The narration of the novel begins with two men, Mr. Utterson, a quiet, respectable lawyer, and his distant relative Mr. Richard Enfield, taking a walk through a crowded street in London. On their way, they encounter a mysterious cellar door, which prompts Mr. Enfield to recount a strange experience that happened on this very street.
One night, at three in the morning, Mr. Enfield was walking through town when he saw a disfigured man whom he described as "a Juggernaut," powering through the street maliciously trample an eight-year old girl who was out to fetch a doctor. After apprehending the man, Enfield, the doctor, and the family of the girl decided that, instead of sending for the police, they would blackmail the man to give one hundred pounds to the girl's family. Amenable, the mysterious man disappeared behind the strange door that Utterson and Enfield had encountered. He returned with ten pounds in gold and a check signed by a very respectable third party, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Fearing the check was a forgery, the doctor, Enfield, and the family forced the man to stay in their company until the banks opened and the check could be cashed. When the banks opened, Enfield cashed the check, and was surprised to find it valid. Enfield could only imagine that the mysterious man had possession of the check as a result of blackmail.
Throughout Enfield's narrative, he does not name he mysterious man. Finally, Utterson asks the man's name and Enfield reveals it was a Mr. Edward Hyde. Under a great "weight of consideration," Utterson asks if the man used a key to get into the door.
Enfield confirms this and the two men vow to never speak of the incident again.
Analysis:
The opening chapter of Jekyll and Hyde brilliantly begins the largely allegorical novel. The novella's structure is unique in that it is not cast entirely as a first-person narration, as it would have been possible to tell the story in the manner of a confession from Jekyll's point of view. Stevenson deliberately opts for a discursive treatment in three distinct parts, the first of which is employed here, a leisurely account of the two main characters and the establishment of some distant connection between them. The structural and linguistic devices employed by Stevenson create an unusual atmosphere of controlled suspense, which surrounds the story. The gradual building up of horror and destruction is achieved through a slow accumulation of unemotional detail, which begins in this chapter. Here, we learn of a mysterious, dark, and violent Edward Hyde who is apparently familiar with Dr. Jekyll. We can only assume that further reading will reveal more about Hyde, Jekyll, and Utterson.
The well-known basic theme of the novel surrounds the duality of good and evil, but also provides an examination of hypocrisy, as encompassed by Jekyll and Hyde. The book has been referred to as, "one of the best guidebooks of the Victorian times," because of its piercing description of the fundamental dichotomy of the 19th century  outward respectability and inward lust. Hyde's first victim of cruelty is a female child, which serves to immediately emphasize his moral depravity. The description of the fateful street where Hyde lives reinforces this theme of duality in Victorian culture. It is described as an anonymous street in London, whose shop fronts "like rows of smiling women" have a brightness that stands out in contrast to the dingy neighborhood. And yet, two doors from the corner stands a dreary, Gothic house, which, "bore in every feature the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence." Later on, we learn that Hyde's mysterious, threatening and sinister door and dilapidated building facade is in fact a back entrance to Dr. Jekyll's wealthy, respected, and large mansion. The theme of duality is also marked by the symbolic nature of the name, Hyde, which represents the hidden aspects of Jekyll's nature. Indeed, when resolving to find and speak with this man in Chapter 2, Mr. Utterson claims that "If he shall be Mr. Hyde . . . I shall be Mr. Seek."
The first chapter reveals the true evil of Hyde's character and foreshadows future criminal acts. Enfield refers to Hyde as "really like Satan." A few lines later, Hyde remarks "No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene." Hyde's assertion that he is a gentleman, especially after effectively trampling a young girl and leaving her in the street, is highly ironic. In fact, with this comment, Stevenson is referencing Percy Bysshe Shelley's Peter Bell the Third statement: "The devil is a gentleman." In contrast, Utterson is presented as the quintessential true Victorian gentleman who is loyal to his friends, no matter what. He is also highly rational, searching for logical explanations in the very strange events surrounding Jekyll and Hyde. In this way, Utterson's grounded approach to the novel's happenings provides a stark contrast against the supernatural themes revealed as the novel progresses.
Interestingly, there is a clear absence of female characters in this novel. The only female the reader encounters is this first chapter is the young girl from Enfield's story. This pattern of female exclusion continues throughout the novel, as the action is dominated by men, whose lives appear to be independent of female influence.