is one of Dr. Jekyll’s professional contemporaries and an old friend of both he and Utterson, though at the outset of the story, he is revealed to have qualms with Jekyll’s scientific methods, calling them “devilish”. Later, we realize that Lanyon’s disapproval comes from fear of the new world that Jekyll’s ideas threaten to create. Lanyon’s shock, at witnessing the “unnatural” transformation of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde is so extreme, that he dies and passes on the burden of his secret to Utterson.
Dr. Hastie Lanyon Quotes in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Hastie Lanyon or refer to Dr. Hastie Lanyon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
“He began to go wrong, wrong in mind; and though of course I continue to take an interest in him for old sake's sake, as they say, I see and I have seen devilish little of the man. Such unscientific balderdash," added the doctor, flushing suddenly purple, "would have estranged Damon and Pythias."
Related Characters:
Dr. Hastie Lanyon (speaker), Dr. Jekyll
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
"I have had a shock," he said, "and I shall never recover. It is a question of weeks. Well, life has been pleasant; I liked it; yes, sir, I used to like it. I sometimes think if we knew all, we should be more glad to get away."
Related Characters:
Dr. Hastie Lanyon (speaker)
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
What he told me in the next hour, I cannot bring my mind to
set on paper. I saw what I saw, I heard what I heard, and my soul
sickened at it; and yet now when that sight has faded from my
eyes, I ask myself if I believe it, and I cannot answer.
Related Characters:
Dr. Hastie Lanyon (speaker), Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde
Related Symbols:
Letters and Documents
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde LitChart as a printable PDF.
Dr. Hastie Lanyon Character Timeline in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Hastie Lanyon appears in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Mr. Utterson goes to visit his friend Dr. Lanyon, whose house is always crowded with eager patients. The butler brings Mr. Utterson straight to...
(full context)
Mr. Utterson is glad of this explanation from Dr. Lanyon because he thinks that his dispute with Dr. Jekyll is based on a difference of...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...him. Jekyll comments that the only person who’s been more upset with him is Dr. Lanyon. Jekyll mentions Lanyon’s strong opinion that Jekyll is involved in “scientific heresies” and adds that...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...months. In January, Dr. Jekyll holds a dinner party for some friends including Utterson and Lanyon and it seems just like old times. But the next three times Utterson tries to...
(full context)
Lanyon confesses immediately that he has had a terrible shock and will die within weeks. He...
(full context)
...answers. Jekyll replies in a long, tragic letter. He says first that he doesn’t blame Lanyon for their falling out but also doesn’t want to rekindle their friendship. In fact, Jekyll...
(full context)
Dr. Lanyon is, as he predicted, dead within a couple of weeks. After the funeral, Utterson, in...
(full context)
Chapter 9
Jekyll goes on to urge Lanyon to postpone all other engagements and to take a carriage directly to his house. Poole...
(full context)
Dr. Jekyll adds that he trusts Dr. Lanyon completely, and he asks him to think of his friend, who is in a terrible...
(full context)
Dr. Lanyon is sure that his old friend has gone mad but is determined to follow his...
(full context)
...occasional, one word remark, exclaiming “total failure!!!” and other such negative statements. Reading all this, Lanyon grows increasingly sure that Dr. Jekyll’s is a case of insanity and he prepares himself...
(full context)
Lanyon receives a visitor at midnight, and meets him on the porch. The visitor is a...
(full context)
The visitor is very excitable and demands impatiently whether Lanyon has the drawer. Lanyon maintains his patience and shows the man a chair, and the...
(full context)
The visitor asks Lanyon for a graduated glass and Lanyon fetches one for him. Then the man makes a...
(full context)
...out a cry and reels and gasps. What follows is a physical transformation that causes Lanyon to scream with terror. When it is finished, Henry Jekyll stands before him. Lanyon then...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...to drive to an inn and, keeping as much undercover as possible, write to Dr. Lanyon (the letter from Jekyll that is mentioned in Lanyon's letter of Chapter 9). After the...
(full context)
Lanyon’s fear and condemnation affects Jekyll (who has transformed back from Hyde into Jekyll before Lanyon’s...
(full context)
