March

March is the season of the story's final crisis, the month in which the last night of the mystery unfolds. It is a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, and flying wrack of the most diaphanous and lawny texture. The wind made talking difficult and flecked the blood into the face, and it seemed to have swept the streets unusually bare of passengers. Mr. Utterson thought he had never seen that part of London so deserted, and he was borne in upon by a crushing anticipation of calamity. The square, when they got there, was full of wind and dust, and the thin trees in the garden were lashing themselves along the railing. This March night is the setting for the final, decisive action: Poole and Utterson, armed with an axe and a kitchen poker, force their way into the cabinet, where they find the body of Edward Hyde, still twitching, with a crushed phial in his hand and the strong smell of kernels in the air. The season thus marks the end of the dual existence, the death of Hyde, and the disappearance of Henry Jekyll, whose confession is then read to explain the entire case.

The Season of the Final Crisis

March is the month of the story's climax, the time when the long-simmering mystery reaches its breaking point. The narrative specifies that the last night occurs in March, a season of wild, cold weather that mirrors the turmoil within the house. The wind is described as making talking difficult and flecking the blood into the face, and the streets are unusually bare of passengers. Mr. Utterson, walking to the square, is conscious of a crushing anticipation of calamity, and the square itself is full of wind and dust, with the thin trees in the garden lashing themselves along the railing. This atmospheric description establishes March as a season of violent, unsettled forces, both natural and supernatural.

The Events of the Last Night

The March night is the setting for the final, decisive action of the plot. Poole, the butler, comes to Mr. Utterson's house in a state of terror, and they return to Dr. Jekyll's house. There, they find the servants huddled together in fear, and Poole leads Utterson to the laboratory building. They hear a footfall moving to and fro along the cabinet floor, and Poole reveals that the creature inside has been crying night and day for a specific medicine. Armed with an axe and a kitchen poker, they break down the door. Inside, they find the body of Edward Hyde, still twitching, dressed in clothes far too large for him, with a crushed phial in his hand and the strong smell of kernels in the air. Utterson declares that Hyde is a self-destroyer, and they search the building for any trace of Henry Jekyll, finding none. The season thus marks the end of the dual existence, the death of Hyde, and the disappearance of Jekyll.

Thematic Significance of the Season

March, as a season of transition from winter to spring, carries thematic weight in the story. It is a time of violent change, of the breaking of old forms and the emergence of new ones. The wild, cold weather of the March night mirrors the violent transformation that has been occurring within Jekyll and Hyde, and the final crisis that brings the dual existence to an end. The season also marks the end of the mystery, as the confession is read and the truth is finally revealed. March thus serves as the season of judgment, the time when the consequences of Jekyll's experiments and Hyde's crimes are finally faced.