Chapter 1

While on a stroll, Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield, two respectable English gentlemen, come upon a building that Enfield relates a story about. One evening, Enfield explains, he witnessed and apprehended a hideous man who had just trampled over a girl, and when cornered by an angry mob, the man entered the building and gave the crowd a check bearing the name of a respectable man. Enfield eventually reveals the culprit’s name to be Hyde, which leads Utterson to surmise who the check belonged to, and the two men speculate that Hyde must be blackmailing the man.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Utterson examines the will he drew up for his close friend Dr. Jekyll stating that his property be left to Mr. Hyde upon Jekyll’s death or disappearance. Utterson begins hanging out around the run-down building where he meets Hyde and is appalled by his appearance. Later, Utterson visits Dr. Jekyll’s home and is informed by the servants that they must obey Hyde’s commands and that Hyde has a key to Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory, information that further confirms Utterson’s suspicion that Jekyll is being blackmailed.

Chapter 3

During a party thrown by Jekyll, Utterson confronts him about Hyde, but Jekyll brushes Utterson’s concerns off and tells him to promise to carry out the will as it is.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapters 2 & 3

Chapter 4

A year later, the police summon Utterson after they discover a note with his name on it on the body of Sir Danvers Carew, a member of Parliament and client of Utterson that Hyde murdered. Utterson leads the police to Hyde’s apartment, and while he is nowhere to be found, they learn that Hyde has an account at a local bank. For weeks, the police expect Hyde to appear at the bank to withdraw money, but he never comes.

Chapter 5

Utterson finds a sickly-looking Jekyll in his laboratory and Jekyll shows Utterson a letter from Hyde that threatens to ruin Jekyll’s reputation. After Jekyll confirms that Hyde dictated the terms of Jekyll’s will, Utterson concludes that Hyde meant to murder Jekyll. That evening, Utterson’s clerk, Mr. Guest, compares the letter’s handwriting with Jekyll’s own handwriting, and suggests that they are the same, a realization that confuses Utterson.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapters 4 & 5

Chapter 6

Hyde’s disappearance at first has positive effects on Jekyll’s disposition, to the point that he reconciles with Lanyon, a colleague he fell out with. However, Jekyll soon returns to a reclusive state, refusing to meet with any visitors. Utterson seeks out a now dying Lanyon who refuses to talk about Jekyll, and Utterson later receives a letter from Jekyll that says that while he still cares for him, he must stay away, as his sins are too much to bear. Lanyon passes away weeks later, leaving behind a letter meant for Utterson with the instructions that he must not open it until Jekyll has died as well.

Chapter 7

Utterson and Enfield take their Sunday stroll and are discussing the murder case and the disappearance of Hyde when they stumble upon Jekyll. Utterson and Enfield invite Jekyll to go on a walk with them to lift his mood, but Jekyll refuses. Suddenly Jekyll shocks the men by abruptly closing his window and vanishing.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapters 6 & 7

Chapter 8

Poole, Jekyll’s butler, urges Utterson to check in on Jekyll, but when the men approach the laboratory, an unfamiliar voice responds. Poole and Jekyll, after realizing that the man in the laboratory must be Hyde, decide to break into the laboratory, only to find Hyde’s dead body on the ground. After unsuccessfully searching the laboratory for signs of Jekyll and pondering the events that transpired, Utterson discovers an envelope including three items left behind by Jekyll: a revised will, a letter instructing Utterson to read Lanyon’s letter, and a sealed packet.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Lanyon’s letter explains how he received a note from Jekyll instructing him to retrieve a drawer and its contents from his laboratory and to wait for a man at midnight, who would then reveal everything to Lanyon. Hyde visits Lanyon and concocts a formula from the contents of the drawer. Lanyon watches in horror as Hyde drinks the formula and transforms into Jekyll before his eyes.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Utterson reads Jekyll’s letter that details his early desires to separate the good and evil nature of man, and his experiments to create the formula that would eventually give birth to Hyde. Though at first Jekyll took joy in living as Hyde, he realized that the more he took the formula the likelier the possibility that he would remain as Hyde forever. After several spontaneous transformations, Jekyll decided to concoct one last dose of the formula to write his letter, not knowing whether Hyde would kill himself or be captured and hanged.

Read a full Summary & Analysis of Chapter 10

Next section Chapter 1

Popular pages: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Take a Study Break