We Can't Live as Both Jekyll and Hyde

[DISCLAIMER]

Although I hadn’t read Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 Gothic horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, I heard of the tale in my youth. In particular, it was used in vernacular to refer to people with an outwardly good but also shockingly evil nature.

The tale follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde as Jekyll transformed himself and thereby indulged his vices without fear.

While the story is a work of fiction, Jekyll and Hyde were often referenced in my childhood when expressing moral dualism (the belief of the great complement of, or conflict between, the benevolent and the malevolent). This concept brings me to the topic of a book I’ve been reading.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

Rather than taking the path of Stoicism, rigorously practicing virtues associated with this philosophy, Jekyll found a way to essentially split himself into two distinct personalities. Regarding his dualistic nature, authors of The Daily Stoic quote Epictetus who stated (page 79):

These things don’t go together. You must be a unified human being, either good or bad. You must diligently work either on your own reasoning or on things out of your control—take great care with the inside and not what’s outside, which is to say, stand with the philosopher, or else with the mob!

Generally, I tend to reject dichotomous options if such possibilities are inflexible. However, I maintain that Epictetus’s proposition – which uses recommendatory must statements (e.g., you must be a unified human being) – represents a flexible binary option worth considering.

For instance, Jekyll apparently opted to pursue both good and bad traits. Using both rationality and irrationality, he defied Epictetus’s Stoic dictum. This eventually led to Hyde’s persona overtaking Jekyll’s. Regarding this matter, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 79):

We’re all complicated people. We have multiple sides to ourselves—conflicting wants, desires, and fears. The outside world is no less confusing and contradictory.

If we’re not careful, all these forces—pushing and pulling—will eventually tear us apart. We can’t live as both Jekyll and Hyde. Not for long, anyway.

For a time, Jekyll was able to maintain his identity along with that of Hyde’s. So, too, are you and I able to temporarily balance internal contradictions. Yet, eventually, as Epictetus states, you must be a unified human being. In conclusion, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 79):

We have a choice: to stand with the philosopher and focus strenuously on the inside, or to behave like a leader of a mob, becoming whatever the crowd needs at a given moment. If we do not focus on our internal integration—on self-awareness—we risk external disintegration.

Because we can’t live as both Jekyll and Hyde for too long, I invite you to consider what method of living most appeals to you. Will you focus on resolving internal conflict? Or will you instead expose yourself to the jeopardy of external collapse? The choice is yours to make.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit (edited), fair use

References:

Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

Hollings, D. (2024, August 25). Agreeing with irrationality. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/agreeing-with-irrationality

Hollings, D. (2023, April 22). Control. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/control

Hollings, D. (2024, October 21). Desire. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/desire

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

Hollings, D. (2024, August 29). Duality. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/duality

Hollings, D. (2025, May 20). Evil. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/evil

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use

Hollings, D. (2022, November 13). Fear. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fear

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (2022, November 22). Good man. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/good-man

Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2024, June 16). On virtue. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-virtue

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2024, April 16). Radioactive rationality. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/radioactive-rationality

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2024, December 5). Reasoning. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/reasoning

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Recommendatory should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/recommendatory-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2024, January 4). Rigid vs. rigorous. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rigid-vs-rigorous

Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Stoicism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/stoicism

Hollings, D. (2025, January 2). The choice is yours. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-choice-is-yours

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2022, November 14). Touching a false dichotomy. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/touching-a-false-dichotomy

Hollings, D. (2023, May 3). Want vs. need. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/want-vs-need

Hollings, D. (2025, May 3). What matters is our choices. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/what-matters-is-our-choices

Pict.AI. (2024, February 10). Make me a cover of the book Dr Jekyle Mr Hyde [Image]. Retrieved from https://pict.ai/images/mpQXg3/view

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Epictetus. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epictetus

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Robert Louis Stevenson. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Ryan Holiday. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Holiday

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde