h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Duality of Human Nature According to 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' - A87873150
Author: SashaQ - happysad - happy towel day! - U9936370

Flea Market Rescue

Original Entry: Duality of Human Nature In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - A759279
Author: Alexandra Marie Chaser, Keeper of Voices, graduated Sunday, 8 June - and Very Happy - U186807

I quite liked this little essay so I've polished it up - see what you think.

Another good flea market rescue!

I think the year in which the novella was published should be mentioned near the start.

I was also surprised that the novella's genre, Victorian Gothic, wasn't mentioned at all. Are 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and its themes echoed in other novels written roughly around the same time such as Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (1891), 'The Island of Doctor Moreau' (1896) by HG Wells or even 'Dracula' (1897) by Bram Stoker?

<BB<

When I saw this in Peer Review, I thought "That was in Peer Review recently, wasn't it?"

It was in fact 2003.

I'll have a read through later and let you know what I think.

Thanks <BB< - I've added in a paragraph to explain more about the context of the novella itself

I didn't realise you'd seen Alexandra's article in Peer Review before, Gnomon. I hope you find it interesting reading my update of it.

Good entry.

There are three things I'm not quite happy with.

Capable only of choosing evil, he could not be held responsible for his actions in the same way that a person judged 'insane' would not be held responsible today.
-- there's nothing actually wrong with this but I feel it could be better phrased. I think if you changed "in the same ways that" with "just as" it would be less open to misinterpretation. Try it and see what you think.

Likewise Hyde, the evil person, could go his way, free from 'the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin' the id forever satisfied with no sense of morality to hinder him.
-- Either I'm reading this wrong or Mr Hyde's more upright twin was the id.

a threat to themself and to society
-- while I often use the word "themself" in speech, I don't think it is proper English. You should say "themselves" even for when referring to a single person.

I haven't read the article yet, will be giving it a careful study.

1st impressions simply from the title; RLS's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is interpretable as an early exercise in anti-drug propaganda or an allegory on the issue of mind altering drugs; the great emotional and emotive dualities are rooted in the fundamental mechanics of neural physiology.

I'm currently doing some readings from RLS, by the by, "The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Swanston Edition, Vol. 4" and "Across the Plains, With Other Memories and Essays".

The first is in a milieu not too far removed from Jekyll and Hyde, the second is interesting for his insights into the American Wild West of the latter 19th century.

I've made tweaks to those three points, thanks Gnomon

I've added a bit more detail to make it clear that this is not the only theme in the book, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts, ITIWBS

Sorry to take so long getting back to you, Sasha, got distracted reconfiguring my system, when, like so many, I had a monumental overload of updates dumped on the system, M 27 Jun 2016, straining my 8 gigabyte device beyond its safe operating capacity.

It was initially touch and go proposition bringing the system back up at all, much of my old software had to go, new software replacements installed, repeated free space secure wipes, etc. ad nauseum.

System is operating nominally again.

Back shortly.

Wow - doesn't sound good, but great to hear you're back online after working hard

If there's one thing I've learned from watching films, ITIWBS, it's that to never, ever say 'I'll be back' or 'I'll be back shortly' as you'll never return…

<BB<

This is an excellent article.

The only think that troubles me is the statement 'It is fantasy because in order for Dr Jekyll to transform into Mr Hyde, some evil must have existed in Dr Jekyll from the beginning.' The article later makes it clear there was always some evil in Dr Jekyll. Surely, the story is fantasy because it is not possible to separate the good and evil in a human being?

Thanks minorvogonpoet

As I read it, the sentence is saying that the notion that the story is simply about the good Dr Jekyll versus the evil Mr Hyde is fantasy, but I see how 'fantasy' isn't the best word to use as the story can also be called a fantasy...

Hmm - how about "This interpretation is as horrifying as it is oversimplified"?

We are really not required to solve the moral dilemma. It's a well experienced dilemma. We need not strain to get it right, merely report what we see.

Your conclusion "If one can learn to balance good with evil and rational with irrational behaviour, one can live a healthy, honest, and productive life free from the strains of trying to project a reputation that contradicts one's true nature" is cautious enough, but even still it smacks of the logic of my grandson who once announced "I know what a balanced diet means: some good stuff, some junk."

Do we really have to "balance in" irrational behaviour? We have to be prepared for it, even in ourselves, but our efforts are properly directed towards favouring the good, no? And as for "our true nature", at least in moral terms this must remain a mystery.

Berkeley knew this; A3472986

Thanks Recumbentman - excellent points to think about in improving this Entry.

I've made some tweaks to tone down even further the ambitious conclusions from the original author, but I need to ponder some more about how to rephrase "true nature". When I first read it, it made sense to me that there is the way other people see someone, and the way they see themself, but now I see that the phrase "true nature" doesn't really capture that...

Back again, much travail (including some health problems) later.




You're so right, BB.




A little on the era of the initial publication of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this was not long after the introduction of the first modern synthetic drugs into the pharmacopia during the 1870s, most of them during that period dangerous hypnotics and addictive narcotics, long enough after that the personality decay characteristic of chronic habituation, the relaxation of inhibitions characteristic of intoxication becoming itself habitual, resulting in eventual collapse of inhibitions, was becoming an issue of social concern.

Stevenson's treatment was an important early entry into the genre, more allegorical than specific.




I've just given the article a careful read and can't see much room for improvement, an excellent piece of writing well done.




Though its not on all fours, in connection of Bram Stoker's Dracula, one wouldn't want to forget his Renfield, introduced into the story apparently as a disinformational device, to the purpose of occasionally shocking the reader awake against a potential for suspension of disbelief on the premises of Dracula's imortality

Thanks for reading ITIWBS - sorry to hear about all the problems you've been struggling with, but good to see you back in h2g2

I've done some rephrasing, so "true nature" is now "inner self" and I hope that's a bit better...

I'm not sure the essay is saying quite what I thought it was when I first read it, as I was thinking of the example of being "in the closet" where people are happier if they are able to express their inner selves and be accepted, but the essay is perhaps more saying that you may as well tell other people about things that you like but which they would disapprove of, so they will think less of you but at least you don't have to pretend to be who they would like to think you are...

More pondering needed...

I've tweaked the ending some more, and hope that has a better flavour to it, but do say if not...

That's a very perceptive summing up you have now.

It seems to me that the fear of losing face is what drives the story. What Shakespeare called 'the bubble Reputation' -- a fragile projection that we feel compelled to safeguard at all costs. That's what makes the story still relevant in a post-'sin-vs-virtue' world.

Thank you

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