Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Dual Personalities and Dichotomies
📖🎭 If you’ve ever interacted with someone who could switch from an angel to a devil faster than you can say “split personality,” then congratulations, you’ve met a real-life Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Definition:
An individual who has two completely different sides, one very good and the other evil. The term originates from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), where a character can switch from the kind Dr. Jekyll to the malevolent Mr. Hyde by taking a special potion.
Fun Fact:
Did you know the novella wasn’t born from a Margherita-induced brainstorm but from a nightmare? Stevenson wrote the first draft in just a few days after the vivid dream hit him like a literary freight train!
Inspired Concept:
Leslie Purnell Davies also highlighted this duality in The Shadow Before (1971) with the quote, “We are all a mixture of good and evil, Jekyll and Hyde if you like.”
Related Terms:
- Alter Ego: Another side of oneself, particularly in contrast to one’s usual demeanor.
- Split Personality: Multiple identities or personas within a single individual.
- Two-Faced: Deceptive; presenting a different aspect to different people.
- Yin and Yang: The philosophy of dualities within one whole.
- Good Twin, Evil Twin: A trope from various stories where twins represent opposing traits.
Common Phrases & Proverbs:
- Beauty and the Beast: Outer beauty can hide inner grotesqueness.
- A wolf in sheep’s clothing: Someone who pretends to be something they are not, often with malicious intent.
- Every coin has two sides: There are always two aspects to every situation or person.
- A rose with thorns: Something or someone beautiful but with hidden dangers.
Quips and Quotes:
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“I’m extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.” — Dr. Jekyll’s lighter version by Margaret Thatcher.
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“I am a deeply superficial person.” — Andy Warhol embracing his inner Hyde.
Book Club Recommendations:
- Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 1886.
- Purnell Davies, Leslie. The Shadow Before. 1971.
- Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Double. 1866.
- King, Stephen. The Dark Half. 1989.
Movie Time:
- 🎬 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
- 🎬 Fight Club (1999)
- 🎬 Split (2016)
- 🎬 Black Swan (2010)
Let’s Lighten It Up!
Farewell Thought: We all harbor a little Jekyll and Hyde within us. The key is finding balance and embracing the multitudinous nature of our human existence. As Sir Robert Louis Stevenson might have quipped: “In life, sometimes you’re the potion, and sometimes you’re the Hyde.”
Author: P. S. Protagonist Published: October 10, 2023
