Book Anatomy · Gothic and horror
Anatomy of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886. Public domain in the UK and the US. Mystery form for horror; the late reveal.
Ask Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Lessons to borrow
- Use a reliable but limited narrator to create mystery: Utterson's careful investigation and rational mind make the supernatural revelation more powerful because he resists it until forced to accept it.
- Plant clues that work on multiple levels: the handwriting, the key, the cheque, and the will all point toward the truth but seem to suggest different explanations until the final revelation recontextualises them.
- Let the climax come through confession rather than discovery: the most powerful moment is not finding Hyde's body but reading Jekyll's own account of his fall, which transforms the reader's understanding of everything that came before.
All 180 lenses
The 20 lenses below are the most asked for. The full set of 180 is grouped in 12 pages:
Beat positions Both
Story and structure · lens A1 · compare across books
| Beat | Where | Our reading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inciting incident | Ch 1 (STORY OF THE DOOR), about 5% through | Enfield tells Utterson the story of Hyde trampling a child and the mysterious cheque. | |
| First turning point | Ch 2 (SEARCH FOR MR. HYDE), about 15% through | Utterson discovers that Jekyll's will leaves everything to Hyde and confronts Jekyll about it. | |
| Midpoint | Ch 4 (THE CAREW MURDER CASE), about 27% through | Sir Danvers Carew is murdered by Hyde, and the broken cane proves Jekyll's connection to the crime. | |
| Low point | Ch 7 (INCIDENT AT THE WINDOW), about 44% through | Jekyll's face shows such terror at the window that Utterson and Enfield flee in horror. | |
| Climax | Ch 8 (THE LAST NIGHT), about 53% through | Utterson and Poole break down the cabinet door to find Hyde's body and Jekyll vanished. | |
| Resolution | Ch 10 (HENRY JEKYLL’S FULL STATEMENT OF THE CASE), about 86% through | Jekyll's final confession reveals the entire truth as he prepares for his last transformation. |
It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut (Ch 1, para 8)
if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend (Ch 2, para 37)
This was the home of Henry Jekyll’s favourite; of a man who was heir to a quarter of a million sterling (Ch 4, para 11)
an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below (Ch 7, para 12)
Percent is the middle of that chapter as a share of all words. The beat labels are our AI reading of the chapter notes.
Chapter length chart Count
Pace · lens D1 · compare across books
10 chapters. Median 2,409 words, shortest 557, longest 6,957. Whole book 25,685 words, about 1.7 hours at 250 words a minute.
Each bar is one chapter in reading order. Hover for the title and count.
Dialogue share per chapter Count
Dialogue and voice · lens C1 · compare across books
24% of all words are dialogue. A further 5% is long told stories inside quote marks (a narrator within the story), which we count apart. Speech tags: "said" is 54% of tag verbs we found.
Cast and presence map Count
Character · lens B1, B2 · compare across books
| Character | Role (our reading) | Share of mentions | Chapters on page | First appears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Utterson | lead | 29% | 9 of 10 | Ch 1, para 1 |
| Dr. Jekyll | antagonist | 22% | 9 of 10 | Ch 2, para 1 |
| Mr. Hyde | antagonist | 21% | 10 of 10 | Ch 1, para 20 |
| Poole | ally | 13% | 6 of 10 | Ch 2, para 39 |
| Dr. Lanyon | foil | 7% | 6 of 10 | Ch 2, para 3 |
| Mr. Enfield | ally | 5% | 3 of 10 | Ch 1, para 2 |
| Mr. Guest | minor | 2% | 2 of 10 | Ch 5, para 22 |
| Sir Danvers Carew | minor | 2% | 5 of 10 | Ch 4, para 4 |
| Inspector Newcomen | minor | 0% | 1 of 10 | Ch 4, para 13 |
Who is on the page, chapter by chapter
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Utterson | ||||||||||
| Dr. Jekyll | ||||||||||
| Mr. Hyde | ||||||||||
| Poole | ||||||||||
| Dr. Lanyon | ||||||||||
| Mr. Enfield | ||||||||||
| Mr. Guest | ||||||||||
| Sir Danvers Carew | ||||||||||
| Inspector Newcomen |
Most shared chapters: 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).
Counts use the names and aliases in our cast list. A name in narration or speech counts as a mention.
Chapter ending hooks AI
Pace · lens D8 · compare across books
Chapter endings: 4 reveal, 2 question, 2 cliffhanger, 2 quiet.
Chapters end with questions, cliffhangers, and reveals that propel the reader forward: Enfield's refusal to ask more questions, Utterson's heavy heart, the broken cane, the handwriting discovery, Lanyon's sealed letter, Jekyll's terror, the empty cabinet, and the transformation witnessed by Lanyon.
Every chapter ending
- Ch 1: question. Enfield refuses to ask more questions, establishing a rule of silence that leaves the mystery unresolved
- Ch 2: cliffhanger. Utterson leaves Jekyll's house with a heavy heart, fearing Jekyll is in danger from Hyde's knowledge of the will
if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend (Ch 2, para 37)
- Ch 3: quiet. Utterson agrees to Jekyll's request with an irrepressible sigh, accepting the situation without understanding it
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)
- Ch 4: reveal. The broken cane proves Jekyll's involvement and Hyde's guilt, but Hyde has disappeared
This was the home of Henry Jekyll’s favourite; of a man who was heir to a quarter of a million sterling (Ch 4, para 11)
- Ch 5: reveal. The handwriting comparison suggests Jekyll and Hyde may be the same person or closely connected in ways Utterson cannot yet comprehend
Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!” And his blood ran cold in his veins (Ch 5, para 38)
- Ch 6: question. The sealed letter from Lanyon raises new mysteries about what Jekyll revealed to him
not to be opened till the death or disappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll (Ch 6, para 12)
- Ch 7: cliffhanger. The terror on Jekyll's face suggests something far worse than illness or shame
an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below (Ch 7, para 12)
- Ch 8: reveal. Jekyll's letter reveals he is about to disappear and directs Utterson to read Lanyon's account for the full explanation
- Ch 9: reveal. The transformation reveals that Hyde is Jekyll in another form, explaining everything but leaving Lanyon traumatised
- Ch 10: quiet. Jekyll lays down his pen to seal his confession as he prepares for his final transformation, accepting his doom with resigned despair
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end. (Ch 10, para 28)
Viewpoint per chapter Both
Viewpoint and narration · lens E2 · compare across books
Counted: the narration is mostly mixed (first person words per 1,000 outside speech: 16.2).
The story employs multiple narrators: Utterson dominates chapters 1 to 8 as the investigating consciousness, Lanyon provides chapter 9 as eyewitness to the transformation, and Jekyll delivers chapter 10 as a final confession. This progression from external observation to internal revelation deepens understanding of the mystery.
- Ch 1 to 8: Mr Utterson
- Ch 9: Dr Lanyon
- Ch 10: Henry Jekyll (first person confession)
Want and need of the lead AI
Character · lens B3 · compare across books
| Lead | Mr. Utterson |
|---|---|
| Wants | To uncover the mystery of Mr. Hyde's connection to Dr. Jekyll and protect his friend from danger. |
| Needs | To accept that some secrets are too terrible to solve and that evil can hide within respectable people. |
| False belief | That reason and investigation can uncover and resolve all mysteries, and that Jekyll is a victim rather than the architect of his own doom. |
| Arc | flat. Utterson remains a cautious observer throughout, never fundamentally changed by the revelations he uncovers. |
Scene log AI
Story and structure · lens A4 · compare across books
One line per chapter: goal, conflict, outcome
| Ch | Summary | Goal | Conflict | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr Utterson hears from his cousin Enfield a disturbing story about a man named Hyde who trampled a child and later produced a cheque signed by a respectable gentleman. | Enfield wants to tell Utterson about a strange incident involving a door | The story reveals a mysterious connection between a brutal man and a respectable person through blackmail | Utterson learns Hyde's name and becomes deeply curious about the door and its connection to Jekyll |
| 2 | Utterson becomes obsessed with finding Hyde after learning his name is in Jekyll's will, finally encounters him at the door, and visits Jekyll to express concern. | Utterson wants to understand the connection between Hyde and Jekyll's will | Utterson's curiosity and concern clash with his inability to get straight answers from Jekyll or Lanyon | Utterson sees Hyde's face and becomes convinced he is evil, but Jekyll refuses to explain |
| 3 | Utterson confronts Jekyll about Hyde and the will, but Jekyll insists he can rid himself of Hyde whenever he chooses and asks Utterson to promise to help Hyde if Jekyll disappears. | Utterson wants Jekyll to explain his relationship with Hyde | Jekyll refuses to explain but insists he can end the relationship and asks for Utterson's promise to help Hyde | Utterson reluctantly promises to help Hyde, though he dislikes him |
| 4 | A maid witnesses Hyde brutally murder an elderly gentleman, Sir Danvers Carew, with a cane; the police investigate and Utterson identifies the victim and recognises the cane as one he gave Jekyll. | The police want to find and arrest Hyde for the murder | Hyde has fled and left few clues; Utterson must decide whether to reveal Jekyll's connection | The police search Hyde's rooms and find evidence of his flight, but no sign of Jekyll |
| 5 | Utterson visits Jekyll and receives a letter from Hyde claiming he will escape; Utterson compares the handwriting with Jekyll's and finds them remarkably similar, suggesting a terrible secret. | Utterson wants to understand Jekyll's involvement in the murder and whether to inform the police | Jekyll claims he is done with Hyde but the letter suggests Hyde is still in contact; the handwriting comparison raises new questions | Utterson locks away the letter and note, suspecting Jekyll may have forged the cheque for Hyde |
| 6 | Hyde disappears from the ken of the police; Jekyll emerges from seclusion and seems renewed, but then suddenly withdraws again; Lanyon dies after refusing to speak of Jekyll, leaving a sealed letter for Utterson. | Utterson wants to understand why Jekyll and Lanyon have quarrelled and what has caused Jekyll's sudden withdrawal | Both Jekyll and Lanyon refuse to explain; Lanyon is dying and will not speak of Jekyll; Jekyll demands solitude | Lanyon dies and leaves a sealed letter that Utterson cannot open until Jekyll disappears |
| 7 | Utterson and Enfield encounter Jekyll at his window; Jekyll seems depressed but when they invite him to join them, his face shows such terror that they flee in horror. | Utterson wants to encourage Jekyll to take fresh air and see friends | Jekyll's sudden expression of abject terror prevents any conversation | Both men are deeply frightened and leave without speaking |
| 8 | Poole comes to Utterson in alarm, claiming something is wrong with Jekyll; they break down the cabinet door and find Hyde's body, but Jekyll has vanished; they discover letters from Jekyll explaining everything. | Poole and Utterson want to discover what has happened to Jekyll | The cabinet is locked; they must break in; they find Hyde dead but Jekyll missing | They find Jekyll's letters explaining that he will disappear and directing Utterson to read Lanyon's narrative |
| 9 | Lanyon's narrative reveals that Jekyll asked him to retrieve a drawer of chemicals and receive a mysterious visitor; the visitor transformed into Jekyll after drinking a potion, revealing himself as Hyde. | Lanyon wants to understand Jekyll's strange request and help his old friend | Lanyon is confused and alarmed by the request; the visitor's appearance and behaviour are disturbing; the transformation is horrifying | Lanyon witnesses the transformation and learns that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person |
| 10 | Jekyll reveals his entire history, from his divided nature through the creation of Hyde to his final loss of control and impending doom. | Jekyll seeks to explain how his scientific discovery of human duality led to his transformation into Hyde and his eventual ruin | Jekyll's inability to control Hyde, the drug's failing efficacy, and his permanent entrapment in his evil self | Jekyll finishes his confession as he prepares to transform into Hyde one last time, knowing he will never return to his own form |
Setups and payoffs AI
Story and structure · lens A8 · compare across books
| Planted | Pays off | |
|---|---|---|
| The mysterious door and its connection to Jekyll's will (Ch 1) | The door is revealed to be the laboratory entrance through which Hyde enters Jekyll's house (Ch 8) | |
| Hyde's disturbing appearance and capacity for violence (Ch 1) | Hyde commits the brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew (Ch 4) | |
| The cheque signed by a well-known respectable person (Ch 1) | The cheque is revealed to be signed by Jekyll, connecting him to Hyde's first crime (Ch 4) | |
| Jekyll's will leaving everything to Hyde (Ch 2) | The will is found with Utterson's name instead of Hyde's after Jekyll's disappearance (Ch 8) | |
| The handwriting similarity between Hyde and Jekyll (Ch 5) | The similarity is explained when Jekyll reveals that Hyde is his own transformed self (Ch 10) | |
| Lanyon's sealed letter with mysterious instructions (Ch 6) | Lanyon's narrative reveals the transformation of Hyde into Jekyll (Ch 9) | |
| Jekyll's claim that he can be rid of Hyde at any moment (Ch 3) | Jekyll reveals that he has lost control and can no longer maintain his own form (Ch 10) | |
| The chemical experiments in Jekyll's laboratory (Ch 2) | The experiments are revealed as attempts to create the transformative potion (Ch 10) |
You start a question, and it’s like starting a stone (Ch 1, para 14)
the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde (Ch 3, para 11)
I have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that I cannot name (Ch 6, para 11)
Speech fingerprints Count
Dialogue and voice · lens C3 · compare across books
| Character | Share of attributed speech | Lines | Words a line | Questions per 100 lines | Exclaims per 100 | Pet words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Utterson | 42% | 91 | 9.5 | 28.6 | 12.1 | jekyll, about, poole, strange, make, tale |
| Poole | 28% | 39 | 14.9 | 20.5 | 17.9 | utterson, cabinet, afraid, there's, it's, once |
| Mr. Enfield | 15% | 16 | 20.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | it's, place, nobody, call, house, door |
| Dr. Jekyll | 7% | 13 | 11.3 | 0.0 | 38.5 | sure, care, hear, matter, agreed, drop |
| Dr. Lanyon | 4% | 9 | 8.7 | 22.2 | 0.0 | wish, done, anyone, knows, lanyon, friends |
| Mr. Hyde | 3% | 9 | 6.1 | 33.3 | 0.0 | name, want, find, jekyll, home, propos |
| Mr. Guest | 2% | 5 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | indeed, elicited, deal, public, feeling, course |
We give a line to a speaker only when one cast name appears in the narration of that paragraph, so many lines stay unattributed. Treat the figures as a sample.
Sentence length per chapter Count
Pace · lens D2 · compare across books
Mean sentence 20.2 words, median 15.0. 32% of sentences are under 10 words and 22% over 30. In the last fifth of the book, chapters run at 245% and sentences at 164% of the earlier average.
Emotional arc shape Count
Pace · lens D7 · compare across books
Computed shape: Riches to rags (fall) (fit 0.91 on a scale of 0 to 1).
We score the mood of each paragraph with a standard word list, then average across 20 equal slices of the book and smooth it. It is a rough reading of word mood, not of plot, and old styles of English can fool it. Shapes follow Reagan and others (2016).
When the lead and the first dialogue arrive Count
Openings and endings · lens F3, F4 · compare across books
First line of dialogue: after 0 words (Ch 1, para 1), 0.0% into the book.
The lead, Mr. Utterson, is first named after 0 words (Ch 1, para 1). In a first person book the narrator may be on the page from the first line before we learn the name.
Mystery clue list AI
Genre craft · lens G4 · compare across books
| Clue | Kind | Laid | Explained | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyde used a key to enter the building and retrieve money | clue | Ch 1 | Ch 8 | |
| The cheque was signed by someone very well known and often printed | clue | Ch 1 | Ch 4 | |
| Hyde has a key to the laboratory door | clue | Ch 2 | Ch 10 | |
| Jekyll refuses to explain his relationship with Hyde | clue | Ch 2 | Ch 10 | |
| The handwriting of Hyde and Jekyll are remarkably similar | clue | Ch 5 | Ch 9 | |
| Jekyll seems relieved that Hyde has escaped | clue | Ch 5 | Ch 10 | |
| Lanyon refuses to speak of Jekyll and regards him as dead | clue | Ch 6 | Ch 9 | |
| The voice in the cabinet is not Jekyll's | clue | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | |
| Hyde's body is found in Jekyll's clothes | clue | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | |
| The potion changes colour from red to purple to green | clue | Ch 9 | Ch 10 |
It was a man of the name of Hyde (Ch 1, para 20)
he recognised it for one that he had himself presented many years before to Henry Jekyll (Ch 4, para 6)
he had means of escape on which he placed a sure dependence (Ch 5, para 11)
Antagonist AI
Character · lens B7 · compare across books
| Who | Dr. Jekyll |
|---|---|
| Goal | To separate his respectable self from his base desires by creating a chemical potion that allows him to live as Hyde without consequence. |
| Methods | Scientific experimentation with chemicals to create a transformative drug; maintaining a double life; leaving his estate to Hyde in his will; eventually losing control of the transformation. |
| Shows their hand | Ch 10 |
| Our note | Jekyll's true nature as both creator and victim of Hyde is fully revealed only in his final confession. |
Tension curve AI
Pace · lens D6 · compare across books
Tension score per chapter, 1 to 5 (our AI reading). The narrative accelerates from slow mystery in early chapters to rapid revelation in the final three chapters. The shift from Utterson's third person perspective to Lanyon's and Jekyll's first person accounts in chapters 9 and 10 intensifies the pace and emotional impact.
Subplot thread map Both
Story and structure · lens A7 · compare across books
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hyde mystery | ||||||||||
| The Jekyll connection | ||||||||||
| The murder investigation | ||||||||||
| Lanyon's knowledge | ||||||||||
| Jekyll's scientific discovery | ||||||||||
| Jekyll's moral decline |
- The Hyde mystery: The gradual revelation that Hyde is Jekyll's transformed self, culminating in the discovery of his true nature.
- The Jekyll connection: Utterson's growing suspicion that Jekyll is connected to Hyde, leading to the final revelation of their identity.
- The murder investigation: The police investigation into Sir Danvers Carew's murder and the evidence connecting Jekyll to the crime.
- Lanyon's knowledge: Lanyon's mysterious involvement with Jekyll and his sealed letter that reveals the transformation.
- Jekyll's scientific discovery: Jekyll's account of his chemical experiments and the creation of the transformative potion.
- Jekyll's moral decline: The progression from Jekyll's initial control over Hyde to his complete loss of dominance and impending doom.
Motif tracker AI
Theme and motif · lens J3 · compare across books
- The door (Ch 1, 2, 7, 8): The door represents the boundary between Jekyll's respectable public life and his hidden private world.
- Deformity and disgust (Ch 1, 2, 9, 10): Physical deformity serves as the outward manifestation of inner moral corruption and evil.
- Secrets and silence (Ch 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7): The refusal to speak about or investigate certain matters allows evil to flourish unchecked.
- Transformation and change (Ch 9, 10): The chemical transformation represents the loss of control over one's own nature and identity.
- Letters and revelation (Ch 5, 6, 8, 9, 10): Written confessions and sealed letters serve as the means by which truth is finally revealed.
- Duality and division (Ch 3, 10): The split between respectable and base nature drives the entire tragedy of Jekyll's experiment.
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)
taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien, like some disconsolate prisoner (Ch 7, para 6)
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)
Signature words Count
Prose style · lens H3 · compare across books
Words this book uses far more than the other books on our shelf (log odds, at least 8 uses). Names often top the list.
Commercial facts card Research
Commercial facts · lens L1, L2, L4 · compare across books
| First published | 1886 |
|---|---|
| Author died | 1894 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the UK (author died 1894, so life plus 70 years has passed) and in the US (first published 1886, before 1931). |
| Length | 25,685 words in 10 chapters; about 1.7 hours to read |
| Genre | Gothic and horror |
| Sales and adaptations | Coming in a later phase, with sources. |
Method: counts come from a clean public domain plain text, split into chapters and paragraphs with stable IDs (for example c3p12 is chapter 3, paragraph 12, in reading order). Lenses marked AI are our AI reading of each chapter, made once and stored. Every quote shown was checked word for word against the text; 5 AI quotes for this book failed that check and were dropped.
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