Uniting Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are literary classic characters, who is actually one character, which is so woven into our consciousness that “Jekyll and Hyde” is now a popular metaphor for people exhibiting a split personality.  They first appeared in the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886.  Dr. Jekyll is good, civilized, and definitely human.  Mr. Hyde is evil, dangerous, and monstrous.  Dr. Jekyll unfortunately cannot predict when he will transform into Mr. Hyde.  Disclosure:  I have not read this novella; I had to look up the plot on Wikipedia.

            I also have not seen any movies based on the original story.  However, I have seen a Star Trek episode which the cast once said is their version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  In this episode, Captain Kirk is accidently split into to people.  One is his good side, and the other is his evil side.  The evil Captain Kirk, not surprisingly, almost immediately start causing serious trouble on the Enterprise.

            But the episode makes an interesting point.  Our evil side, when properly channeled, controlled, and disciplined, is actually an important part of us.  This is why the good Captain Kirk is too gentle and passive to give orders and therefore cannot function as captain.  If our evil side can bring about good, I guess it really isn’t evil.  Going forward, I will call this our aggressive side.  So the goal of the rest of the crew is not to kill the aggressive Kirk but to reunite that Kirk with the passive Kirk.

            By the way, these same themes are also explored by comic book legend Stan Lee through his superhero character, the Hulk.  Dr. Banner is a scientist who becomes a green-skinned, extremely strong monster called the Hulk whenever he becomes angry or desperate.   Throughout The Incredible Hulk, one of many adaptations of the character which was on TV in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the creature never kills or seriously hurts anyone.  In fact, the Hulk acts heroically.  The fact that Dr. Banner is a good man is likely the reason the Hulk is not a killer.  Yet he still lives in constant fear that the creature’s immense strength and destructive behavior will someday cause someone’s death.

            This passive/aggressive duality can be seen in our politics.  In public policy as proposed by politicians, there are “hard” values and “soft” values.  “Hard” values are toughness on crime, strong military, promoting hard work, and budgetary restraint.  “Soft” values are compassion, providing for the poor, money for social programs that help people, peace, and mercy.  Both types of values are important although sometimes individual situations call for one and not the other.

            If Robert Louis Stevenson was correct about all of us having this dual nature, then it is no surprise that his story became a horror classic.  Perhaps after reading this, you may be curious enough to want to get to know your Jekyll side and your Hyde side.  However, I won’t blame you if you would rather have Dr. Jekyll over for dinner.