Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde study guide

Utterson

Utterson is a lawyer whose concern for his friend Jekyll leads him to investigate Hyde. His help with the murder inquiry and his fear about the letter show friendship becoming entangled with suspicion.

Key parts: 2, 4, 5

Jekyll

Jekyll asks for loyalty while withholding the truth about Hyde. His confession reveals experiments and hidden wrongdoing, while his effort to blame Hyde alone suggests that explaining his divided identity does not settle his responsibility.

Key parts: 3, 7, 10

Hyde

Hyde's cruelty appears in the trampling of a child and the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. His identity as Jekyll's transformed self makes that violence inseparable from Jekyll's increasing loss of control.

Key parts: 1, 4, 10

Lanyon

Lanyon is Utterson's old friend and rejects Jekyll's scientific ideas. His account of witnessing Hyde become Jekyll reveals a shock that overturns his beliefs, while the sealed document preserves his testimony after his death.

Key parts: 2, 6, 9

Poole

His later decision to seek help shows that service no longer means simply accepting the authority exercised behind the locked door.

Key parts: 2, 8

Secrecy and trust

Jekyll's request asks Utterson to offer help without the knowledge that might justify it. Lanyon's sealed account also separates trust from immediate disclosure, suggesting that protecting a secret can place a burden on the person expected to respect it.

Where it shows: parts 3, 6

Loyalty and suspicion

Utterson's investigation begins with concern about his friend's will, so loyalty gives him a reason to ask questions. The handwriting comparison then makes that loyalty uncomfortable, showing how evidence can turn protective concern into suspicion of the person being protected.

Where it shows: parts 2, 5

Divided responsibility

Hyde's murder gives a concrete consequence to the wrongdoing Jekyll tries to separate from himself. Jekyll's identification of Hyde as his transformed identity makes his assignment of guilt to Hyde alone suggest an evasion rather than a clear division of responsibility.

Where it shows: parts 4, 10

Isolation and fear

Jekyll's withdrawal and Lanyon's secret show knowledge becoming associated with separation rather than companionship. When Jekyll refuses a walk and then displays terror during conversation, even a brief exchange suggests how fear cuts him off from the company offered to him.

Where it shows: parts 6, 7

Jekyll's will

The will turns Jekyll's unexplained connection with Hyde into a formal obligation. Alongside his request for future help, it suggests an attempt to secure loyalty beyond his own presence.

Parts 2, 3

The handwriting

The similar handwriting makes two apparently separate identities look connected.

Part 5

Sealed envelopes

The sealed account holds knowledge while preventing immediate access to it. It works as a physical form of secrecy, making the delay in understanding part of Utterson's obligation.

Part 6

Mr. Guest, Part 5. Guest speaks while comparing Hyde's letter with Jekyll's invitation. His observation suggests a connection beneath visible differences and turns an ordinary comparison into troubling evidence.

The narrator, Part 8. Finding Hyde's body does not resolve the mystery, showing how discovery can deepen uncertainty.

Henry Jekyll, Part 10. Jekyll makes this claim in his confession while explaining his divided life. It suggests his continuing effort to separate personal responsibility from the wrongdoing of his transformed identity.