Summary

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is really just as much the story of Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer and good friend of Dr. Henry Jekyll. More importantly, Utterson is a Victorian Gentleman, who is guided by a chivalry-like code to remain loyal to his friends and maintain his status in society. It is loyalty that drives Utterson to play detective in an effort to protect Jekyll from the malicious and scheming Mr. Hyde. Eventually, Utterson finds himself introduced to a world that he is neither ready to enter nor accept. The story takes place in Victorian-era England, after the Industrial Revolution. Utterson, a lawyer, and true Victorian Gentleman, discovers that his long-time friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, has become involved with a mysterious and dangerous man named Edward Hyde. Jekyll is a tall, handsome man with a very high social status, which he is expected to maintain. Hyde is a complete opposite, short and vulgar, with an unidentifiable deformity.