As far as I'm concerned, Chapter 8 is the absolute best chapter in the entire book. This is where the story pretty much comes to a very abrupt end and yet it's also where everything I love about the book finally comes front and center; Poole and Utterson.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 8 - Part 2

As far as I'm concerned, Chapter 8 is the absolute best chapter in the entire book. This is where the story pretty much comes to a very abrupt end and yet it's also where everything I love about the book finally comes front and center; Poole and Utterson.

It is a shame that the two people who have the most interesting perspectives in the entire book are the only two people to never have their stories told in any adaptations. Out of the hundreds of times this story has been adapted for stage or screen, the actual NARRATOR OF THE STORY and the only other person to genuinely care for Dr Jekyll have often been completely erased from existence. Why? When their perspective of the story is probably the most poignant.

What I hate about adaptations is that they don't make it clear that what you're experiencing is someone else's fantasy or interpretation of the story, not the story itself. The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a powerful story about, as I've said before, male friendships, loyalty, and the spiral of addiction, and yet it's never told from that perspective and that's a real wasted opportunity.

I hope throughout this podcast I've given you a new way to see this story.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 8 - Part 1

As I mentioned in the previous video …

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.

This video goes into depth about how the story mirrors so much of the reality of addiction spirals, dealing with the breakdown of friendships, and trying to find your role in a relationship with a friend who has descended into a dark and downward spiral. Chapter 6 and 7 are so sad and so upsetting for me on a personal level, but I don’t think I’m the only one who reads these chapters this way. This is very obviously Stevenson’s intention because the wording, the reactions, and the feelings are all there clearly in the text.

Where are the discussions of these underlying themes? Why is there only a focus on Jekyll? Why do people find the selfish, destructive nature of addicts and the mentally ill so fascinating? What about all of the bodies, hearts, and souls left behind in the wake of their death spirals? What about the true victims?

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapters 6 and 7 - Part 2

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.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapters 6 and 7 - Part 1

Most people who make movies and adaptations about Jekyll and Hyde focus solely on the final chapter of the book. They don’t care about the entire story or any of the other chapters. I don’t think anyone reads them or even cares about them. The ONLY thing that seems to interest anyone is Jekyll’s diary, Jekyll’s manifesto, Jekyll’s viewpoint. I think the ENTIRE story is interesting and without it there would only be a book of just Jekyll … and that’s boring AF.

I think the story should have ended with Dr Lanyon’s letter.

The story of Jekyll and Hyde is not just the final chapter. That is just the explanation of the story. The entire story is about Utterson, about Dr Lanyon, about all the people who were hurt and who died and who suffered as a result of Jekyll’s selfishness and madness.

Remember Glenda Cleveland’s perspective of Jeffery Dahmer? There is more than just the victims, the cops, and Dahmer himself … there are other people in the world … there are other viewpoints … there are other perspectives that are powerful and worth knowing. Jekyll and Hyde is similar … if you don’t care about other people and are only interested in centering the lunatic, you’re missing an entire part of the story … you’re missing the true heart of it.

Try caring. Try considering other people.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 5 - Part 2

This is one of the chapters that I kind of wish Stevenson’s wife had permanently destroyed. It’s the most contrived, forced, lazy chapter of the whole book. The entire chapter exists to push evidence to the reader that is barely necessary.

I do spend a large chunk of time (the first 20:14 minutes) at the beginning further explaining how my aphantasia effects my ability to perceive mood sometimes in books. I explain how I basically do what AI does … I pull existing information from movies and other media that I have seen (The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Wolfman, Young Sherlock Holmes, Vienna Blood) that closely matches whatever is being described by the author. It doesn’t always give the exact mood or scene but it’s as close as I can get.

The rest of the video (from 20:15 onward) is ALL about why the chapter sucks but the best part about this trash chapter is we get even more information about how amazing, honest, smart, and invested Utterson is in getting to the bottom of this mystery … even if it means questioning and investigating his friend whom he so cares for. This is why Utterson’s perspective is so interesting and worth knowing and exploring.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 5 - Part 1

So much about the story has changed. It even feels different like a lot of time has passed not only in the story but also as far as the writing of the work. It starts very simply and then moves into a whole different tone and writing style.

The most poignant part of this story so far for me has been this chapter. It felt so NOW. It pulled me out of the idea of this being an old book and made me feel like I was reading something very modern ESPECIALLY in the way it describes the police and the odious joy when it comes to how people respond to another person’s misfortune. Some things hit different when you’re Black and “A touch of terror of the law and the law’s officers …” was one of those things.

This chapter describes so much of what being on social media is like …

With everything that happened recently with The Olympics so much is fresh on my mind especially the way people delight in misfortune, the way people try to capitalize on disaster and death as entertainment … the way people judge others based on how they look … the “odious joy” of it all.

It was powerful and depressing to see how very little has changed in the world.

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 4 - Part 2

I feel like I missed an entire section of this story. It went from zero to absolute bonkers madness in one page and it felt very jarring and also unbelievable. It’s a known fact that I cannot stand the phrase “all of the sudden” because it’s an absolute cop out for an actual understanding of reality and it’s used here in all it’s nonsense glory. We jump a YEAR ahead and it’s like … what the hell happened?

Mr Hyde goes from mildly irritating and unnerving to a brutal mad lunatic who beats people with such ferocity that he’s breaking canes. Like … seriously? What is this about? You just jumped ahead and decided you were done with any kind of lead up?

A lot is being said in this chapter. A LOT. I feel like perhaps this is the first chapter of what the story is actually trying to be and trying to express. The duality of society and people is on full display and it’s a bit unnerving to read at some points (more explained in Part 2).

Elaine Is Reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde > Chapter 4 - Part 1