicable grotesqueness of the man. There is something deformed, even monstrous, about Hyde, but Utterson cannot place what detail gives him that impression.

Mr. Utterson walks to a house around the corner, in a square of elegant but old properties, and asks its servant if Dr. Jekyll is at home. He recalls that this hallway in Jekyll's house was once his favorite room in the city, but that now with its flickering light and strange shadows, it seems fearful, and he is glad when the servant returns to say that Dr. Jekyll has gone out.

Mr. Utterson asks the servant if it is all right that he has seen Mr. Hyde going into the “old dissecting room” and the servant replies that Mr. Hyde has a key and that the servants have been instructed to always obey him. Mr. Utterson goes home, having come to the conclusion that Dr. Jekyll has been condemned by some past fault and is now bound to obey Hyde by some debt.

This makes Utterson think of his own past. He, of all people, has little cause to worry about sinfulness, but now he thinks of every moral wrong he has ever done or avoided. He is sure that Mr. Hyde has heinous deeds in his past, and Utterson resolves to protect Dr. Jekyll. He knows he must act quickly, because if Mr. Hyde has found out about the will, he is sure to aim to inherit the estate soon.

Summary

Dr. Jekyll holds a dinner party for some close friends. Mr. Utterson, as he often does, stays around after the others have gone to talk to the doctor. Utterson is well liked at friends’ dinner parties. Hosts enjoy his quiet company and Dr. Jekyll is no exception. Jekyll is a good-looking, kind man with obvious affection for Mr. Utterson.

Mr. Utterson brings up the subject of Jekyll's will, but before he can ask anything, Jekyll expresses his sympathy for bringing Utterson into the business with the will because he can see how much it has upset him. Jekyll comments that the only person who’s been more upset with him is Dr. Lanyon. Jekyll mentions Lanyon’s strong opinion that Jekyll is involved in “scientific heresies” and adds that he's is very disappointed with Lany

Utterson brings Dr. Jekyll back to the matter at hand and says he now has even more cause to worry and starts to tell him about Mr. Hyde. At the mention of this name, Dr. Jekyll shuts down the conversation. He assures Utterson that he does not understand the full story and that it will not do any good to talk about it. Jekyll says he is in a very difficult position. Utterson tries to persuade Dr. Jekyll to trust him with the secret. Dr. Jekyll thanks him heartily and promises that he does trust Utterson, but he also assures him that he can choose to be rid of Mr. Hyde at any time. He hopes that Utterson will now let the matter rest.

Dr. Jekyll lastly tries to explain to Mr. Utterson that he actually finds Mr. Hyde very interesting, and asks Utterson to try his best to treat Mr. Hyde as a good client in case anything happens to Dr. Jekyll himself or in the event of his death. Mr. Utterson reluctantly promises to provide his services if the unfortunate situation arises.

Summary

A year later, another crime is committed by Mr. Hyde, this time even more hideous. A maid goes to bed in a house alone, and, as the moon shines, she sits by the window and falls into a kind of dream as she gazes and becomes very emotional looking at the beauty of the world and its creatures. She watches a meeting between two men down below, one beautiful and elderly, the other a small, less noticeable gentleman. They meet in the lane as if talking to each other about directions.

The light seems to make the old man look almost heavenly and the maid focuses on him, but then notices that the other man is Mr. Hyde, who had visited her master once. She instinctively doesn’t like him. He is listening impatiently to the old man for a while but then suddenly explodes with anger and attacks the old man with his heavy cane, killing him, and tramples his body. The maid faints. When she comes to, the murderer has disappeared but the victim is still lying in the lane along with half of the cane, a purse of money, and a letter addressed to Mr. Utterson.

The police bring the letter in the morning to Mr. Utterson and he announces very solemnly that he will not say anything else until he has seen the body. When he is brought to see it, he recognizes the body as belonging to Sir Danvers Carew. The policeman on duty is shocked – he knows that the murder of such a high-class figure will cause sensation.

The policeman gives the maid’s description of the murderer and asks Mr. Utterson whether he has any clue who it could be. Now seeing the broken stick, Utterson has no doubt that Hyde is the culprit. The policeman confirms that the maid called Hyde small and wicked-looking. Mr. Utterson offers to show the police to Mr. Hyde’s address. They travel through the foggy early morning. The colors of the sky move and shift, one place is dark, the next quite bright. Utterson reflects that as they approach Hyde’s residence, the strange light gives the place an awful atmosphere. It is so nightmarish that even the policeman appears frightened.

Hyde’s street comes into view. It is an odd collection of establishments, including a gin palace. The fog settles in and soon they see only the house in question. They are greeted at the door by an old woman with a wicked-looking expression, who tells them that Mr. Hyde arrived home very late but went out again almost immediately. But she insists that this is normal behavior for her master, who is often away for months at a time.

The policeman requests to search Hyde’s rooms. The old lady’s face is filled with “odious joy” as she expresses her interest that Hyde is in trouble. She lets the men in to look. The rooms are mostly empty. Hyde uses only a few of them, and these are very well-kept, with nice furniture and decoration, including a painting given to Hyde by Dr. Jekyll. But the rooms also looked like they had been recently ransacked and in the spilled ashes of the fire, the policeman detects the remains of Hyde’s checkbook and the other half of the cane.

They take the book to the bank and are pleased to find that Hyde has thousands of pounds to his credit. Utterson declares that they will surely catch him; all they have to do is wait for him at the bank. But Hyde does not appear, and since he has been scarcely seen, they do not have much with which to identify him. The descriptions they gather of Hyde only have one sure detail, his unexplained deformed appearance.

That afternoon, Utterson has come to Dr. Jekyll’s house and is taken for the first time to the “dissecting rooms” (the house had belonged to a surgeon before). This is a dingy building, separated from the main house by a courtyard. On the ground floor of this out building is an old operating theater, now eerily empty. Jekyll’s study, or “cabinet”, is on the floor above. It has iron-barred windows and a fire burning. The fog from the outside has seeped in somehow. Through the thick air, Utterson sees his friend, but he is not his usual dynamic self, and he can only weakly hold out his hand in greeting.

Dr. Jekyll is changed. Utterson asks whether Jekyll is concealing Hyde, to which Jekyll responds that he has heard the news and declares that he is finished with Mr. Hyde. He assures Utterson that Mr. Hyde is “safe” and will not be heard from anymore. Dr. Jekyll’s anxious manner worries Utterson. Jekyll admits that he is possession of a letter from Hyde, and he is unsure whether to show it to the police. Utterson is surprised and relieved when Jekyll says that he doesn't care what happens to Hyde anymore and that he would only keep the letter secret in order to save his own reputation. The letter tells Jekyll not to worry because he (Hyde) has found a means of escape. Utterson is satisfied by the letter, thinking that it makes clear the relationship between Hyde and Jekyll.

Utterson asks Jekyll about the envelope but too late—Jekyll has already burned it. Jekyll explains that the envelope wouldn’t make a difference in terms of evidence anyway, because the letter was hand-delivered. Utterson asks if he should take the letter away with him. Jekyll responds that he wants to give all responsibility for his affairs to Utterson, and that he doesn’t trust himself anymore. Utterson agrees to think about it. He has one last question. He wants to know if it was Hyde that dictated the terms of his will. Jekyll admits that it was. Utterson knew it. He tells Jekyll that he has narrowly escaped death, but Jekyll seems to be more concerned that he has “learned a lesson”.

On the way out, Utterson asks Poole, Dr. Jekyll’s servant, to describe the sender of the letter, since Dr. Jekyll said it was hand-delivered, but Poole says that no mail has been received. Utterson is very troubled by this addition to Jekyll’s story. He assumes that if the letter had not been received at the main door, it must have been written in the laboratory itself, which implies more threat to Dr. Jekyll. On the street, newspaper boys are selling the headline about Sir Carew, the murdered MP.

 

Utterson usually relies on himself in affairs of his own clients, but this time, he wishes he had some advice. Later, sitting in his office with his clerk, Mr. Guest, by the fire, he finds the opportunity. Outside, the fog is still obscuring the streets but the fire is making the room cheerful. Mr. Guest knows about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and is an expert on handwriting. So Utterson mentions the murder and Mr. Guest thinks it was an act of madness. Utterson takes this opportunity to show him the letter from Hyde to Jekyll. On seeing Hyde’s signature, Guest doesn’t think it shows madness, but it is odd.

Utterson’s servant then brings him a note from Dr. Jekyll. Guest’s curiosity is piqued and he wonders if it is anything private. Utterson says it’s only an invitation to dinner but Guest inspects the signature and notices a distinct similarity between Dr. Jekyll’s and Hyde’s handwriting. They agree not to speak any further about the handwriting, but when Utterson is alone, he hides it in a safe, thinking that Jekyll has been forging signatures for Hyde.

Summary

In the aftermath of Sir Danvers Carew’s murder, huge rewards are offered for finding the murderer, but Mr. Hyde has disappeared. Rumors and tales surface about Mr. Hyde’s past misdemeanors, but as Hyde continues to be absent, Utterson’s concern calm down and Dr. Jekyll begins to be more social. Jekyll goes back to doing charitable deeds.

This peace continues for two months. In January, Dr. Jekyll holds a dinner party for some friends including Utterson and Lanyon and it seems just like old times. But the next three times Utterson tries to visit Jekyll, he is refused entry and is told that the doctor is confined to his room. Utterson goes to visit Dr. Lanyon instead, and finds Lanyon very ill-looking. In fact, Lanyon is completely changed, not so much physically as in his eyes and behavior. It is as if Lanyon is terrified of death, but such a fear is unusual for a doctor.

Lanyon confesses immediately that he has had a terrible shock and will die within weeks. He comments that if we were to know everything, we wouldn’t fear dying so much. Utterson mentions that Jekyll is suffering too, but Lanyon declares that he is done with Jekyll, and never wants to hear about him again. Utterson is upset to hear this and protests that such old friends shouldn’t fall out, but Lanyon is unmoved. He tells Utterson that perhaps one day the mystery will be revealed to him but not today, and to change the subject if he wishes to stay.

Utterson decides to write to Dr. Jekyll, demanding answers. Jekyll replies in a long, tragic letter. He says first that he doesn’t blame Lanyon for their falling out but also doesn’t want to rekindle their friendship. In fact, Jekyll says he plans to live in seclusion from now on and asks Utterson not to protest. He says he is suffering from a self-made nightmare that he cannot talk about and must suffer alone. Utterson is astonished at how suddenly Jekyll’s mood has changed. He had seemed to joyfully rejoin his friends only to fall back into darkness.

 

Dr. Lanyon is, as he predicted, dead within a couple of weeks. After the funeral, Utterson, in an emotional state, sits down in his study and brings out a letter from Lanyon, addressed to Utterson with a strict instruction on the envelope that the document be destroyed in the case of Mr. Utterson’s death. Utterson is scared to open it, but finally does. Inside is another sealed envelope. This one tells Utterson not to open it until the death or disappearance of Dr. Jekyll. Utterson is confused by the similarity of this condition to the wording of Jekyll’s will. He almost wants to open it anyway and sacrifice his loyalty, but his sense of duty wins out and he does not open the letter.

From then on, Utterson thinks of Dr. Jekyll with a sense of trepidation. He continues to try to visit Jekyll's house, but is relieved when he is sent away. The house itself fills him with a kind of dread. He talks to the servant, Poole, instead. Poole keeps Utterson up to date with his master’s condition, but Dr. Jekyll is increasingly secluded and silent. Utterson’s visits become rarer and rarer.

Summary

Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield are on another of their Sunday walks and again pass by the Jekyll’s dissecting rooms. They stop and look. Enfield expresses his relief that they will not hear from Hyde again. Utterson is less sure. He tells Enfield that he too saw Hyde only once and had the same feeling of repulsion. Enfield isn’t surprised; he thinks that it would be impossible to look on Mr. Hyde and not feel that strange repulsion. Utterson suggests that they go through into the courtyard, thinking it would please Jekyll to see old friends, even from outside his lab window. The court is dank and through one of the barred windows, they spot Dr. Jekyll, sitting like a forlorn prisoner.

Dr. Jekyll sees them, and tells Utterson that he is very low. Utterson blames Jekyll's condition on staying indoors and invites his friend to join him and Enfield on their walk, but Jekyll says it would be impossible, even though he would like very much to join them. He apologizes for not asking them in – the room is in no fit state, he says. So Utterson suggests kindly that they talk through the window instead, and this idea pleases Jekyll.

But no sooner have they settled on this plan than Dr. Jekyll is possessed by a strange expression of terror, suddenly rushes off, and does not return. Utterson and Mr. Enfield are shaken They leave Jekyll’s courtyard and walk silently. Finally, all Utterson can manage is a stunned “God forgive us”.

Summary

One evening, Utterson receives a surprise visit from Poole. Seeing that the servant looks ill, Utterson asks what the matter is, and Poole confesses that he is worried about Dr. Jekyll. He has secluded himself in his study and his behavior is making Poole very afraid. Utterson asks him to be more specific but Poole continues to be vague, saying that he can’t bear the feeling anymore. Utterson notices that Poole's manner is completely changed and that he hardly looks up from the ground.

Utterson kindly pushes Poole for an answer and Poole replies that he believes some kind of “foul play” is to blame. The implications of this phrase make Utterson suddenly concerned. Poole requests that Utterson follow him to see what he means and is relieved when Utterson follows without question.

Utterson follows Poole through the moonlit, windy nighttime air to the square. The moon, the wind and the desertion of the streets fill Utterson with a sense of foreboding. Now outside Jekyll’s laboratory, Poole dabs his brow with a handkerchief. Despite the chill, Poole’s anxiety has caused him to break into a sweat. As they enter the dissecting room, Poole says a prayer.

They enter the hall, which is lit by a huge fire, and is full of terrified faces – all the servants have gathered and are huddling in fear. As they spot Mr. Utterson, they exclaim in relief to see their old acquaintance. Utterson is shocked to find them all away from their posts, but Poole explains that they are all afraid. The maid starts to cry, causing the servants to look hurriedly at the door of the study behind where their master is hiding. Poole fiercely scolds the maid.

Poole leads Utterson with a candle to the garden, in between the main building and Jekyll’s laboratory. He urges Utterson to stay quiet. He also warns him, that should Dr. Jekyll invite him inside, he must refuse. Utterson is filled with anxiety. As they approach Dr. Jekyll’s study, Poole steps up the stairs and gives a loud knock on the door, announcing Mr. Utterson. Dr. Jekyll responds briskly that he cannot see anyo

Utterson notices that Jekyll’s voice is changed, and Poole comments that it is not merely changed but a different person altogether. He believes that his master was “made away with” eight days ago. Utterson has not dared to think such a thing. He sees no reason why, if such a thing were true, the man who murdered Jekyll would then stay in Jekyll’s study. Poole explains that the man has been shut away in the study and has been crying out for medicines, throwing out orders for various concoctions.

Poole has been supplying him with ingredients from the pharmacy but each time, he has been unsatisfied with the results of the drugs. Poole shows Utterson an example of one of these notes, in which the man on behalf of Dr. Jekyll complains to the pharmacist that the substance recently purchased from the pharmacy is impure. Utterson wonders why Poole has opened this letter and Poole explains that it had very much offended the pharmacist and had been thrown back at him.

Utterson sees that the handwriting is identical to Dr. Jekyll’s, and Poole says they need not even look at that evidence—he says he has seen the murderer with his own eyes, outside the operating theatre, rummaging around, and that the man then scurried off when he saw Poole approach. Poole doesn’t see any other explanation than that Hyde has murdered Jekyll, but Utterson entertains the idea that Jekyll is overcome with a strange disease, which makes him weary of even his most familiar friends and has changed him physically too.

Utterson speaks with hope, but Poole is certain – even in their brief encounter, he saw that this person was of completely different stature from Jekyll. He implores Utterson to believe that he would know his own master if he saw him. Utterson promises to find out, despite the evidence to the contrary. They decide that they will both enter together. Poole chooses an axe for himself and gives Utterson a poker.

Utterson makes clear to Poole that they are about to put themselves in grave danger. Because of this, Utterson wants them to be honest with each other. He knows they are both hiding their suspicions. Poole admits that he did recognize the man he saw—it was Mr. Hyde. He explains that Mr. Hyde is the only person other than Jekyll who enters the laboratory and adds Hyde has always given him an unmistakable, though unexplainable, a cold horrible feeling. Poole knows that this description is not the usual kind of evidence, but that he trusts his senses. Utterson admits that he knows exactly what Poole means, and has been convinced that Jekyll has been murdered by something evil.

Utterson calls in Bradshaw, a footman of Jekyll's, and asks him to stand on guard outside the lab, while he and Poole attempt an ambush. They wait, listening to the nearby footfalls of their suspect. Poole says that this pacing is constant. It only stops when they have another delivery from the chemist. He asks Utterson if it sounds like Jekyll’s footfall. Utterson realizes that it does not. Poole also says that he once heard "the creature" weeping, a sound so tragic that it made him want to cry too.

Utterson now shouts out to Jekyll that he demands to see him, and that he will enter by force if he has to. The changed voice pleads mercy. Utterson hears that the voice is Hyde's and orders Poole to break down the door. Poole strikes with his axe. It takes him five hefty strikes to get through. They are greeted by a strangely peaceful sight, an empty study, neatly arranged, but in the middle of it is the body of a man, still twitching from something. Utterson turns the body over—it is Hyde, but dressed in Jekyll’s larger clothes. Utterson realizes that Hyde has killed himself.

They now go looking for Jekyll’s body. They search the entire laboratory building, but find nothing. Poole thinks that Jekyll’s body must instead be buried somewhere. Utterson entertains the idea that Jekyll may have somehow escaped, but finds the door locked and the key broken on the floor.

As they continue to search for Jekyll, they find leftover substances from unfinished experiments, which Poole recognizes as the same chemical substance that he was made to order from the chemist’s. Suddenly, a teakettle boils over and shifts their attention to the fireplace, where a tea set sits and beside it one of Jekyll’s religious books, annotated with “startling blasphemies”.

They examine Jekyll’s desk and find a letter addressed to Utterson. Inside are several documents, including another will, much like the previous one but this time with Utterson’s name in place of Hyde’s. Utterson is astonished that Hyde has not destroyed this document. He finds another document, with that day's date, written in Jekyll’s handwriting. Surely, Utterson thinks, this means that Jekyll is still alive. He now doubts that Hyde committed suicide, and thinks instead that Jekyll must have killed him. Poole asks Utterson why he hesitates in reading the document, and Utterson says he is scared though he doesn’t know why.

Utterson reads the letter. Jekyll writes that if Utterson is reading these words it means that he, Jekyll, has disappeared somehow. Jekyll writes that now is the time for Utterson to read the letter that Lanyon gave him as well as Jekyll's own confession. Utterson finds the confession among the papers in Jekyll's letter, and instructs Poole not to tell anyone about any of this. He decides to go home to read Lanyon's letter and Jekyll's confession, and promises Poole that he will be back before midnight.

Summary

Chapter Nine is the letter Lanyon asked Utterson not to open until both Lanyon and Jekyll have died. Lanyon starts by saying that he received a letter from Dr. Jekyll four days ago and was surprised, because they were not in the habit of corresponding The contents surprised him further. Jekyll’s letter began by addressing Lanyon as one of his oldest friends, and states that, despite their scientific differences, he has always had affection for him and can’t imagine a situation where he would not sacrifice his life to help him. This brings him to his present situation, where he must ask this kind of sacrifice from Lanyon.

Jekyll goes on to urge Lanyon to postpone all other engagements and to take a carriage directly to his house. Poole has instructions and will be waiting with a locksmith. Jekyll then orders Lanyon to break in to his study and go, alone, into the room and take out a specific drawer, which will have in it some powders, a phial, and a paper book, and take this drawer back to his own home. He should then wait until midnight, at which time he would receive a visit from a man who will present himself as Dr. Jekyll, and he must give him the drawer he has taken from the cabinet. Five minutes later, he will understand everything.

Dr. Jekyll adds that he trusts Dr. Lanyon completely, and he asks him to think of his friend, who is in a terrible state, and know that if he agrees to do this task, he will be unburdening him. Jekyll adds a postscript, saying that he has just had another thought that has caused his heart to drop, that the post office may deliver this letter late. In this case, he tells Lanyon to follow the directions and be prepared to receive the visitor at midnight the following day. Jekyll ends by saying that it might be too late by then, and that if Lanyon does not get a call from this visitor, he has seen the last of Henry Jekyll.

Dr. Lanyon is sure that his old friend has gone mad but is determined to follow his instructions. He goes directly to Jekyll’s place, where he finds Poole and they go, with two tradesman, into the old operating theatre to the door of Jekyll’s study. After they eventually are able to remove the door, Lanyon takes the drawer as ordered. When he gets back to his home, he examines the drawer. He finds the neat packages of powder, some kind of crystalline salt, and a phial of red liquid made from ingredients he can't determine.

 

And finally there is a book of dates and annotations. These notes span many years but have become rarer and rarer closer to the present, with only the occasional, one word remark, exclaiming “total failure!!!” and other such negative statements. Reading all this, Lanyon grows increasingly sure that Dr. Jekyll’s is a case of insanity and he prepares himself with a loaded gun, just in case.

Lanyon receives a visitor at midnight, and meets him on the porch. The visitor is a small, evil-looking man, who slinks into the house with suspicious glances to the street, and hurries at the sight of a policeman. Now inside, Lanyon has a chance to take a proper look. He remarks that the expression on the man’s face is very disturbing, unnaturally twitchy and yet ill-looking. Lanyon feels what he recognizes as a kind of personal hatred toward the man. The man is dressed in oversize clothes.

The visitor is very excitable and demands impatiently whether Lanyon has the drawer. Lanyon maintains his patience and shows the man a chair, and the man apologizes for his rough manner. Lanyon feels slight pity for the man's desperation. He points him to the drawer and the man goes so feverishly to it that Lanyon must tell him to calm down. To this, the man returns a “dreadful smile” and reveals the contents of the drawer to himself with a tragic groan.

The visitor asks Lanyon for a graduated glass and Lanyon fetches one for him. Then the man makes a mixture from some of the red liquid and the powder, which soon begins to fume and change color until the visitor seems to be satisfied and turns to Lanyon and makes a speech to him, asking him to seriously consider whether to send him away with this potion or to let him stay and witness the result. He warns Lanyon that he will come into a life-changing kind of knowledge if he agrees, a knowledge that would shock the devil. He reminds Lanyon of the vows he has taken as a medical professional. Lanyon speaks with false calm and tells the man that he has come too far not to see the end of this story.

The man takes a drink from his concoction and immediately lets out a cry and reels and gasps. What follows is a physical transformation that causes Lanyon to scream with terror. When it is finished, Henry Jekyll stands before him. Lanyon then confesses he cannot write down the awful things Jekyll told him next. He writes that his life has been altered irreversibly; he cannot sleep, and he feels that death is imminent. The last thing he will assure Utterson of is that the man that arrived at his house that night was Mr. Hyde.

Summary

This chapter is Jekyll’s "confession." He starts by writing that he had a good start in life, and had all the promise of an honorable future. But he describes one fault of his: a pleasure for darker things which doesn’t fit with his outward honorable reputation, and which he therefore concealed. When Jekyll became older and could reflect on his life, it astonished him how split his personality had become and he continued with shame to disguise his darker self.

As a scientist, Jekyll began to theorize that all men have an inherent dual nature. He starts to study mysticism, and feels that he is drawing nearer to the truth of the matter. As he becomes more sure of these identities, they seem to be both equally real aspects of him, and he dreams of separating them, each twin being able to reign independently in their opposite moods.

Jekyll writes that he does not wish to go into the scientific details, but he eventually discovered a chemical concoction that will cause him to feel and to see a separation of his two fundamental elements. He is scared to try the potion out once it is finished, because he knew he risked overdosing or destroying one of his two halves. Even so, one night he mixes up the medicine and drinks it. He is immediately struck by painful sensations, both physical and spiritual. But amid these horrible pains, comes something pleasurable—he turns into Mr. Hyde and feels a kind of reckless joy.

Jekyll is determined, even though he has obviously changed shape (he is now much smaller, though he has no mirror to observe it), to go out of the lab and to his bedroom. He marvels at the feeling of being a stranger in his own house. Then, he describes seeing his new form for the first time. He notices that his evil self is less healthy looking, as if he has been worn out and deformed by his evil spirit. But he is not repulsed. He feels as much identity with this image as he does with his more robust original one. He decides that the reason people looked on Hyde with such horror was because everyone is made of good and evil parts and so are unused to seeing such a purely evil being.

 

But he needs to perform a second experiment to make sure he can turn back to Dr. Jekyll. He rushes back to his cabinet and prepares another potion, drinks it, and becomes his former self. But though he sees himself as the virtuous side again, it is the desire for evil that now reigns over both beings. He becomes more and more obsessed with becoming Hyde, because every evil thought can be swiftly satisfied by drinking the potion. Jekyll prepares a new life around his new identity, buys a house for Hyde in Soho, and begins to profit from having two faces.

He describes himself as the first man who could shed the conscience of evil deeds and enjoy them, maintaining the respectability of Dr. Jekyll whenever he wanted. But these deeds were becoming more monstrous and Dr. Jekyll at times cannot believe what Hyde has done, sometimes even trying to make amends for his evil twin.

But the next year, two months before the murder of Danvers Carew, things began to go wrong. One night he woke up in bed to discover that he has woken up as Mr. Hyde. He is astonished, having gone to bed as Dr. Jekyll. He panics, but realizes that his servants already are used to seeing Hyde around so he won’t cause too much alarm by going through the house, turning back into Dr. Jekyll and going to breakfast.

But though he escapes detection, this event threatens Dr. Jekyll. He believes it is a sign of a coming judgment. He starts to feel that the balance between his two selves is shifting toward Hyde, and feels he has to choose between them. He considers the advantages of each and hates to imagine living without Hyde’s pleasures or Jekyll’s aspirations. But in the end he chooses the better part of himself.

The trouble was how to maintain it. For two months, he enjoyed the life of Dr. Jekyll again, being sociable and leaving Hyde’s Soho house empty. But one night, he feels the evil desires of Hyde bubbling up within him and he gives in. This is the night of Danvers Carew’s murder. After such a long period of dormancy, Hyde was more furious and violent than ever. In an ecstasy of rage, he describes mauling the body and then going back to Hyde’s house and feeling Jekyll, like a pursuing authority, find him again. His life flashes before his eyes and he feels an outpouring of remorse at how Hyde’s deeds taint the other memories. He knew then that it was impossible for him to keep becoming Hyde.

The next day, the public anger at the murder of Carew becomes clear and Jekyll resolves himself to make amends by doing as much good as he can. He succeeds for a while, but again Hyde’s desires begin to trouble him. This time the balance, he says, is finally overthrown. He cannot resist Hyde anymore. He is sitting in a park, surrounded by sweetness, and considering his sympathy with his fellow man. But just as this thought occurs to him, he feels a shudder, feels suddenly bold. He looks down and sees the hand of Edward Hyde on his knee. He has transformed into Hyde.

Hyde is quick-thinking, and, given that he is wanted for Danvers Carew's murder, he quickly decides to drive to an inn and, keeping as much undercover as possible, write to Dr. Lanyon (the letter from Jekyll that is mentioned in Lanyon's letter of Chapter 9). After the letter has been sent, Hyde sits nervously, holding in his rage, until midnight, when he travels to Lanyon’s.

Lanyon’s fear and condemnation affects Jekyll (who has transformed back from Hyde into Jekyll before Lanyon’s eyes, just as described in Lanyon's letter in Chapter 9), and Jekyll now starts to fear Hyde. He goes home and sleeps a deep sleep. When he awakens in his familiar territory, he feels in control and hopeful again.

But again, as he is walking to breakfast, Jekyll is taken over by Hyde. He rushes to the upper room of his laboratory and makes the potion but the transformation into Jekyll is once again only temporary, as is every subsequent dose. This is how he comes to be a prisoner in this room and is writing the letter in this state, between images of awful deeds as Hyde and remorse as Jekyll. Now Jekyll's hatred for Hyde matches Hyde's hatred for everything. Jekyll has come to view his evil twin as something unnatural. He marvels at how Hyde has taken over his life.

Jekyll and Hyde’s relationship becomes more complicated. Hyde’s “terror of the gallows” drives him to seek refuge in his dual identity with Jekyll, but Hyde also resents Jekyll and plays tricks on him, using his own handwriting to graffiti his books for example. Jekyll too is full of hatred yet can’t help but pity his other half.

Jekyll writes that this awful, but now familiar pattern, could have gone on for years but he found himself running out of necessary chemicals. He sent Poole out for more but nothing worked. Now, he is using up the last of the powders as he writes and reflects that this will be the last time he will know himself as Henry Jekyll. He must stop writing before the inevitable change occurs. He doesn’t know what Hyde will do, kill himself or continue to pace about the room, but he sees this moment as his own death; he is now a separate being. On this note, he signs off and ends the record of his life.