<p>The generalized reverse space nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation, which can be derived from the parity-symmetric reduction of the Manakov system, is studied by the Darboux transformation (DT) method. To ensure the target equation’s integrability, we present both Lax pair and infinitely-many conservation laws. Starting from the two-fold DT, we reduce it to fulfill two symmetry conditions for the Lax pair, ultimately yield the <i>N</i>-step DT for the equation in a compact determinant form. As an application, the general <i>L</i>-soliton molecule pair-<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\((N{-}L)\)</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>N</mi> <mo>-</mo> <mi>L</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>-soliton solutions (<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(2{\le }L{\le }N\)</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mo>≤</mo> <mi>L</mi> <mo>≤</mo> <mi>N</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>), which include the soliton molecule pairs formed by arbitrary <i>L</i> soliton pairs and the common <InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\((N{-}L)\)</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>N</mi> <mo>-</mo> <mi>L</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> soliton pairs, are successfully obtained through our resulted DT. Furthermore, the general soliton molecule pairs can be reduced to <i>N</i>-soliton pairs, pure soliton molecule pairs, and their interactions. Particularly, the one-soliton pair solution is verified to admit the interactions between two head-on solitons. Finally, the generation mechanism and dynamics of the soliton molecule pairs are all discussed in detail.</p>