MARY REILLY
THE UNTOLD STORY OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
(by Valerie Martin)
The authoress, Mary Reilly, begins with an account about her childhood. She had been shut up in a little cupboard under the stairs (by her father as we know from a later entry). But once he locked her in the closet and he also threw a rat in it. She was hurt by the rat on her hands and her neck until her mother freed her and then they left the house and they never saw him again.
BOOK I
Then the book is written as a diary by the grown up Mary Reilly. She worked in the household of Dr. Jekyll (she talks of him only as Master) as a housemaid. There are also Mrs. Kent (the cook of the house), Annie (doing the dishes,..
......
.), Mr. Bradshaw (caring for the clothes of Master), a boy (to bring messages to other places) and Mr. Poole (their boss and highest employed man in the household). One day Mary Reilly was blacking the grate when Master asked her where she had got the scars. He looked at the scars and he asked her to write down the story of it, after he had heard that she could read and write.
Mary Reilly worked hard every day, washing the carpets, the floor, doing the bed, the fire in the fireplace, dusting and so on. She worked from dawn till night and had only a half day off (Thursday). Mr. Poole was the only one who talked to Master and didn`t like others to communicate directly with Master. So Mary Reilly and Master kept their talk secret. Five days after Mary Reilly had handed the account to Master he talked to her about it.
Now she had to tell him that the man, who had shut her up with the rat was her father.
One day Mary Reilly and Cook decided to use a part of the yards as a herb garden and they were allowed to do so. Mary Reilly worked very hard and nearly went ill. Sometimes Mary Reilly heard Master come into the house on his way from the laboratory across the yard to his room. Sometimes she couldn`t identify the steps but she thought it had to be him.
One morning Mr.
Poole and Mr. Bradshaw moved the cheval glass from Master’s bedroom to the cabinet in the laboratory (only Mr. Poole was allowed to go into this room). This day Master asked Mary Reilly what she thought of ”a life in which you could act only as you please, when you please, with no consequences, no regrets, then wouldn’t you say yes ” to lead another life. Mary Reilly answered him that she didn`t believe that there were any actions without consequences which made Master thoughtful. When Mr.
Poole and Mr. Bradshaw carried the mirror to the laboratory Mary Reilly had to help and opened the doors for them. So she saw an old ” theatre ” in the first room (there was a Dr. Denman who had performed operations for students). The next room was divided, half of it with carpets, furniture and a fireplace and the other part with a desk.
Ten days later Mary Reilly and Master talked about the weeds in the herb garden.
Mary Reilly said that ”being wild, they have greater will to life ”. Master found it interesting and also found out that he was the only one who knew about how she had got those scars.
BOOK II
One day Master talked again with Mary Reilly Master said that he knew her secret and he wanted Mary Reilly to do something for him. Mary Reilly thought that it had to be very important to him to keep it secret. She had to bring a message to Mrs. Farraday.
Normally this would be a job for Mr. Poole but it seemed that Master didn`t even want him to know of it. So Mary Reilly had to go there on her free day (half day). Master trusted Mary Reilly very much. Mary Reilly went to the address in Soho. It was a dirty part of the town, where the poor lived.
Also many prostitutes lived there. Mrs. Farraday read the message and gave Mary Reilly the answer that all would be arranged in two weeks. The next day Mary Reilly told Master the answer and he thanked her. One day Master talked to Mary Reilly about his school (a school for poor people where also Mary Reilly had learnt to read. It was a project of Master.
He supported it with much money). They wanted to close it because of some disappeared funds.
One day Master wanted to see all in a group. Mary Reilly, Mr. Poole, Mr. Bradshaw, Cook, Annie and the knife boy, Peter.
Master told them that he would take an assistant and that this Mr. Edward Hyde should have complete liberty in his house and the laboratory. All were curious about this man. At first Cook saw him trough the mist on the street, small, black hair, clean shaven, stooped a little.
One day Master fell in the yard. Mary Reilly helped him out of his boot because his ankle hurt him.
Then Master was taken to his room. When Mary Reilly went out again to fetch the boot it had changed it`s place.
Master didn`t rest as long as he should and started soon to walk with a stick. One night Mary Reilly heard something and went to Master’s room but he wasn`t there. She remembered her childhood, cried and went to bed again.
One day Master fell down again.
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