Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, is modest, a little dreary but endearing, with something very warm in his eyes, though his dinner conversation is not very impressive. This warmth can be seen in the way he lives too, being loyal to his old friends even when they have been abandoned by others. Modest as he is, Utterson has kept a set of friends without seeming to choose them along the way and his affection is based on the bond of time, not quality.

One of Mr. Utterson’s friends is Richard Enfield, with whom he takes regular Sunday walks. To see the pair walking together, one would think they had nothing in common, but they both claim to look forward to these walks. One day, they are walking and come to a particular busy by-street in London. The houses are bright and everything has an air of prosperity, apart from one property two doors from the corner of the street, which has a bleak gray front and a door in need of repair.

Utterson asks Enfield if he has ever noticed this door and Enfield says that he has, and that there is a strange story associated with it, which he proceeds to tell. One night, so late that the street was totally deserted, Enfield was walking near the house in question and had worked himself up into a frightened state. Suddenly, a little girl and a man had appeared running from opposite streets and knocked into each other. The man had trampled the little girl and left her crying in the street. Mr. Enfield describes how he caught the man and brought him back to the girl, who was then being helped by her family.

To Enfield, the strangest part of the incident was the way the man looked. It was so powerful and hateful that it caused him to sweat. Everyone involved seemed to be affected in the same way. Even the doctor, who had been called to aid the child, was visibly enraged at the sight of this man and looked like he wanted to kill him.

But instead of using violence, they threatened the man, promising to undo him if didn’t disappear. The man replied calmly that a gentleman never wishes to make a scene, and then went into the bleak-looking house and got a check for a hundred pounds. Not only that but he offered to stay with the injured girl and her family until the banks opened so he could cash it for them. When they saw the name on the check, they recognized the man as a celebrated gentleman, though Mr. Enfield in his story does not reveal the man's name to Utterson.

Mr. Enfield can see that Mr. Utterson is affected by the story too. He continues, troubled by how the man can be so obviously damnable but also celebrated for doing good things with his money. Utterson asks if the man lives at this house but Enfield claims his address is in a square in another area. Enfield admits he didn’t ask the man about the house, because he makes it a rule not to ask questions about things that seem suspicious. Utterson thinks this is a good rule.

Mr. Enfield says he took a look about the house and noticed that it had no other entrance and nobody seemed to go in or out except, occasionally, for the man, but that the house's chimney is always smoking. Mr. Utterson asks to know the gentleman’s name, and Mr. Enfield doesn’t think much harm can come of telling it. It’s Mr. Hyde.

Utterson asks what Mr. Hyde looks like, but Enfield can hardly describe it. He says that the man has a detestable appearance but for no visible reason he can see. This isn’t a fault of his memory, for he can remember the figure of the man exactly. Mr. Utterson is deep in thought. He admits that the story is not foreign to him, and he knows of the man in question. Mr. Enfield feels bad for telling the story now, but the friends shake hands and part.