Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Summary | Story of the Door Summary

Mr. Utterson is a dull but lovable lawyer with an inclination toward helping others, rather than judging and reproving them for their bad behavior; for this reason, Mr. Utterson is frequently the last reputable friend of men who have fallen to temptation.

He is in the habit of taking Sunday walks with his friend, Mr. Enfield, and it is on one of these walks that they happen down a by-street in one of London's busier quarters. In contrast to the dingy neighborhood, the street shines with freshly painted shutters, polished brasses, and general cleanliness. But two doors from the corner, an opening leads into a court, which in turns leads to a sinister building suffering from prolonged neglect. Two stories tall, the building has no windows-only a blistered door with no bell or knocker.

Here, Mr. Enfield pauses to tell his friend a very odd story connected with the door. He says he was on his way home around three o'clock on a black winter morning when he saw two figures: a little man stumping along at a good walk, and a little girl running hard toward the man. At the corner, they naturally ran into each other, but the man calmly trampled over the child, leaving her screaming on the ground. Shocked, Mr. Enfield ran after the man, whom he describes as not like a man at all but a Juggernaut, and caught him, and though the stranger didn't resist, he gave Mr. Enfield a look so ugly Mr. Enfield broke into a sweat.

Mr. Enfield returned the stranger to the place where he'd left the child, and where a group had now formed around her, including her angry family. They sent for a doctor, who determined the child was more frightened than hurt, but Mr. Enfield, who'd taken a loathing to the stranger at first sight, noticed that the others had gone wild with murderous rage. Even the dry old doctor had turned sick and white with the desire to kill the stranger. Mr. Enfield remarks that he'd never seen such hateful and frightened faces as surrounded that man, but the stranger sneered at them coolly, carrying off his fear like Satan.

The stranger then told them that he was naturally helpless, and any gentleman would wish to avoid a scene. For this reason, he proposed they name a price. The group suggested a hundred pounds for the child's family, and the stranger promptly whipped out a key, went inside that very door, and returned a moment later with ten pounds in gold and a check for the remainder signed with a name Mr. Enfield now says he can't mention, though it's one of the points of the story, and a very well-known name.

When Mr. Enfield doubted the check, the stranger offered to stay with him until the banks opened and then cash the check himself. Mr. Enfield, the stranger, the child's father, and the doctor then passed the rest of the night in Mr. Enfield's chambers and, after breakfast, went to the bank, where they discovered the check was genuine.

Mr. Utterson now expresses some disbelief, and Mr. Enfield tells him that yes, it is a bad story, because the stranger was a really bad man, and the person who drew the check is a respectable man known for doing good. Mr. Enfield could only guess that the stranger was blackmailing the man for some youthful indiscretion, though even that wouldn't explain it all.

Now Mr. Utterson asks if Mr. Enfield knows whether or not the stranger lives behind that door, and Mr. Enfield says that although the building seems a likely place for him, he noticed the man's address as being in some other square. When Mr. Utterson asks if he never asked about the place with the door, Mr. Enfield says he hasn't, because he has a rule about never asking questions. He says that starting a question is like starting a stone rolling down a hill; the next thing you know, it's hit some unlikely old person sitting in his back garden, and all of a sudden the family has to change its name. The stranger the circumstances, Mr. Enfield says, the less he asks.

Mr. Utterson agrees that that's a very good rule, but he wants to ask the name of the stranger. Mr. Enfield tells him it was a man by the name of Hyde. He isn't an easy man to describe, but there was something detestable about his appearance. Mr. Enfield says he never saw a man he so disliked, and yet he couldn't say why. He gave a strong feeling of deformity, but though Mr. Enfield can picture him clearly, he can't say what exactly was deformed about him.

On confirming that Hyde used a key to enter the door, Mr. Utterson now admits that he hasn't asked the name of the other party-the man who wrote the check-because he already knows it, and he says if Mr. Enfield has been inexact, he'd better correct it now. Mr. Enfield, a little hurt that Mr. Utterson is only now admitting to knowing something, says he's been precise in every detail, and what's more, he saw Hyde use the key to enter the door again only a week ago.

Mr. Utterson sighs deeply. Finally, Mr. Enfield says this is another good reason to keep quiet about such stories, and suggests they never speak of it again. The lawyer agrees whole-heartedly.