Jekyll and Hyde – Chapters 6&7 (Part 1)

The Incident Of Dr Lanyon and The Incident At The Window

I decided to do these two chapters together because they are two of my favorite chapters and because the are very similar in feeling and foundation. They greatly shift the tone and focus of the story from slightly confusing and creepy to my fucking god what the hell is happening.

One of the primary issues I have with adaptations of Jekyll and Hyde is that they leave out so much of what makes this story interesting and some of the best aspects of that include the relationship between Utterson, Lanyon, and Jekyll and how that deep friendship is destroyed by Jekyll’s selfish doings. In many ways it feels like trying to be friends with an addict or someone with mental illness and it’s a shame that no adaptations truly address the heartbreak and betrayal and conflicting feelings that go along with being friends with someone in a self destructive spiral. It’s such a great disservice to the story. Jekyll and Hyde is ultimately a story of loyalty, male friendships, and addiction.

So much could have been learned and discussed for many years if the final chapter of this story hadn’t been included and people weren’t so obsessed with the absolute worst character in the book.