Once again, Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson are walking by the mysterious door. Through one of the windows, Utterson spots Dr. Jekyll, whom he has not seen for weeks.
Utterson calls to Jekyll and tells him he should get outside more. Jekyll replies that he wishes he could, but doesn't dare. As he finishes his sentence, his smile disappears from his face and a look of utter terror takes over. It appears as though Jekyll suffers some kind of seizure. Enfield and Utterson only briefly saw the pain in Jekyll's face before he quickly shut the window, but are both appalled. They walk on without speaking of the incident.
Analysis:
The beginning of Chapter 7 mirrors Chapter 1, as Enfield and Utterson walk past Hyde's mysterious door. However, in the intervening year, much has changed. To Enfield, Utterson, and the rest of the world, Jekyll has imprisoned himself within the confines of his home and of his alternate identity, Hyde.
At this point, the reader is still not meant to know of Jekyll's dual identities, and the sense of mystery surrounding Jekyll and Hyde's relationship and Jekyll's reclusive behavior grows. Meanwhile, Utterson's world has become increasingly dark and horrifying, as Lanyon dies and Jekyll hides himself from the world. Through these events, Utterson's rational and logical world is slowly disintegrating into a world of confusion and mystery. Moreover, while the events of the novel become increasingly strange, the language and detail becomes increasingly sparse. This pattern first appears in an inability to describe the specific horror of Hyde's face, grows more powerful when Lanyon refuses to discuss the specifics of his horrific shock, and continues to develop in this chapter when Enfield and Utterson silently agree not to speak of Jekyll's apparent seizure and strange behavior. Thus, as the dramatic action continues to develop, the suspense and mystery surrounding Jekyll grows.