Jekyll and Hyde plot

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The story of the door

  • Utterson+ Enfeild are out on a walk, E sees a door which triggers a memory
  • A small man (Hyde) tramples a small girl, crowd gathers and E tells Hyde that he will make a scandal out of what has happened if doesn't pay the child's family £100
  • Hyde went into the door, came out with £10 in gold and a cheque that has been signed by Dr Jekyll
  • Cheque looked suspicious so E, doctor, girl's father and a friend go to the bank with Hyde to cash in the cheque
  • Check was genuine so E thinks it's blackmail
  • E noticed Hyde lives elsewhere but occasionally enteres the door
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The search for Mr Hyde

  • U goes home in sombre spirits, when the dinner cloth gets taken away he goes to his business room, he opens the safe and takes out Jekyll's will 
  • Jekyll's will provided for Hyde- all his possetions go to Hyde, it states that in the case of the death or unexplained abscence of Henry Jekyll exceeding a period of 3 months, Hyde should step into Jekylls shoes without burden or expectation and money should be given to household members
  • U visits Dr Lanyon, L had never heard of H and doesn't talk to Jekyll anymore because of a dispute over professional matters
  • U is haunted by nightmares
  • U spends time around the door trying to see H
  • H finally appears, U approaches and introduces as a friend of J and asks H to show his face, H offeres U his adress and U worries about J
  • U visits J but J isn't in, finds out from Poole and finds out that H comes and goes through lab attatched to J's house, H has a key to lab and they all have orders to obey H
  • U assumes H is blackmailing J
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Dr Jekyll was quite at ease

  • 2 weeks later J hosts a dinner party, U stays behind to talk to J in private
  • U brings up the will, J jokes about but stops when U says he's been learning about H
  • J says situation can't be solved by talking and says he can get rid of H whenever he chooses
  • J emphesises his interest and want to provide for H, makes U promise to carry out will
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The carew murder case

  • 1 year later, a maid sitting at a window and sees an aged gentleman, who bows to H before asking for directions. H beats man to death with a cane and the maid faints
  • The police find a letter to U on the body and summon U, who identifies body as Sir Danvers Carew, they find half a cane at the scene.Carew is an MP and U's client. 
  • U and the police go to H's house, H isn't in but land lady lets U in. They find the other half of the cane and burned remains of H's cheque book
  • U visit's bank and learns H has an account there, officer assumes they only have to wait for H to withdraw money to catch him
  • There is no sign of H, no one has a picture, no family can be found and nobody has an accurate description
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The inncident of the letter

  • U calls on J, J is in the lab looking deathly ill. J claims H left, the relationship between them ended and assumes U will never find H
  • J shows U a letter and asks what to do as fears it will destroy his reputation if handed into the police
  • The letter is from H, it assures J that he can escapre and that J shouldn't worry about H. It also states that H feels unworthy of H's generosity
  • U asks if H dictated J's will, J says yes and U says that he thinks H meant to murder J and that he has had a near escape
  • U takes the letter and leaves, on the way out he asks P to describe who delivered the letter. P claims that he has no knowlege of any letters other than the usual mail
  • U consults Mr Guest about handwriting. G compares H's letter to J's writing and suggests that the same persin wrote both. H's handwriting leads in the opposite direction to J's
  • U thinks J may have forged a letter for a murderer
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The remarkable inncident of Dr Lanyon

  • No sign of H
  • J is healthier and more sociable, U thinks H's abscence has had positive affect on J
  • 2 months after H=gone, J holds a dinner party. U and L attend. Few days after P says J recieveing no visitors
  • U visits L to find out about J, L is in poor health and explains that he is going to die soon.
  • U mentions J, L demands U not to talk about J. L promises U will know everything after he dies.
  • U writes to J asking what happened between him and L. Gets a reply that says that he cares for L but must not meet and he has affection for U but is in strict seclusion because he's suffering a punishment that he can't name
  • L dies a few days later. U takes L's letter from safe and finds another envelope that says that it should remain sealed until J is dead. U puts the letter away and calls on J less frequently
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Inncident at the window

  • U and E on regular walk when they pass the door from chapter 1
  • E remarks on the murder case, how it reached its end and how H hasn't been seen since
  • E mentions that he has learned that the lab is connected to J's house, they stop to peer in the windows and U becomes concerned about J's health
  • They find J at the window, J says he feels "very low", U suggests that J should join them. J says he can't
  • Suddenly a look of terror appears on J's face. J turns into H, shuts the window and dissappears
  • U and E leave silently, shocked. They decide that they aren't going to talk about it further.
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the last night part 1

  • P visits U agitated, believes there's been "foul play" reguarding J
  • P brings U to J's house, when U gets there the servants are gathered in the main hall
  • P brings U to lab door, knocks and says that U has come to visit. A strange voice responds and says no visitors
  • P and U go to kitchen, P says that the voice was not his masters. U wonders why murderer is staying in the lab after murdering J
  • P says voice sent him on errands (via notes) to the chemists, desperate for an ingredient that was difficult to find
  • U asks if note is in the doctor's hand. P says he has seen the person in the lab and that they looked nothing like J
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The last night part 2

  • U thinks J is dead. P thinks that the person in the lab is smaller than J, more like H
  • U thinks they should break into the lab, sends 2 servants to block labs other door
  • U and P armed with axe and poker
  • U talks to person on other side of door demanding that they enter. Voice begs them to have mercy and leave him alone
  • U recognises voice as H and orders P to break down the door
  • The men find H's body and crushed vial, U notes that the body is wearing a suit that belongs to J
  • The men search everywhere but can't find J
  • Note that it's weird to find a mirror in a lab, find an envelope adressed to U on table. Inside envelope is a will but H is replaced with U
  • There is also a note to U with the current date. U thinks J is alive and wonders if J killed H or if H killed himself. The note says U should go home and read L's letter, If he wants to know more he should read J's confession
  • U promises P that he will return and will send for police.
  • Goes home to read the letters
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Dr Lanyon's narrative

  • after J's dinner party, recieved strange letter from J. It asked L to go to J's house and break open a cabinet from lab, remove a draw and go home with it. It also said that a man would visit him at midnight, it didn't explain anything but promised L that he would understand all if he did it.
  • L went to J's house and got the draw, inside draw he found vials (salt and red liquid) also found notebook with notes about experiment successes/failures under dates
  • L went home thinking J was insane, at midnight a man appeared (H) and only seemed interested in the draw. L gave him the draw and H asked for a graduated glass
  • H mixed a potion and asked if he should drink in front of L. L said to drink in front of him
  • H turned into J
  • L sates that what told after was too shocking to repeat and that he will soon die due to the horror of the event
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