Book Anatomy · Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Character
20 lenses on character for Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B18 B19 B20
B1. Cast list with first appearance and share of mentions. Count
Lead Mr. Utterson; 9 main characters. See the full lens on the book page.
B2. Who is on the page in each chapter (presence heat map)? Count
Lead Mr. Utterson; 9 main characters. See the full lens on the book page.
B3. What does the lead want, and what do they truly need? AI
To uncover the mystery of Mr. Hyde's connection to Dr. Jekyll and protect his friend from danger.. See the full lens on the book page.
B4. What false belief does the lead hold, and how is it tested? AI
Utterson believes reason and investigation can uncover all mysteries and that Jekyll is a victim. This is tested when Jekyll refuses explanation (Ch 3), when the handwriting suggests Jekyll's guilt (Ch 5), and when Jekyll's terror proves he is trapped (Ch 7).
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 7
I do not care to hear more,” said he. “This is a matter I thought we had agreed to drop (Ch 3, para 7)
Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!” And his blood ran cold in his veins (Ch 5, para 38)
B5. Arc type: positive, flat or negative? AI
Arc type is flat. Utterson does not fundamentally change; he learns the truth but accepts that some secrets cannot be solved. He ends where he began: austere, careful, and unable to fully comprehend human duality.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10
B6. Key arc moments with chapter and line. AI
Chapter 1: Utterson hears the mystery. Chapter 3: Utterson promises to help Hyde. Chapter 5: Utterson suspects Jekyll's guilt. Chapter 7: Utterson sees Jekyll's terror. Chapter 8: Utterson discovers the truth. Chapter 10: Utterson accepts the darkness.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 10
the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde (Ch 3, para 11)
Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!” And his blood ran cold in his veins (Ch 5, para 38)
an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below (Ch 7, para 12)
B7. The antagonist: goal, methods, and when they show their hand. AI
Dr. Jekyll. See the full lens on the book page.
B8. How is each main character first shown (first line, first act)? Both
Utterson: introduced as austere lawyer in opening paragraph. Jekyll: mentioned by name in Ch 1, first appears in Ch 3. Hyde: named in Ch 1, first seen in Ch 2. Lanyon: mentioned in Ch 2, appears in Ch 6 as dying man.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 6
B9. Who appears with whom? Network chart of shared scenes. Count
Pairs who share the most paragraphs. Counted where both names appear in one paragraph.
| Pair | Paragraphs together |
|---|---|
| Mr. Hyde and Mr. Utterson | 9 |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 9 |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Utterson | 8 |
| Dr. Jekyll and Poole | 6 |
| Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon | 6 |
| Mr. Hyde and Poole | 6 |
| Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Hyde | 6 |
| Mr. Utterson and Poole | 5 |
| Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Utterson | 5 |
| Dr. Lanyon and Poole | 5 |
B10. Which relationships change most over the book? AI
Utterson and Jekyll's relationship changes most: from friendly concern to suspicion to horror. Utterson and Lanyon's relationship shifts when Lanyon refuses to speak of Jekyll (Ch 6). Utterson and Enfield remain stable throughout.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7
I wish to see or hear no more of Dr. Jekyll,” he said in a loud, unsteady voice (Ch 6, para 6)
B11. Foils and mirrors: who reflects the lead? AI
Lanyon is Utterson's foil: both are respectable men, but Lanyon cannot bear the truth and dies, while Utterson survives by accepting mystery. Jekyll mirrors Utterson's hidden nature: both contain duality, but Jekyll acts on it.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 9, Ch 10
that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. (Ch 10, para 1)
B12. Backstory wound: how and when is it revealed? AI
Jekyll's backstory wound is revealed in Chapter 10: his divided nature between respectability and base desires from childhood. This wound drives his scientific experiment to separate the two selves.
Chapters: Ch 10
The veil of self-indulgence was rent from head to foot. I saw my life as a whole: I followed it up from the days of childhood (Ch 10, para 19)
B13. Agency: how often does the lead act rather than react? AI
Utterson acts moderately: he investigates (Ch 2, 5), confronts Jekyll (Ch 3), breaks down the door (Ch 8). He reacts to events more often than he initiates them, remaining passive until forced to act.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 8
B14. Physical description: how much, when, which traits repeat. Both
Looks words (eyes, hair, face and so on) in paragraphs that name each character. A rough guide to who gets described most. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Character | Looks words nearby |
|---|---|
| Mr. Hyde | 47 |
| Mr. Utterson | 46 |
| Dr. Jekyll | 33 |
| Poole | 16 |
| Mr. Enfield | 15 |
| Dr. Lanyon | 13 |
| Mr. Guest | 2 |
| Sir Danvers Carew | 1 |
Physical description is sparse. Utterson: austere, lean, dusty, cold (opening). Hyde: inhuman, troglodytic, deformed, small (Ch 2, 9). Jekyll: respectable, then terrified, then absent. Descriptions emphasize moral state rather than detail.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 9
It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut (Ch 1, para 8)
God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic, shall we say? (Ch 2, para 37)
he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter (Ch 9, para 31)
B15. Names, nicknames and titles, and how their use shifts. Count
The forms of each name used most, and how often the name comes up in each third of the book.
| Character | Most used forms | Mentions by third |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Utterson | Mr. Utterson (74), Utterson (56), Gabriel John Utterson (1) | 53 / 60 / 18 |
| Dr. Jekyll | Dr. Jekyll (26), Henry Jekyll (25), Harry Jekyll (2) | 18 / 16 / 21 |
| Mr. Hyde | Hyde (42), Mr. Hyde (31), Edward Hyde (25) | 33 / 9 / 56 |
| Poole | Poole (61) | 7 / 31 / 23 |
| Dr. Lanyon | Lanyon (23), Dr. Lanyon (6), Dear Lanyon (1) | 8 / 11 / 11 |
| Mr. Enfield | Mr. Enfield (12), Enfield (6), Mr. Richard Enfield (1) | 12 / 7 / 0 |
| Mr. Guest | Guest (7), Mr. Guest (2) | 0 / 9 / 0 |
| Sir Danvers Carew | Carew (2), Sir Danvers Carew (1) | 1 / 1 / 1 |
B16. Mentors and sidekicks: their role and how they exit. AI
Lanyon is a mentor figure who knows Jekyll's secret but dies before revealing it (Ch 6). Poole is a loyal sidekick who alerts Utterson to danger (Ch 8) and helps break down the door. Enfield is a friend who provides the initial clue but fades after Ch 7.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 8
I wish to see or hear no more of Dr. Jekyll,” he said in a loud, unsteady voice (Ch 6, para 6)
B17. Repeated tags, gestures and tics per character. Both
Gestures that come in the same sentence as each name. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Character | Top gestures |
|---|---|
| Mr. Utterson | sighed 2, smiled 1 |
| Dr. Jekyll | none |
| Mr. Hyde | smiled 1 |
| Poole | nodded 1, shook 1 |
| Dr. Lanyon | none |
| Mr. Enfield | nodded 1 |
| Mr. Guest | none |
| Sir Danvers Carew | none |
Utterson: repeatedly described as austere, cold, careful. Jekyll: uses phrases like 'I cannot tell you' and 'drop the subject.' Hyde: associated with violence and inhuman appearance. Lanyon: refuses to speak, uses formal language.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 6
I do not care to hear more,” said he. “This is a matter I thought we had agreed to drop (Ch 3, para 7)
B18. Moral choices that define the lead. AI
Utterson's key moral choice is in Chapter 3: to promise help to Hyde despite disliking him, for Jekyll's sake. He chooses loyalty over judgment. Later, he chooses to read the confessions (Ch 8 to 9), accepting knowledge of evil.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 8
I only ask for justice; I only ask you to help him for my sake, when I am no longer here (Ch 3, para 16)
B19. Balance of speaking parts by gender. Count
Of attributed speech, women have 0% and men 100%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Group | Words spoken |
|---|---|
| Women | 0 |
| Men | 2082 |
| Unclear | 0 |
B20. Who changes and who stays fixed? AI
Utterson stays fixed: austere, careful, loyal. Jekyll changes catastrophically: from respectable to enslaved by Hyde. Lanyon changes through horror and dies. Enfield remains stable. Hyde does not change; he is always violent.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10
I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil (Ch 10, para 4)
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