Jekyll and Hyde:

Jekyll and Hyde:

📍 SETTING (Time + Place)

• London, England

• Late 1800s (Victorian era)

• Atmosphere: foggy, dark, mysterious

• Important places:

  • Jekyll’s house (nice front, dirty back door where Hyde enters)

  • Lab/Cabinet (where transformations happen)

  • Cavendish Square (Lanyon’s home)

  • Soho (Hyde’s messy neighborhood)

👤 MAIN CHARACTERS + KEY DETAILS

Dr. Henry Jekyll

• Respected, wealthy doctor

• About 50 years old

• Creates potion to separate good/evil sides

• Great reputation → hides his darker desires

• Slowly loses control and starts turning into Hyde without potion

Mr. Edward Hyde

• Jekyll’s evil side

• Small, deformed, animal-like

• Everyone feels something “off” about him

• Violent: tramples a girl + kills Sir Danvers

• Gets stronger over time

• Eventually takes over Jekyll’s body

Mr. Utterson

• Jekyll’s lawyer + friend

• Calm, loyal, worried about Jekyll

• Investigates the connection between Jekyll and Hyde

Dr. Lanyon

• Jekyll’s old friend

• More traditional scientist

• Sees Hyde transform → shock kills him

• Leaves a letter revealing the truth

Poole

• Jekyll’s butler for 20 years

• Knows something is wrong with his master

• Helps break down the lab door

Sir Danvers Carew

• Elderly, kind gentleman

• Murdered by Hyde with a heavy cane

Enfield

• Utterson’s cousin

• Saw Hyde trample the girl

• Tells the first big story

📚 MAIN EVENTS (Straightforward + Exact)

1. Hyde Tramples the Girl

• Happened at 3 AM

• Girl was 8–10 years old

• Family gets £100 compensation

  • Hyde gives £10 in gold + cheque signed by Jekyll for £90

• Enfield + crowd force Hyde to pay

2. Jekyll’s Will

• Leaves everything to Hyde

• Says Hyde should take over if Jekyll “disappears”

• Makes Utterson suspicious

3. Hyde’s House is in Soho

• Poor, dirty area

• House is messy

• Maid says Hyde is “like Satan”

4. Murder of Sir Danvers Carew

• Hyde kills him with a cane

• Cane breaks in half

• One half belongs to Jekyll (Utterson recognizes it)

• Big public search for Hyde

5. Jekyll Promises He’s Done with Hyde

• Gives Utterson a letter “from Hyde,”

• But handwriting looks like Jekyll’s → suspicious

• Jekyll acts friendly for a while

6. Lanyon’s Shock + Death

• Hyde comes to Lanyon for chemicals

• In Lanyon’s house, Hyde drinks potion → turns into Jekyll

• Lanyon is so traumatized he dies a few weeks later

7. Strange Behavior in Jekyll’s House

• Jekyll isolates himself

• Voice behind the lab door does NOT sound like Jekyll

• Poole thinks Hyde is inside pretending to be him

• Sounds of crying and pacing

8. Breaking Down the Lab Door

• Poole + Utterson break in with an axe

• Find Hyde dead on the floor (suicide by poison)

• Clothes are too big → they belong to Jekyll

• Jekyll is nowhere to be found

9. Final Letters Reveal the Truth

• Jekyll created the potion

• Hyde grew stronger

• Jekyll couldn’t stop transforming

• Potion stopped working because the original salt was impure

• Hyde took over completely

• Hyde killed himself when trapped

📌 MAIN THEMES (Teacher-Testable Only)

Duality of Human Nature

People have two sides: good and evil.
Jekyll tries to separate them but fails.

🔑 IMPORTANT LITTLE DETAILS (These show up on tests)

• Hyde is “smaller” because Jekyll’s evil side was less developed at first.

• Hyde’s handwriting = Jekyll’s handwriting but slanted differently.

• Jekyll’s door to the lab is always locked.

• Fog symbolizes confusion and secrets.

• The cane used to kill Carew was a gift from Utterson to Jekyll.

• Jekyll feels “younger and happier” when he first becomes Hyde.

• Jekyll starts transforming randomly — even in a park.

• New batches of the salt don’t work → transformation stops working.

• Hyde lives in Soho, known for poverty and crime.

• The story is told through documents:

  • Utterson’s view

  • Lanyon’s letter

  • Jekyll’s confession