Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, walked on Sundays with his cousin Enfield. They passed a strange door in a dark street. Enfield told a story: a cruel man named Mr. Hyde had knocked down a little girl at night and kept walking. Angry people forced Hyde to pay. He brought a check signed by Dr. Jekyll. Utterson felt uneasy, because the name Jekyll was his friend.

Chapter 1: A Door and a Name

Back home, Utterson took out Dr. Jekyll’s will. It said that if Jekyll disappeared, everything would go to Mr. Hyde. Utterson did not like this. He imagined Hyde controlling Jekyll. That night he dreamed of a pale man at the door. In the morning he went to the building with the strange door and asked the servant Poole about Hyde.

Days later Utterson waited near the door. At last Hyde appeared, small and hard-faced. Utterson spoke politely and asked his name. Hyde disliked the questions, and his voice sounded cold and quick. Still, he showed a key and went inside. Utterson watched him enter the old laboratory door. Poole later said Hyde could come and go freely. Utterson felt sure Hyde had power over Jekyll.

Chapter 3: Meeting Mr. Hyde

Utterson was invited to dinner at Dr. Jekyll’s house. Jekyll seemed kind, but tired. After the meal Utterson asked about Hyde and the will. Jekyll tried to laugh, yet his hands shook. He said Hyde was “a private matter” and begged Utterson to leave it alone. Utterson promised, but he left worried. The friendly house suddenly felt like a place with secrets.

Chapter 4: Jekyll’s Request

One night a maid saw an old gentleman, Sir Danvers Carew, speaking calmly in the street. Mr. Hyde came up, suddenly furious. He beat Carew with a heavy cane until the man lay still. The maid screamed, and the police came. They found a piece of the cane with the name “Jekyll” on it. Inspector Newcomen brought Utterson to help.

Chapter 5: Murder in the Street

Utterson led the inspector to Hyde’s rooms. The place was neat, but papers were burned in the fireplace. Hyde was gone. Utterson recognized the broken cane as his own gift to Jekyll. Jekyll looked shocked when they visited him. He said Hyde would never return. He also handed Utterson a letter, claiming Hyde had written it. Utterson suspected it was not true.

Chapter 6: A Letter and a Lie

Chapter 2: The Unhappy Will

Weeks passed, and Jekyll seemed healthier. He invited friends again and smiled more. Then, suddenly, he stopped seeing anyone. Poole said his master shut himself in all day. Dr. Lanyon, another friend, became very ill and angry when Jekyll’s name was mentioned. He told Utterson that Jekyll had done something “unscientific” and terrible. Lanyon refused to explain more. Utterson felt fear growing inside him.

Chapter 7: Lanyon’s Warning

Utterson visited Dr. Lanyon, who looked close to death. Lanyon spoke weakly and said a shock had ruined him. He gave Utterson a sealed letter and said, “Do not open it until Dr. Jekyll disappears or dies.” Utterson promised. After leaving, he held the thick envelope like it was dangerous. He could not stop thinking about Hyde and the locked laboratory door.

Chapter 8: The Sealed Envelope

One evening Poole came to Mr. Utterson’s house, shaking. He said Dr. Jekyll would not see anyone and stayed in the laboratory day and night. Poole also said the voice inside sounded strange, not like his master. Utterson felt alarmed. He took his hat at once and went with Poole to Jekyll’s home. The street felt colder than usual.

Chapter 9: Poole’s Fear

At the laboratory door, Utterson knocked and called for Dr. Jekyll. A voice answered quickly from inside, saying, “I cannot see you.” Utterson asked if the voice was Jekyll’s, but Poole whispered, “That is not my master.” The door stayed locked. Utterson and Poole listened to footsteps inside, then silence. Utterson decided they must enter, even if it was wrong.

Chapter 10: The Voice Behind the Door

Poole brought an ax, and Utterson stood back, tense and pale. Poole hit the door again and again until the lock broke. They rushed into the laboratory. On the floor lay a small body in strange clothes. The face looked like Mr. Hyde. A broken glass vial was near his hand. Dr. Jekyll was nowhere in the room. Utterson’s heart sank.

Chapter 11: Breaking In

Utterson found papers on a table, placed neatly as if someone planned it. One note was addressed to him by name. It asked him to go home and read Dr. Lanyon’s sealed letter. It also said another full statement would explain everything. Poole stared at the body, horrified. Utterson told him to guard the house and not let rumors spread. Then Utterson left quickly with the note.

Chapter 12: The Note on the Table

At home, Utterson opened Dr. Lanyon’s sealed letter and read with shaking hands. Lanyon wrote that Mr. Hyde had come to him late at night, desperate and trembling. Hyde asked for a drawer of chemicals and a notebook. After mixing a drink, Hyde swallowed it. Then, in front of Lanyon’s eyes, Hyde changed into Dr. Jekyll. Lanyon said the shock broke his health forever.

Chapter 13: Lanyon’s Terrible Story

Utterson next read Dr. Jekyll’s long statement. Jekyll wrote that he always had two sides inside him. He made a potion to separate them. When he drank it, he became Mr. Hyde—smaller, crueler, and free to do evil. At first Jekyll enjoyed the change. Later he feared Hyde, but he still used the potion. Over time the change began to happen without the drink, and Jekyll felt trapped.

Chapter 14: Jekyll Explains the Truth

Jekyll wrote that the chemicals ran out, and new ones did not work the same. One day he changed into Hyde and could not change back. Hyde knew he would be caught. So he took poison in the laboratory to end it. Utterson finally understood why Jekyll disappeared and why Hyde lay dead. He put the papers away with a heavy mind. Outside, the city kept moving, unaware of the secret.

Chapter 15: The Last Choice

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