What Is Jekyll and Hyde About? Stevenson's Story of a Split Self Explained

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a short Gothic novel by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886, about a respected London doctor, Henry Jekyll, who creates a potion that turns him into Edward Hyde, a cruel and violent version of himself. The book was an immediate success, and "Jekyll and Hyde" has become an everyday phrase for a person who seems to have two completely different sides.

The writer

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was born in Edinburgh and suffered from poor health for most of his life. He is also the author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped. He spent his last years in Samoa, where he died at only 44. According to the usual account, the idea for Jekyll and Hyde came to him in a dream, and he wrote the first draft very quickly; his wife's criticism led him to burn it and rewrite the story.

The story in brief

The story is seen mainly through the eyes of Gabriel John Utterson, a calm, serious lawyer and old friend of Jekyll. Utterson hears about a small, ugly-seeming man named Hyde who trampled a young girl in the street and then paid her family with a cheque signed by Jekyll. Utterson is disturbed, because Jekyll's will leaves everything to this Hyde.

Things get worse. Hyde brutally murders a respected gentleman, Sir Danvers Carew, and disappears. For a while Jekyll seems happier and more social, then suddenly shuts himself away. His friend Dr Lanyon witnesses something so shocking that he falls ill and dies. Finally Jekyll's servant asks Utterson for help because a strange voice is coming from his master's locked laboratory. They break down the door and find Hyde dead on the floor, and no sign of Jekyll.

The truth is revealed in two letters. Jekyll had long struggled between his respectable public life and secret desires. He made a drug that separated his darker side into a different body, Hyde, who could act without guilt. At first he could change back at will, but over time he began turning into Hyde without the potion, and his supply of a key ingredient ran out. Knowing he would soon be Hyde forever, he wrote his confession.

A twist everyone now knows

Readers in 1886 did not know that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person until the end. Today almost everyone knows the secret before opening the book, so it is read less as a mystery and more as a study of human nature.

What does it mean?

The story asks whether every person contains both good and evil, and what happens when someone tries to separate them. Jekyll does not become evil by accident; he wants a way to enjoy his hidden desires without damaging his reputation. The book has been read as a criticism of Victorian society, where people often kept up perfect appearances while hiding secret lives. It is also read as a story about addiction: something that starts as a choice slowly takes control.

The London setting

The story takes place in foggy, gaslit London, with elegant squares next to dirty back streets. Jekyll's grand house even has a shabby back door into his laboratory, through which Hyde comes and goes. The building itself has two faces, just like its owner.

Learn with Jekyll and Hyde: English phrases

Phrase	Meaning	Example
a Jekyll and Hyde	a person with two very different sides	He's a real Jekyll and Hyde: kind at work, rude at home.
a dark side	a hidden bad part of someone	Everyone has a dark side.
to lead a double life	to live two secret lives	He led a double life for years.
to keep up appearances	to pretend all is well	They kept up appearances for the neighbours.
point of no return	when you can no longer go back	He reached the point of no return.

Try this: Write three English sentences about a habit that changed someone, using "a Jekyll and Hyde" and "point of no return".