The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Summary (Chapters 10 – 13)

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Summary (Chapters 10 – 13)

 

Dr Jekyll’s butler, Poole, visits Mr Utterson one night after dinner and asks him to come to Dr Jekyll’s house. Poole brings Mr Utterson to the door of Dr Jekyll’s laboratory and insists that the voice they heard from the laboratory does not belong to his master. Mr Utterson wonders why the murderer would remain in the laboratory if he had killed  Dr Jekyll. Poole describes how the man in the laboratory seems desperate for some ingredient that no drugstore in London sells. He reveals that the person inside the laboratory looks nothing like Dr Jekyll. 

Mr Utterson suggests that Dr Jekyll may have some disease that changes his voice and deforms his features, making them unrecognisable, but Poole declares that the person he saw looked like Mr Hyde. Mr Utterson calls inside the laboratory, demanding admittance. The voice begs to have mercy and to leave him alone. The lawyer recognises the voice as Mr Hyde’s and orders Poole to smash the door. Once inside, the men find Mr Hyde’s body lying on the floor with a crushed vial in his hand. He appears to have poisoned himself. Mr Utterson notes that Mr Hyde is wearing a suit that belongs to Dr Jekyll and that is too large for him. The men search the entire laboratory but do not find Dr Jekyll or his corpse. They find a large mirror and note it strange to find it in a laboratory. 

On Dr Jekyll’s business table, they find a large envelope addressed to Mr Utterson that contains three items. The first is a will, much like the previous one, except that it replaces Mr Hyde’s name with Mr Utterson’s. The second is a note to Utterson, with the present day’s date on it. The note instructs Mr Utterson to read the letter that Dr Lanyon gave him earlier. It adds that if he desires to learn more, Mr Utterson can read the confession letter of Dr Henry Jekyll – the third item.

Mr Utterson opens Dr Lanyon’s letter. He writes that he had received a strange letter from Dr Jekyll, the night after the dinner. The letter instructed Dr Lanyon to break into Dr Jekyll’s laboratory and remove a specific drawer with its contents and wait for a man until midnight. Dr Lanyon goes to Dr Jekyll’s home and finds several vials inside a drawer. As promised, at the stroke of midnight, a small, evil-looking man appears, dressed in clothes much too large for him. Dr Lanyon does not recognise Mr Hyde as he has never seen him. Dr Lanyon directs him to the contents of the drawer, and Mr Hyde asks for a measuring glass. In it, he mixes the ingredients from the drawer to form a purple liquid, which then turns green. In front of Dr Lanyon’s eyes, Mr Hyde drinks the glass in one gulp and then seems to swell – his body expanding, his face melting and shifting, until, shockingly, Mr Hyde is gone and Dr Jekyll stands in his place. Dr Lanyon ends his letter, stating that the horror of the event has wrecked him and that he will soon die.

Mr Utterson, then, reads Dr Jekyll’s confession letter. Dr Jekyll traces his life since his birth and how he possessed a large inheritance, a healthy body, and a hardworking, decent nature. He maintained good nature in public while hiding his indecent side. By the time he was an adult, he realised that he was leading a dual life, in which his better side constantly felt guilt for the mistakes of his darker side. Dr Jekyll insists that, “man is not truly one, but truly two”, and he how he dreamed of separating the good and evil natures.

Dr Jekyll reports that, after much research, he eventually found a chemical solution that might serve his purpose. Buying a large quantity of salt as the required ingredient, he took the potion with the knowledge that he was risking his life, but he remained driven by the hopes of making a great discovery. At first, he experienced incredible pain. But as these symptoms subsided, he felt vigorous and was filled with recklessness and sensuality. He transformed into the shrunken, deformed Mr Edward Hyde. He believes that Mr Hyde’s small stature was because of his repressed evil side. Dr Jekyll delighted in living as Mr Hyde as he was becoming too old to act upon his more embarrassing impulses. He furnished a home and set up a bank account for his alter ego, Mr Hyde. But each time he transformed back into Dr Jekyll, he felt no guilt for Mr Hyde’s evil actions; yet, he tried to right the wrongs that had been done.

While asleep one night, he involuntarily transformed into Mr Hyde, without the help of the potion. This incident convinced him that he must cease with his transformations or risk being trapped in Mr Hyde’s form forever. But after two months as Dr Jekyll, he took the potion again. Mr Hyde who had been repressed for long, emerged wild and vengefully savage, and beat Carew, the Member of Parliament to death, delighting in his crime. Mr Hyde showed no remorse for the murder, but Dr Jekyll knelt and prayed to God for forgiveness even before his transformation back was complete. The horrifying nature of the murder convinced Dr Jekyll never to transform himself again.

Eventually, Dr Jekyll spontaneously transformed into Mr Hyde while sitting in a park. Hence, he sent word to Dr Lanyon to break into his laboratory and get his potions for him. After that night, he had to take a double dose of the potion every six hours to avoid transformation into Mr Hyde. As soon as the drug began to wear off, the transformation process would begin. Mr Hyde grew stronger and Dr Jekyll grew weaker. Moreover, the salt necessary for the potion began to run out. Dr Jekyll ordered for more but realised that the original salt must have contained an impurity that made the potion work. Hence he used the last of the potion to compose the final letter to Mr Utterson and ended his life.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson Summary (Chapters 5 – 9)

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson

                   Summary (Chapters 5 – 9)

Mr Utterson returns home after his unpleasant encounter with Mr Hyde. He is much worried for Dr Jekyll, since Mr Hyde is the heir to Dr Jekyll’s property. He meets Dr Jekyll during a party and expresses his dissatisfaction regarding the will. Dr Jekyll expects Mr Utterson’s support for Mr Hyde, in case of his disappearance.

Approximately one year later, the scene opens with a maid enjoying the moonlight by her window. She witnesses a small, evil-looking man, whom she recognises as Mr Hyde, encounter a polite, aged gentleman. When the gentleman offers Hyde a greeting, Hyde suddenly turns on him with a stick, beating him to death. The police find a letter addressed to Mr Utterson on the dead body, and they consequently summon him. He identifies the dead body as Sir Danvers Carew, a popular Member of Parliament and one of his clients.

Mr Utterson accompanies the police to Hyde’s house which is located in a poor, evil-looking part of the town. Hyde’s landlady lets the men in, but the suspected murderer is not at home. The police find the murder weapon and the burned remains of Hyde’s cheque book. Upon a subsequent visit to the bank, the police inspector learns that Hyde still has an account there. In the days and weeks that follow, no sign of Hyde turns up.

Mr Utterson visits Dr Jekyll, whom he finds in his laboratory looking extremely ill. Dr Jekyll feverishly claims that Hyde has left and that their relationship has ended. He also assures Mr Utterson that the police shall never find the man. Dr Jekyll shows Mr Utterson a letter which could damage his reputation if he hands it over to the police. The letter is from Hyde, assuring Dr Jekyll that he has means of escape, and that he deems himself unworthy of Dr Jekyll’s generosity. Mr Utterson asks if Hyde dictated the terms of Dr Jekyll’s will—especially its insistence that Hyde inherit the property in the event of Jekyll’s ‘disappearance’. Jekyll replies in the affirmative, and Mr Utterson tells his friend that Hyde probably meant to murder him and that he has had a near escape.

On his way out, Mr Utterson runs into Poole, Dr Jekyll’s butler, and asks him to describe the man who delivered the letter. Poole claims to have no knowledge of any letters being delivered other than the usual mail. That night, Mr Utterson consults his trusted clerk, Mr Guest, who is an expert in handwriting. Mr Guest compares Hyde’s letter with Dr Jekyll’s writing and suggests that the same hand inscribed both; Hyde’s script merely leans in the opposite direction, as if for the purpose of concealment. Mr Utterson reacts with alarm at the thought that Dr Jekyll would forge a letter for a murderer.

As time passes, Dr Jekyll becomes healthier-looking and more sociable, devoting himself to charity. After two months, Dr Jekyll holds a dinner party, which both Mr Utterson and Dr Lanyon attend, and the three talk as old friends. But a few days later, when Mr Utterson visits DrJekyll, Poole reports that his master is not receiving visitors. Hence Mr Utterson goes to visit Dr Lanyon and shockingly finds him in poor health with a frightened look in his eyes.

 

Dr Lanyon explains that he has had a great shock and expects to die in a few weeks. When Mr Utterson mentions that Dr Jekyll also seems ill, Dr Lanyon violently demands not to talk about Dr Jekyll. Mr Utterson writes to Dr Jekyll, inquiring as to what caused the break between him and Dr Lanyon. Soon Dr Jekyll writes, explaining that he understands why the doctor says they must not meet. He adds that he will be maintaining a strict seclusion as he is suffering a punishment that he cannot name.

 

Dr Lanyon dies a few weeks later. Mr Utterson, then, takes from his safe a letter that Dr Lanyon meant for him to read after he was dead. Inside, he finds another envelope, marked to remain sealed until Dr Jekyll also has died. Out of professional principle, Mr Utterson overcomes his curiosity and puts the envelope away for safekeeping. The following Sunday, Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield go for a walk. Mr Enfield mentions that he has learned that the run-down laboratory they pass is physically connected to Dr Jekyll’s house, and they both stop to peer into the house’s windows. To their surprise, the two men find Dr Jekyll by the window, enjoying fresh air. Dr Jekyll complains that he feels low and Mr Utterson invites him to join them. Then, just as they resume the polite conversation, a look of terror seizes Dr Jekyll’s face, causing it to alter and melt. Dr Jekyll gives a strange cry and quickly shuts the window and vanishes. Mr Utterson and his nephew Mr Enfield depart in shocked silence.

 

 

 

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson Summary (Chapter 1 - 4)

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson

Summary (Chapter 1 - 4)

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an allegory about the good and evil present in every human being. The tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is mostly told in the perspective of Dr Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer. The gothic novella opens with Mr Richard Enfield witnessing a horrible incident during the early hours of a morning. As Mr Enfield could not sleep, he walks down the street. He sees a little girl of 12 years old walking fast. On the opposite side, another man of a short stature collides with the girl. They both fall down and the man tramples on the little girl and leaves her injured on the street. Mr Enfield realises that the girl would get help as people start coming out of the house. 

 

Mr Enfield wants to get hold of the horrible man and so he pursues him and brings him back to the crowd. The angry mob waits to punish the wicked man. The doctor arrives soon and confirms that the little girl is in deep shock. Mr Enfield convinces the strange man, named Mr Hyde, to give money to the poor girl in compensation for the injury he had caused. 

 

Mr Enfield, demands hundred pounds from Mr Hyde, who takes him and the girl’s father to his house. Mr Hyde hands over ten pounds and a cheque for ninety pounds signed by a renowned doctor named Jekyll. The cheque confuses Mr Enfield and makes him wonder if Mr Hyde is blackmailing Dr Jekyll for some reason.

 

Mr Enfield narrates the incident to his uncle Mr Utterson, who is also a good friend of Dr Jekyll. Mr Utterson is a prominent London lawyer and is already perturbed by Dr Jekyll’s will. The will states that the entire possession of Dr Jekyll should be transferred to his friend Mr Hyde, on the event of his death. It also stated that Mr Hyde should immediately step in the position of Dr Jekyll owing to his disappearance for a period more than three months.

 

Mr Utterson decides to find the mystery behind the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He reaches the door of an old house and waits for a long time. His wait is rewarded with the arrival of Mr Hyde whom Mr Utterson surprises with greetings and says that he knows the place as the back door of Dr Jekyll’s laboratory. They indulge in a short conversation and part ways.

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a narrative about the complexities of science and the deceitfulness of human nature. Dr Jekyll is a kind, well-respected and intelligent scientist who meddles with the darker side of science, as he wants to bring out his repressed evil nature. He does this by transforming himself into Mr Hyde, his evil alter ego, who does not repent or accept responsibility for his evil crimes. Jekyll tries to control his alter ego, Hyde, and for a while, Jekyll has power. However, towards the end of the novel, Hyde takes over and this results in their deaths.

The tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is told mostly from the perspective of Mr Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer from London and a friend of Dr Henry Jekyll. He recollects the events with his friend, Mr. Richard Enfield’s story. Mr Enfield describes of returning home in the early hours of the morning when he witnessed a horrible incident. A small girl, running across the street, was trampled by a man named Mr Edward Hyde, who left her screaming on the ground. After being caught, Hyde agreed to pay the child’s family, and he retrieved a cheque from the account of Dr Jekyll.

Utterson has a will in which Jekyll entrusts his property to Hyde. Troubled, the lawyer visits Dr Hastie Lanyon, a longtime friend of both Jekyll and Utterson. Lanyon says that he has not seen Jekyll for more than 10 years, since Jekyll had gotten involved with “unscientific balderdash,” and that he does not know Hyde. Utterson traps Hyde and introduces himself and then goes around to Jekyll’s house. He understands that Jekyll is not at home and that his servants have orders to obey Hyde.

Almost a year later, a maid witnesses Hyde beating to death a prominent gentleman who is also a client of Utterson’s. Utterson leads the police to Hyde’s home. Though he is absent, evidence of his guilt is clear. Utterson goes to see if Jekyll is protecting Hyde, and Jekyll gives Utterson a letter from Hyde, in which Hyde declares that he will be able to escape. However, Utterson’s clerk notices that Jekyll and Hyde appear to have the same handwriting. Jekyll seems healthier and happier over the next few months but later starts refusing visitors. Utterson visits a dying Lanyon, who gives Utterson a document to be opened only after Jekyll’s death or disappearance.

Weeks later, Mr Poole, the servant, requests Utterson to come to Jekyll’s home, as he is scared that Hyde has murdered Jekyll. When Poole and Utterson break into the laboratory office, they find Hyde’s body on the floor and three documents for Utterson from Jekyll. Lanyon’s letter to Utterson and Jekyll’s documents reveal that Jekyll had secretly developed a potion to allow him to separate the good and evil aspects of his personality. He was thereby able at will to change into his increasingly dominant evil counterpart, Mr Hyde. While the respectable doctor initially had no difficulty in returning from his rabid personality, he soon found himself slipping into Mr. Hyde without in taking his drug. He temporarily stopped using the potion, but, when he tried it again, Mr. Hyde committed murder. After that, it took a vast amount of potion to keep him from spontaneously becoming Mr Hyde. Unable to make any more of the drug because of an impurity in the original supply, Jekyll soon ran out of the drug. He took the last of it to write a confession before becoming Hyde permanently. Thus, the book acts as a parable about what it means to be a good person, and presents a deeply critical portrait of medicine, with its power and potential harms. Jekyll's struggle with his good and evil sides demonstrates how there is good and evil in everyone.