NovelGuide: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Novel Summary: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stevenson’s fourth chapter details the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, a distinguished noble and member of Parliament. The murder takes place about a year after the time setting of the previous chapters. It seems a housemaid is preparing for bed in her second-story room when she looks outside the window and sees Carew, who appears to be lost and looking for directions. Suddenly a very short man (much like Mr. Hyde) appears behind the nobleman and quickly beats the man to death with a cane. The maid faints in shock but when she awakes, she calls the police.

Soon, when Mr. Utterson is asked questions about the murder, he recognizes the cane (the murder weapon) as having been a gift given Dr. Jekyll by him many years ago. When Utterson and the police inspector visit the home of Mr. Hyde, a woman servant answers the door and says that he is not home. When told that Hyde is wanted for murder, the woman becomes very happy, which supports Utterson’s suspicion that the little man is not well liked. Going through the house, they find that several documents had been recently burned (apparently the night before). Yet most importantly they find the other end of the broken cane, which seems to unequivocally link Hyde to the murder.

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