Characters: Utterson, Lanyon and Enfield
Mr Gabriel John Utterson
Utterson is the novella’s main focaliser for Chapters 1–8. He is a lawyer: rational, loyal and deeply private. Stevenson introduces him as a man of “rugged countenance” who is “lean, long, dusty, dreary” but somehow still “lovable.”
Utterson embodies Victorian respectability. He suppresses his own desires — he enjoys the theatre but has not been to one in twenty years. He drinks gin to “mortify a taste for vintages” (punishing himself for enjoying good wine). He tolerates the failings of others without judging them, preferring to maintain social harmony.
Utterson is a mirror of Jekyll — both repress their desires, but Utterson does so without catastrophic consequences. He represents what Jekyll could have been if he had accepted his limitations rather than trying to transcend them.
Utterson functions as a detective figure. He stakes out Hyde, examines the will, questions Lanyon and eventually breaks down Jekyll’s door. But his Victorian propriety limits his effectiveness — he refuses to open Lanyon’s sealed letter, avoids prying into Jekyll’s private life, and consistently chooses discretion over truth.
This makes Utterson both sympathetic and frustrating. The reader can see clues that Utterson misses or deliberately ignores. Stevenson uses this gap between what the reader suspects and what Utterson knows to build dramatic irony.
Dr Hastie Lanyon
Lanyon is an old friend of Jekyll’s and a fellow doctor. He is described as “hearty, healthy, dapper” and full of confidence. He represents orthodox science — rational, empirical and cautious.
Lanyon dismisses Jekyll’s experiments as “unscientific balderdash.” This disagreement ended their friendship years before the novella begins. When Lanyon finally witnesses Hyde’s transformation into Jekyll, the shock destroys him — he dies within weeks.
Lanyon’s death shows the danger of confronting truths that a person is not prepared for. His rational worldview cannot accommodate what he has seen. Stevenson suggests that some knowledge is too terrible for the human mind to bear — a classic Gothic theme.
Lanyon represents the Victorian scientific establishment — cautious, evidence-based and respectable. Jekyll represents the maverick scientist who pushes beyond accepted boundaries. Their disagreement mirrors real Victorian debates about the limits of science, particularly after Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged religious certainties.
Stevenson does not clearly side with either. Lanyon’s caution is admirable but ultimately leads to ignorance. Jekyll’s ambition is intellectually bold but morally reckless. Both approaches fail.
Richard Enfield
Enfield is Utterson’s distant kinsman and walking companion. He is described as a “well-known man about town” — sociable, worldly and less restrained than Utterson. It is Enfield who tells the story of Hyde trampling the girl in Chapter 1, setting the plot in motion.
Despite being more open than Utterson, Enfield shares the same commitment to discretion. After telling the trampling story, he immediately suggests: “let us make a bargain never to refer to this again.” This instinct to suppress uncomfortable knowledge is central to the novella’s critique of Victorian society.
Poole (Jekyll’s butler) represents the servant class. His loyalty to Jekyll drives the climactic break-in scene. His willingness to act when his master is in danger contrasts with Utterson’s cautious hesitation.
Mr Guest (Utterson’s clerk) notices the matching handwriting. His observational skill as a professional handwriting analyst advances the plot where Utterson’s propriety would not.
The maid who witnesses the Carew murder is one of very few female characters. Her emotional, swooning response contrasts with the male characters’ restraint, reflecting Victorian gender expectations.