The Scientific Quest for the Drug

The experimental process behind the transformative drug, including the purchase of chemicals, the failed attempts, and the desperate search for the pure salt.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Compounding of the Potion

The Compounding of the Potion The Ingredients Jekyll purchases a large quantity of a particular salt from a wholesale chemist. He has already prepared the tincture. Late one night, he compounds the elements, watching them boil and smoke together in the glass. The First Dose When the ebullition subsides, he drinks the potion. He experiences racking pains, then a sense of indescribable sweetness. He feels younger, lighter, and more wicked. He has successfully created the drug that separates his dual nature. The Discovery of Limitations He later learns that the drug is not discriminating; it only shakes the prisonhouse of his disposition. The quality of the transformation depends on his moral state. The drug can only separate, not purify.

The Need for Pure Salt

The Need for Pure Salt The Impurity Problem Jekyll soon discovers that the efficacy of the drug depends on an unknown impurity in the original batch of salt. He cannot reproduce the effect with new supplies. He must hoard the original salt. The Increasing Dosage Over time, he needs larger doses to achieve the same effect. He must double, and once even treble the amount, risking death. The drug's power wanes, and the transformations become more frequent. The Desperate Search After the murder, he sends Poole to all the wholesale chemists in London, trying to find the same quality of salt. Each sample is impure, and he writes frantic notes to Messrs. Maw, begging for the old supply.

The Failed Substitutes

The Failed Substitutes The Orders and Complaints Poole brings back many samples from different chemists, but each time Jekyll rejects them as impure. The notes become more desperate, pleading for the old drug. The cabinet is filled with papers and rejected packets. The Science of Failure Jekyll realizes that his original discovery was a fluke. The impurity that made the drug work is unknown, and he cannot replicate it. His scientific work has come to a dead end. The Final Dose He uses the last of the old powders to write his confession. After that, he will have no more drug, and the next transformation will be permanent. The scientific quest ends in failure and tragedy.

months before the story begins, late one night

throughout the period of transformations

the last week of Jekyll's life