Nearly a year later, a respected member of London society, Sir Danvers Carew, is murdered. A maid sitting by her window in the very early morning hours witnesses the story recounts the event. She gazes out her window, romantically feeling at one with the world, when she sees an aged man with white hair walking along a nearby path. She watches as he meets another, smaller man, whom she recognizes as Mr. Hyde.
Suddenly, Mr. Hyde brakes out in anger and attacks the white haired man, beating him to death with a cane. The maid faints upon witnessing such horror. When she awakes a few hours later, she immediately calls the police, who find the victim's body. On his person, the victim carried a purse, some gold, and a letter addressed to Mr. Utterson.
Subsequently, the police contact Mr. Utterson who identifies the victim as Sir Danvers Carew, a member of Parliament. Upon learning the identity of the attacker, Mr. Utterson takes the police chief to Mr. Hyde's home. The police find the rooms in Hyde's home ransacked. Clothes strewn everywhere, half of the cane used to murder Danvers Carew is in one of the corners, and the remnants of a burned checkbook lie on one of the tables. The police soon discover that Mr. Hyde has disappeared. He cannot be found anywhere, and they are unable to find any trace of his past. Moreover, those who have seen him are unable to describe him in detail, but generally agree on his evil appearance.
Analysis:
This chapter reveals the extent of Hyde's evil. He brutally murders an innocent man, without provocation, and apparently without reason. Sir Danvers Carew is the second known victim of Hyde's violence. Enfield witnessed Hyde trampling a young girl, but he did not kill her, or even seriously injure her. Rather, his behavior seemed to simply disregard the humanity of the girl or her right to walk down the same street as him. In contrast, Sir Danvers Carew is viciously murdered, apparently without reason. It seems that Hyde kills Sir Danvers Carew simply to demonstrate his power and to release his evil. Thus, Hyde's evilness is gaining in strength, which forebodes further tragedy to come.
Throughout this chapter, Utterson again proves his honor, loyalty and logic. He appears immediately when summoned by the police, and provides them with a great deal of information in order to find the murderous Edward Hyde. However, he stops short of telling the police of the connection between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Thus, Utterson acts as a responsible member of society in aiding in the search for a murderer, yet is also still loyal to his friend Dr. Jekyll.
Earlier in the novel, Utterson dreamt of a nightmarish London through which the Juggernaut Hyde roamed and pillaged. In this chapter, Utterson's dream has become reality. Just as he feared, the monstrous Hyde has wreaked violent havoc on the city of London. In fact, on his way to the scene of the murder, Utterson notes how the London fog makes the city appear as though it is "in a nightmare." Stevenson utilizes highly descriptive imagery in this section, just as he did in Utterson's dream, in order to draw the reader into the work and create a powerful experience.
In this chapter, we also see the importance of written documents within the novel, specifically in relation to Mr. Utterson. The beginning of the novel centers around Jekyll's will, and in this chapter, Sir Danvers Carew's letter to Utterson connects him to the murder. Clearly, Utterson is deeply integrated to London's high society, not only in the social arena, but also through his business as a lawyer. Although we do not learn what Sir Danvers Carew's letter contains, its existence alone demonstrates Utterson's important role in London society. Later on in the novel, written documents will prove even more important, as it is from such written documents that Utterson finally learns the truth about the mystery of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.