Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Bookreport:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson



Author:
Robert Louis Stevenson

R.L. Stevenson was born in Scotland in 1850.He hoped to be an engineer, because his father was an engineer, too, but his health wasn’t very good so he became an author and a poet. Because of his health he often travelled and in Californian he married. His best works are: Treasure Island, Kidnapped and of course Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He died in Samoa in 1894.

Characters :
Mr. Utterson - he is a lawyer and one of the most important characters in this story
Dr. Jekyll - he is a friend of Mr Utterson and a scientist
Mr. Hyde - he is the bad version of Dr. Jekyll, because he and Dr. Jekill are the same person.

Dr. Lanyon - a friend of Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll

Mr. Enfield - a friend of Mr. Utterson

Plot:
One Sunday Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield go through a street with an ugly house with an old door. Mr. Enfield tells Mr. Utterson a story about this door. One day there was a man who went into this door. He had to pay one hundred pounds to the family of a little girl, because he had stepped on her and had hurt her. He went into this door and came back with a cheque, which was signed by a very famous man - Dr. Jekyll. After Mr. Utterson had heard that he goes to his office and looks at the last will of Dr. Jekyll, an old friend of him. He finds out who the ugly man from the story was - a mystery man named Mr. Hyde,who is the only heir of Dr. Jekyll. Mr. U. is very nosy to see this Mr. Hyde and so he watches the old door, which is the entrance to Dr. Jekyll’s workroom. At last he sees Mr. Hyde late in the night, when he comes to the door and wants to go in. They talk a little bit then he disappears into the house. Nearly a year later a famous man named Carew is killed. A maid has seen the crime from a window and she has seen the murderer. It has been Mr. Hyde. The police searches for Mr. Hyde, but can’t find him. After some days Mr. Utterson visits Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Jekyll must promise him that he will never see his friend Mr. Hyde again. Then Dr. Jekyll shows him a letter from Mr. Hyde in which he thanks for his help and asks to forgive and forget him. Mr. U. shows this letter a man who can read about the character in a person’s handwriting. He sees the handwriting of Dr. Jekyll, too and he says that they were both written by the same man. But why has Dr. Jekyll written a false letter for a murderer?
The time runs on and for Dr. Jekyll begins a new life. He, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon become friends again and they meet each other very often. Mr. Utterson thinks that Dr. Jekyll has forgotten Mr. Hyde and is very happy, but from one day to another Dr. Jekyll doesn’t invite him any more to have dinner with him and Dr. Lanyon becomes very ill. Mr. Utterson writes a letter to Dr. Jekyll in which he asks what happened. In the long answer stands that Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon have quarrelled and that he must not see him again. After about two weeks Dr. Lanyon died, but he left a letter for Mr. Utterson which must not be opened before Dr. Jekyll dies or disappears. So he puts it into the safe and forgets it until Poole, the butler of Dr. Jekyll, comes to visit him. From him Mr. Utterson is told that Dr. Jekyll has become ill too and that he has locked himself in his workroom. He also hears that Poole has seen him by chance and that it has been Mr. Hyde. So Mr. Utterson goes to Dr. Jekyll’s house to speak with him but he doesn’t answer. So Mr. Utterson and Poole break down the door of the workroom and find a dead body on the floor who is mr. Hyde and wears Dr. Jekyll’s clothes. Mr. Utterson finds an envelope from Dr. Jekyll and goes home to read both letters.(the one from Dr. Lanyon and the one from Dr. Jekyll) At first he reads Dr. Lanyon’s with the following (shortened) content:
One day I got a letter from Dr. Jekyll in which he begged me to get some medicine from his house for him. He wanted to come for it in the evening. I was astonished but I did it. In the night a man came, who said that was a friend of Dr. Jekyll. I gave him the medicine, he mixed it and drank it. When I saw the man’s face I saw that it was Mr. Hyde but suddenly he changed into Dr. Jekyll. I started to cry and to scream and because of the shock I became very ill. Now you know my story.
Hastie Lanyon
At first Mr. Utterson can’t believe what he has read and so he opens the envelope from Dr. Jekyll. This is his explanation: (in shortened form)

I had a nice life but I always had the feeling that I had not enough fun in my life and by chance I invented a drug. This drug splits the character of a person in a bad and a good person. When i took this drug I changed to Mr. Hyde, the bad side of me. As Dr. Jekyll I was the respectable inventor and as Mr. Hyde I could have fun. Everything was alright until I killed as Mr. Hyde a man. I decided not to take the drug again. But one day I changed into Mr. Hyde without taking the drug. One time it happened when I was outside and so I asked Dr. Lanyon for help. You know the rest of the story. When I was at home again I took the last drug that I had and locked myself into the workroom. It is the last time that I am Dr. Henry Jekyll. When I change into Mr. Hyde again Dr. Jekyll will be dead. What will happen to Mr Hyde? It is not my problem.

Dr. Henry Jekyll

Personal opinion

I think it is a really good book and the version that I have read, which is written by D. K. Swan, is easy to read and to understand. The idea from the story is probably from the illness schizophrenia. It shows an extreme case of a person’s mind splitting into good and bad. It is an unique and strange book, because you can’t say what a kind of book it is - it isn’t really a thriller or a detective story. It is somewhere between. The characters are all very serious people and it plays in the high society. Dr. Jekyll is a little bit crazy and I think he is caught in his body in a serious and elegant world but he wants to have fun and so he takes the drug. The book is exciting, it is something that you think about and the end is surprising. All in all it is a very good book and I recommend it to everyone.

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