Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Short Summary

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson that got published in the year 1886. It narrates the story of a man who shifts between two personas. These are Mr. Edward Hyde and Dr. Henry Jekyll. The following is a brief synopsis of the story.

Here Is the Synopsis of the Story

The story places its focus on John Utterson. This is a lawyer who is also Dr. Jekyll’s friend. The story begins with Utterson conversing with one of his friends. This friend has just seen a disturbing event whereby Mr. Edward runs over a girl then pays her family through a check signed by Dr. Jekyll. What’s more, Mr. Hyde has been made the heir-to-be of Jekyll’s estate in his will.

John thinks the two are separate individuals and suspects Mr. Hyde for blackmail. John tries to question Dr. Jekyll if Mr. Hyde is blackmailing him, but Dr. Jekyll brushes him off.

After a year, Mr. Hyde attacks a man and beats him to death with a cane. The police then launch an investigation and question john since he is familiar to the victim.  Upon reaching Mr. Hyde’s apartment, John notices that the murder weapon was his gift to Dr. Jekyll. He then interrogates Dr. Jekyll, who claims Hyde has escaped and offers him a note from Mr. Hyde. However, handwriting astonishingly resembles Dr. Jekyll’s.

Mr. Hyde never reappears, and Dr. Jekyll appears more at peace. However, a friend of John suddenly dies. Before his death, he hands john a letter that should not be opened unless Dr. Jekyll disappears or dies.

Dr. Jekyll begins to act even stranger and isolates himself in the laboratory. Suspicious, John breaks into the laboratory due to hearing a strange voice. They discover Mr. Hyde has committed suicide adorned in Dr. Jekyll’s attire and has left a note.

John then reads the two letters back at home. In his friend’s letter, he discovers that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are the same individuals that transform between the personas via potions. In Dr. Jekyll’s note, John discovers the reason behind the transformation.

Dr. Jekyll was attempting to separate his good and evil side. At first, he believed he could manage it with potions, but the situation went out of control and became involuntary. Dr. Jekyll made several tries to halt the process but failed. He knew one day; he would permanently become Hyde.