Greetings,
Everyone has those days were they are the sweetest person in the world, where they look like they would give their last coin to feed their fellow man, their shirt to clothe them, and their life to defend them. They also have those days where they keep all the coins for themselves, clothe themselves like an emperor, and only think of what they need to secure for themselves. These see the two different sides of personality, they are simple, and they exist in everyone; no one is excluded. In some people it may not be about possessions, it may be reputation, or family association or other social factors, sometimes these factors are all bound together, but the two sides are there.
In some people there is a close relationship, not much difference, we can't tell when it is one side or the other. They often live lives where good and evil are not matters of concern, the matters of concern are whether they will survive. In others, they are generous and giving, gentle and caring, almost in the extreme, so too it must be noted that their other side is also to the extreme, even if it is never truly seen. There may occasionally be some glimpses, but only if a person looks very carefully.
In the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr Jekyll is a mild-mannered doctor, kind and considerate, a law-abiding citizen. Dr Jekyll takes a potion which turns him in to the monster, Mr Hyde. Hyde who commits murder and all sorts of other evil deeds. It would seem that the potion that Dr Jekyll formulated released Mr Hyde from within him, a second personality, an extreme other person hidden within him. The story looks at questions of personality, as Mr Hyde talks to Dr Jekyll tempting him to take the potion again and again, releasing Mr Hyde more and more making him stronger. We can look at this from different perspectives.
On the one hand, it depends which part of our personality we feed, that is the part of our personality that becomes the stronger of the two. Dr Jekyll feeds Hyde and he becomes strong, almost so much that he becomes irresistible. Mr Hyde indulges all of his passions, he performs deeds that Dr Jekyll never would, in many ways Mr Hyde is the more free of the two. Dr Jekyll is repressed, and part of his temptation to release Mr Hyde is the free indulging of his sensations, the freedom to do what he likes.
This is like the idea that the individual has two wolves within them one black and one white, one good and the other evil. They fight for control of the individual, the one attempting to devour the other. Each grows as a person grows and lives. The question is asked which one of the wolves becomes the strongest? The answer is: the one that you feed. Here again, we have two parts of the personality, one side and the other the strength of each is dependent on which is fed. Not a morality tale so to speak, but one to think about.
Another perspective is that in each of us there is a mild-mannered Dr Jekyll and a monstrous Mr Hyde present, and the gulf of difference between the two depends on the individual. Think about the most tolerant of people, those who do not rage against who are intolerant, but those who do things quietly not seeking praise. Think about those who do good because it is good, they do not think about the positive for themselves. This is their Jekyll, what would their Hyde be like?
History tells us that it is "the quiet ones that we need to watch." In every case of extreme homicide it is a person who people have labelled as "the quiet one". The individual who is the most dangerous is the one who is the unknown quality, because they do not go broadcasting it. You don't know their anger because they don't say it, they don't broadcast it to everyone. They will make their anger known when they believe it is necessary, and it will be known one way or another.
There are people in our lives who will be loud and they will broadcast their feelings on matters, left, and centre. They will tell us exactly how they feel about things with out any doubt in our minds whatsoever. There are people who will do in the moment, they will act in petty ways to satisfy themselves, attaining their small victories. These are not the people who have the "Jekyll and Hyde personality", they have a personality which is easy to read. You know when and for what reason they will react.
The Jekyll and Hyde personality is the quiet one, the tolerant one, who allows the small slights with indifference, who is polite and friendly. They will do things and be polite, they will remain quiet and not broadcast their opinions, but make them known. Just consider what could be bubbling away underneath if the other side of them is exactly the opposite.
Or maybe we should simply be a little friendlier and a little bit more polite to everyone we meet?
Cheers,
Henry.
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