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  .., 2026.



R. L. Stevenson ..

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde       



Dedicated to Catarina de Mattos    



Keep these bonds inviolable -     

Our union with the winds and the heather is unshakable.  ,     .

Far from our homeland we know what is for us     ,   

Sweet broom is blooming in the north now.      .



Door History  

Mr. Utterson, a notary whose stern face never lit up with a smile, was a reserved man, taciturn and awkward in society, dry, dusty, dull - and yet very likeable.  , ,       ,   ,     , , ,    -  . In the circle of friends, and especially when he liked the wine, a light of soft humanity began to glow in his eyes, which did not find access in his speech;   ,      ,        ,       ; but it spoke not only in these silent centers of after-dinner good humor, but also in his affairs, and much more often and loudly.           ,     ,     . He was strict with himself:     : when he dined alone, he drank gin, curbing his desire for fine wines, and, ardently loving dramatic art, did not cross the threshold of the theater for more than twenty years.    , ,     ,   ,    ,       . However, he showed commendable indulgence towards the weaknesses of his neighbors, sometimes he marveled with slight envy at the violent love of life, which was hidden in their sins, and when the hour of reckoning came for them, he preferred to help rather than criticize.        ,       ,    ,       ,  ,   .

I am inclined to the Cain heresy, he would say with a hidden grin.      ,      . I do not interfere with my brothers search for the destruction that suits his taste.         ,    .

And so fate often destined him to be the last decent acquaintance of many fallen people and the last good influence in their lives.                    . And when they came to him, he behaved with them exactly the same as before.      ,       ,  .

No doubt this came easy to Mr. Utterson, for he was always very reserved, and even his friendship seemed to flow from the same universal benevolence.  ,     ,       ,    , ,       . It is common for modest natures to accept their circle of friends ready-made, from the hands of chance;            ; our notary followed this rule.      . He was friends either with relatives or with old acquaintances;     ,    ; his affection, like ivy, was fed by time and said nothing about the merits of the one to whom it belonged.  ,  ,         ,   . It was precisely this kind of friendship, probably, that connected the notary with his distant relative, Mr. Richard Enfield, the well-known London bon vivant.   , ,     ,          ,   . Many people puzzled over what these two found attractive in each other and what interests they could have in common.      ,                . Those who met them during their Sunday walks said that They walked in silence, boredom was written on their faces, and when a mutual acquaintance appeared, both seemed to experience significant relief. ,         , ,    ,                 . Nevertheless, both of them loved these walks very much, considered them the best decoration of the whole week, and for the sake of them they not only sacrificed other entertainments, but also put off business.           ,              ,    .

And so, one such Sunday, chance brought them to a certain street in one of the business districts of London.   -               . This street was small and, as they say, quiet, although on weekdays a brisk trade was going on there.     ,  , ,        . Its inhabitants, apparently, were prospering, and they all jealously hoped to prosper even more, and they used the surplus profits for preening;  , -, ,        ,      ; therefore, the shop-windows on both sides of it exuded friendliness, like two rows of smiling shopgirls.        ,     . Even on Sunday, when the street hid its most magnificent charms and was deserted, nevertheless, in comparison with the surrounding wretchedness, it shone like a fire in a forest - neatly painted shutters, highly polished door handles and a general spirit of cleanliness and gaiety immediately attracted and pleased the eye of a casual passer-by.   ,          ,         ,    ,    ,                  .

Two doors down from the corner, on the left-hand side, as you walked east, the line of houses was broken by an entrance to a courtyard, and right there stood a massive building.     ,   ,    ,      ,       . It was two stories high, without a single windowjust a door at the bottom and the blank forehead of a dirty wall above itand every feature of it testified to long and indifferent neglect.   ,              ,           . The peeling, darkly stained door had neither bell nor knocker.  ,        ,  . Tramps settled down to rest in its niche and lit matches on its paneling, children played shop on the porch steps, a schoolboy tried the sharpness of his knife on the carved curlicues, and for many years no one had driven away these casual guests or tried to erase the traces of their outrages.            ,       ,        ,                 .

Mr. Enfield and the notary were walking along the other side of the street, but when they reached the building, the former raised his cane and pointed at it.         , ,      ,       .

Have you ever noticed this door?   -     ? he asked, and when his companion answered in the affirmative, he added:    ,      , : There is a very strange story connected with it for me.          .

Really?  ? asked Mr. Utterson in a slightly changed voice.        . What is it?    ?

It was like this, Mr. Enfield began.    ,    . I was returning home from somewhere at the end of the world at about three oclock on a dark winter night, and my path led through blocks where literally nothing was visible except the streetlights.      -       -  ,      ,      ,  . Street after street, where everyone was sleeping, street after street, illuminated as if for some kind of celebration, and empty like a church, so that in the end I fell into that state when a person anxiously listens to the silence and begins to dream of meeting a policeman.   ,   ,   , ,   - ,  ,  ,          ,             . And suddenly I saw two human figures:        : a short man was walking quickly in an easterly direction, and a girl of about nine was running headlong along a cross street.       -  ,         . At the corner, as might have been expected, they collided, and then something indescribably vile happened:   ,     , ,   -    : the man cold-bloodedly stepped on the fallen girl and did not even turn around her loud moans.              . The story about this may not make much of an impression, but it was unbearable to see.         ,     . In front of me was not a man, but some kind of hellish Juggernaut.     ,  -  . I screamed, rushed forward, grabbed the young man by the collar and dragged him back to where people had already gathered around the moaning girl.  ,  ,       , ,       . He was not at all embarrassed and did not try to resist, but he threw such an angry look at me that I was covered in sweat, as if after a long run.        ,       ,     ,    . It turned out that the people crowding around the girl were her relatives, and soon they were joined by the doctor whom she ran to call to the patient. ,  ,   ,   ,       ,      . He announced that nothing serious had happened to the girl, that she was only scared.  ,       ,    . Here, it would seem, we could calmly disperse, but this was prevented by one strange circumstance. ,  ,    ,      . I immediately felt attracted to this young man hatred and disgust.          . And the native girls too, which, of course, was only natural.    , , ,   . However, I was struck by the doctor.    . He was a most ordinary doctor, colorless, neither young nor old, he spoke with a strong Edinburgh accent, and there was no more sensitivity in him than in a bagpipe.     , ,     ,      ,       ,   . So, sir.  , . The same thing happened to him as to all of us - as soon as he looked at my prisoner, he even turned pale with the desire to kill him then and there.     ,     ,       ,            . I guessed what he felt, and he guessed what I felt, and although, unfortunately, it was still impossible to kill the scoundrel, we still tried to punish him.  ,   ,   ,   , ,   ,  , -  ,      . We told him that we could disgrace him throughout London - and we will.   ,       ,   . If he has friends or a good name, we will see to it that he loses them.        ,    ,    . And all this time we with difficulty restrained the women who were ready to tear him to pieces like furies.         ,     ,  . I have never seen such hatred written on so many faces, and the scoundrel stood in the very center of this ring, maintaining an evil and contemptuous imperturbability - I saw that he was scared, but he behaved as cold-blooded as Satan himself.        ,    ,        ,     ,   ,   ,    ,   . If you have decided to profit from this accident, he said, then, unfortunately, I am powerless.       ,   ,   ,  , . A gentleman, of course, always prefers to avoid a scandal. , ,    . How much are you demanding?   ? In the end, we squeezed a hundred pounds out of him for the girls relatives;             ; he tried to resist, but realized that it could be worse, and backed down.    ,  ,    ,    . Now all that remained was to get the money, and do you know where he led us?     ,  ,    ? To this very door!    ! He took out the key, unlocked it, went in and a few minutes later carried out ten guineas and a cheque on Coutts Bank, made out to bearer and signed by a name which I will not mention, although it is the main point of my story;  ,  ,             ,      ,     ,   -      ; I will only say that this name is very well known and can often be found in the pages of newspapers.  ,             . The sum was not small, but the signature would have guaranteed even more money, provided, of course, that it was genuine.   ,          , ,   . I did not hesitate to tell the young man how suspicious it all looked:     ,     : only in novels does a man walk through a basement door at four oclock in the morning and then bring out someone elses cheque for almost a hundred pounds.            ,         . But he did not bat an eyelid.      . Dont worry, he said contemptuously.  ,    . Ill stay with you until the banks open and Ill collect the cheque myself.      ,    ,     . After which we all - the doctor, the girls father, our friend and I - went to my place and they sat with me until the morning, and after breakfast the whole company went to the bank.      ,  ,              ,        . I gave the check to the cashier and said that I had reason to believe it was counterfeit.      ,        . Not at all!   ! The signature turned out to be genuine.   .

- Well, well!  -! - Mr. Utterson noted.     .

I see you share my view, said Mr. Enfield.   ,    ,    . Yes, its a nasty story.   ,  . For the fellow was undoubtedly a complete scoundrel, and the man who signed the check is the embodiment of the highest integrity, is well known, and (what makes matters worse) belongs to what are called philanthropists.    , ,  ,  ,  ,     ,     (   )     . In my opinion, there is blackmail involved: -,   : an honest man paying enormous sums of money to prevent some of his youthful pranks from becoming public knowledge.     ,  -       . The blackmailers house  thats what I now call that house with the door.            . But even that, of course, doesnt explain everything!    , ,    ! Mr. Enfield sank into a reverie from which Mr. Utterson suddenly asked him:       ,      ,  :

- But you dont know if the person who signed the check lives there?    ,    ,  ?

In such and such a house?   - ?  objected Mr. Enfield.     .  Besides, I read his address on the check  some square.             - .

And you didnt make any inquiries about the house with the door?          ?  Mr. Utterson inquired.     .

 No.  . In my opinion, that would be dishonest.   ,    . I cant stand questioning:     : theres something of the Day of Judgment in making inquiries.     -   . Asking a question is like pushing a stone down a mountain:         : youre sitting quietly on the top, and the stone rolls down, dragging other stones with it;       ,    ,     ; some harmless old man, whom you never thought of, is digging in his garden, and the whole thing comes down on him, and the family has to change their name. -  ,        ,     ,      ,     . No, sir, I have a firm rule: , ,    : the more suspicious a case looks, the fewer questions I ask.    ,     .

An excellent rule, the notary agreed.   ,   .

However, I have been keeping an eye on this building, continued Mr. Enfield.        ,    . Strictly speaking, it cannot be called a residential house.    ,     . There are no other doors in it, and this one, and only occasionally, is used by our young man.     ,  ,     ,    . Three windows look out onto the courtyard, but they are on the second floor, and there are no windows at all on the ground floor;     ,      ,       ; these windows are always closed, but the glass in them is worn.    ,     . Smoke often comes out of the chimney, therefore, someone does live in the house.      , ,   - - . However, such evidence cannot be considered irrefutable, since the houses here are so close together that it is difficult to say where one building ends and another begins. ,     ,       ,   ,       .

The friends walked in silence for some time.     . Mr. Utterson was the first to speak.    .

Enfield, he said, this rule of yours is excellent.  ,   ,     .

Yes, I think so myself, replied Enfield.  ,     ,   .

Nevertheless, the notary continued, I would still like to ask you one question.    ,   ,   -      . I want to ask what was the name of the man who stepped on the fallen child.   ,   ,     .

Well, said Mr. Enfield, I dont see any reason why I should hide it.   ,    ,    ,     . His name is Hyde.   .

- Hm!  ! - responded Mr. Utterson.     . - And what does he look like?      ?

 It is difficult to describe his appearance.     . There is something strange about it... something unpleasant... simply disgusting. -     -   . No person has ever caused me such disgust, although I myself do not understand how it can be explained.          ,     ,   . Probably there is some ugliness in him, this impression is created at first glance, although I cannot determine why. ,    - ,       ,      . He has an unusual appearance, but this unusualness is somehow elusive.    ,    - . No, sir, I cant do it: , ,     : I cannot describe what he looks like.    ,   . And not because I have forgotten:   ,  : he is still standing before my eyes.        .

Mr. Utterson walked in silence for some time, thinking hard about something.      , -  .

Are you sure he had his own key?    ,      ? he asked finally.     .

Really Enfield began, even at a loss with amazement.      ,    .

Yes, of course, Utterson interrupted him.  , ,    . I realize I expressed myself poorly.    ,   . You see, I didnt ask you the name of the person whose signature was on the check only because I already knew it.  ,       ,     ,  ,     . The fact is, Richard, your story concerns me in some way.   , ,     -    . Try to remember if there were any inaccuracies in your story.  ,       - .

You should have warned me, Mr. Enfield replied with an offended air, but I was meticulously precise.      ,     ,      . The young man had a key.    . Moreover, he still has the key:  ,      : I saw him use it only a few days ago.  ,        .

Mr. Utterson sighed deeply, but made no reply, and his companion added a moment later:    ,    ,      :

- Here is another argument in favor of silence.        . I am ashamed that I turned out to be such a chatterbox.  ,     . We promise each other never to return to this topic again.          .

With the greatest pleasure, replied the notary.    ,   . I completely agree with you, Richard.      , .




  .


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