Dr. Hastie Lanyon
Dr. Hastie Lanyon is a hearty, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman with a shock of prematurely white hair and a boisterous, decided manner. He is a respected physician whose house and crowded patients occupy Cavendish Square, the citadel of medicine. Lanyon is an old friend and school and college mate of both Mr. Utterson and Henry Jekyll, and the three were once inseparable friends. He is a thorough respecter of himself and of others, and his geniality, though somewhat theatrical to the eye, reposes on genuine feeling.
Friendship and Scientific Rift with Henry Jekyll
Lanyon's relationship with Jekyll has been strained for more than ten years. He tells Utterson that Jekyll "began to go wrong, wrong in mind" and became too fanciful, indulging in what Lanyon calls "unscientific balderdash" that would have estranged Damon and Pythias. Lanyon, a man of material and narrow views, has denied the virtue of transcendental medicine and derided those who pursue it. He admits he sees "devilish little" of Jekyll, though he continues to take an interest in him for old sake's sake. When Utterson asks if he has ever come across a protégé of Jekyll's named Hyde, Lanyon replies that he has never heard of him.
The Fatal Night: Witnessing the Transformation
On the night of January 9, Lanyon receives a registered letter from Jekyll that he initially believes to be the product of insanity. The letter contains elaborate instructions: Lanyon is to go to Jekyll's house, force open the cabinet door with the help of a locksmith, retrieve a specific drawer containing powders, a phial, and a paper book, and bring it back to his own consulting room in Cavendish Square. At midnight, he is to admit a man who will present himself in Jekyll's name and give him the drawer. Despite his doubts, Lanyon feels bound to comply, and he arms himself with an old revolver. When the visitor arrives, Lanyon is struck by the man's small stature, shocking expression, and the odd, subjective disturbance his presence causes—a feeling Lanyon initially attributes to personal distaste but later believes has a deeper cause. The visitor, dressed in clothes far too large for him, drinks a potion Lanyon has prepared from the drawer's contents. Before Lanyon's eyes, the man's features melt and alter, and he transforms into Henry Jekyll. Lanyon screams in terror, and the sight shakes him to his roots.
Death and Legacy
The experience destroys Lanyon. He tells Utterson that he has had a shock from which he will never recover, and that his days are numbered. His appearance changes dramatically: the rosy man grows pale, his flesh falls away, and he becomes visibly balder and older. More than these physical signs, Utterson notices a look in Lanyon's eye and a quality of manner that testify to some deep-seated terror of the mind. Lanyon refuses to discuss Jekyll, declaring himself "quite done with that person" and regarding him as dead. He seals a narrative of the events in an envelope addressed to Utterson, with instructions that it is not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Henry Jekyll. A week after taking to his bed, Lanyon dies. His sealed narrative, along with Jekyll's own confession, ultimately provides the key to the mystery that has consumed Utterson.
