34 pages 1 hour read

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1886

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Chapter 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary: “The Carew Murder Case”

Nearly a year later, in October, a maid witnesses a horrifying murder outside of her bedroom window. An elegant, elderly man accosts a short, younger man on the street whom the maid recognizes as Hyde. After exchanging a few words, Hyde flies into a rage and clubs the old man to death with his cane. When the police arrive, they find part of Hyde’s cane in the gutter and an envelope addressed to Utterson on the victim.

The police bring the envelope to Utterson the next morning. At the police station, Utterson identifies the body as that of Sir Danvers Carew, a member of parliament and a client of his, and the cane as one he gave to Jekyll many years before. Utterson accompanies the police inspector to Hyde’s house, but he is not home. The rooms appear to have been hurriedly ransacked, and the inspector finds the remains of a checkbook among the embers of the fireplace.

Chapter 4 Analysis

maidservant. She muses at her bedroom window in the light of the full moon and feels a rare sense of peace and well-being. She is impressed by the figure of Carew, whom she sees as an “aged beautiful gentleman” (68) full of courtly “old world” manners.