When I wrote my last 19th-Century Lit. essay (ironically enough, the second one), I analysed the problem with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being that Jekyll believes the separation of his 'Evil' side will allow his 'Good' side to flourish unhindered. This of course is a mistake because Hyde is responsible for Jekyll's animal instincts - violent, lustful, uninhibited. In a post-Darwin age when "The Descent of Man" had been on shelves for 11 years, Stevenson's story juxtaposed the intellectual, upper-class doctor against his neolithic ancestry; Hyde is described as "ape-like", with a "swart growth of hair" on his wrists. The more time they spend apart, the further opposite they grow until the one is feeding parasitically on the other. The book's last line, "I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end" is an acknowledgment not only from Jekyll that Hyde is now dominant, but also from Stevenson, simultaneously offing the character and the story
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As a writer, that's how I'd possibly approach Two-Face in a DCU reboot. Not by making him a devout Christian, but simply add to his childhood that he'd been an avid student of Bible studies who sees (but doesn't obsess over) Biblical analogues in his tragedy.
Unfortunately, the DCnU doesn't do "subtlety" very well (or at all), so we might just be treated to a re-imagined version of Denny O'Neil's Calvinist!Harv. *shudder*
What? No, that other person's completely unaffliated. I'm the guy who showed up to make fun of the Penny Plunderer months ago, then disappeared without so much as an offer of breakfast. That guy.
Something I've been wondering about when it comes to Jekyll and Hyde is why hadn't Jekyll's "good" side become MORE "good" if he'd isolated and detached himself from the parts of himself which became Hyde? It seems like all he succeeded in doing was creating a secondary personality of animalistic instincts (ala Altered States) which he still retains in balance as Jekyll, which I recall remaining pretty well unchanged from the way he was depicted before taking the formula. In this respect, the DCAU Harvey seems more successful in that he's been suppressing that side for so long that, up until this episode, there's never even the barest hint of BBH's baser instincts or whatever.
While Two-Face is a union of the two halves, the problem is that it's a broken union, one that cannot function without the coin. In Eye of the Beholder, the coin served as a tie-breaker between the deadlocked sides, and in classic comics, it served as a crutch for him to function as a human being. Once I finish this review, I'll be posting the first Two-Face
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>Something I've been wondering about when it comes to Jekyll and Hyde is why hadn't Jekyll's "good" side become MORE "good" if he'd isolated and detached himself from the parts of himself which became Hyde?
Because he hadn't really seperated his two natures, he'd just created an outlet and it gradually developed it's own personality independent of him. Actually, one could argue that he never even fully loses control, since he spends a good chunk of the book stuck as Hyde but retaining his own personality and trying to change back. The whole thing about Hyde being stunted and undeveloped is just symbolism.
Then conversely, could we not have the symbolism of another side of post-formula Jekyll, one of pure control and ideals devoid of the baser instincts (which could also be seen as one's basic humanity)?
If we apply that to DCAU Harvey, I suppose that was where the Judge comes in.
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Unfortunately, the DCnU doesn't do "subtlety" very well (or at all), so we might just be treated to a re-imagined version of Denny O'Neil's Calvinist!Harv. *shudder*
On an unrelated note: Hey, I'm back or something.
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-That Other Person
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While Two-Face is a union of the two halves, the problem is that it's a broken union, one that cannot function without the coin. In Eye of the Beholder, the coin served as a tie-breaker between the deadlocked sides, and in classic comics, it served as a crutch for him to function as a human being. Once I finish this review, I'll be posting the first Two-Face ( ... )
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Because he hadn't really seperated his two natures, he'd just created an outlet and it gradually developed it's own personality independent of him. Actually, one could argue that he never even fully loses control, since he spends a good chunk of the book stuck as Hyde but retaining his own personality and trying to change back. The whole thing about Hyde being stunted and undeveloped is just symbolism.
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If we apply that to DCAU Harvey, I suppose that was where the Judge comes in.
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