A Sentence of Sorts

The Pseudoscientists, Act II, Scene 5: Dr. Lanyon and the Dinner Thing

(Summary: Jekyll tries to confront Lanyon about his treatment of the Lodgers. We learn that Lanyon hopes to sabotage the Exhibition so that Jekyll will have no choice but to abandon the Society altogether and realize that Lanyon was right all along. Hyde is super bored.)

As soon as he arrives for the party, Jekyll seeks out Lanyon so that he might confront him. Or … he seeks him out as soon as he’s done greeting the hosts and the other guests and making witty, innocuous banter and giving the impression that he is in terribly good spirits even though he isn’t. This gives him just enough time to greet Lanyon cordially–as they are very much in public and open hostility would be out of sorts–before they are all called in to dinner.

Hyde sulks in shadow-form like a stir-crazy child. He hates dinner parties and he knows Jekyll does too (they share a mind, after all!). Is this what he’s resigned himself to, he asks? A life stretched out before him, a desert of dullness filled only with chit-chat and caviar and … of course, that smiling snake Lanyon.

Luckily, the two of them are seated near each other. The dinner table is also no place for hostility, so Jekyll tries to bring up the subject in a more subtle way. He compliments Lanyon on his extraordinary dedication to the Society, that he was so eager to see that things were running smoothly that he could not even wait for Jekyll’s permission to do so. He then briefly gives an anecdote of Lanyon’s interference earlier, and then feigns surprise when the other guests find the behavior inappropriate. “Invasive? Lanyon? No, I am sure he had only the best intentions in mind!" 

The guests make fun of Lanyon for sticking his nose in other people’s business, but Lanyon retaliates: He was only there to check on their new guest Dr. Frankenstein. He pulls the conversation away from himself and towards Frankenstein, and the other guests follow like lemmings. And there is plenty to attack with Frankenstein: his horrific experiments, his hermetic lifestyle, his strange behavior. Every comment hits Jekyll like a personal insult, but he must keep his composure.

Lanyon wonders aloud what on earth could drive a man to such frightful, unholy work. He seems intelligent after all. Why could he not be content with normal areas of study, like medicine or anthropology or phrenology, even! A good, hard science studying reasonable things, alongside reasonable people. What happens in a man’s heart that makes him do such a thing?

Hyde retorts, "Who cares? It’s fun, which isn’t exactly your area of study!”

Somehow Jekyll can’t bring himself to be so flippant. He feels unsettled, but he shrugs, as if he doesn’t know exactly who Lanyon is really talking about. “I am sure I don’t know. I cannot claim to understand the workings of the human psyche. I am not a mind-reader, like you!" 

This proves to be a smart reply, for the time being. The guests find the rivalry between Jekyll and Lanyon entertaining, and the tension is briefly dissipated. But secretly, Lanyon’s taunt has worked its way under Jekyll’s skin. Now that his relationship with Hyde has gone so sour, he is beginning to wonder why he ever created him in the first place.

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The party stretches long into the night. Our shadow Hyde has draped himself over a fancy dresser in a state of pure, bored agony.

In the parlor room, Jekyll gets just the shortest chance to confront Lanyon directly. He knows they are not on the best of terms, but does Lanyon really have to go and pull the poor Lodgers’ souls apart?

“I only go after their souls because they’re so easy to get at! Yours is the real prize, of course, but I have learned from experience that the key to your soul is locked away in some, oh, Swiss vault somewhere.” 

Jekyll is a little wary of that Swiss reference, but he counters: “One must take precautions with one’s soul when you would have it extracted and set atop a spike at London Tower.” 

“London Tower … ! Henry, can you believe there was a time when we actually trusted each other?” Lanyon leans in toward Jekyll, who doesn’t have time for Lanyon’s banter right now. He persists in his original point: In order to give the Lodgers a fair chance, Lanyon MUST agree to let them have privacy until the exhibition. He accents his point with a particularly painful sounding cough. 

Lanyon leans back coldly. “What’s this invalid act all about? Hoping to rack up some sympathy votes at the Exhibition?” Jekyll is rather clearly not faking his sickness, but Lanyon is convinced it is all an act to make himself look like some kind of martyr for science.

This conversation is draining on Jekyll. From his shadow-place, Hyde perks up. This is all very much like the day before, when he was arguing with Frankenstein. Could he convince Jekyll to take the potion again, this time?

Lanyon comments that Jekyll hasn’t been drinking this evening–a rarity for him. But this is only reasonable, as he must have his wits about him to plan for his upcoming Exhibition! He rallies the other guests so that everyone else is also talking enthusiastically about the event. He leads the conversation, so that everyone speaks of the show as if it were some sort of minor curiosity, a circus side show.

This may have been Lanyon’s plan all along, to see that the Exhibition goes terribly, which would finally make Jekyll realize that Lanyon was right all along, and that he should give up this whole Society thing once and for all.

Lanyon insists, "I am dreadfully excited for it. And I know you all will come to see it, won’t you? We all must show our support for favorite mad scientist!" 

Jekyll laughs heartily at this.

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(Summary: Hyde tries to take advantage of Jekyll as he did before. Jekyll is stubborn this time, but then Hyde learns a new trick… .)

Back in his study, Jekyll collapses onto his chair in a mess of anger and exhaustion. Hyde sees this as his big chance–as tired as he is, Jekyll’s defenses are surely down! He tries to talk to him again, tries to coax him into drinking a glass of wine, but Jekyll is surprisingly resistant. His encounter with Lanyon has made him dead-set on making sure the Exhibition goes perfectly. He will start on that, he mutters, first thing tomorrow. For now, sleep.

Jekyll’s exhaustion is so complete that all he can do is slump over his desk like a sloth. And nothing Hyde can do can wake him! 

Hyde fumes. So close and yet so far! He can even see a vial of the potion on Jekyll’s desk. In his mirror form, he tries to grasp at the mirror image of the potion … which does nothing to effect the potion in the real world, of course. But he tries and tries and then something strange happens–for a brief moment, he manages to control Jekyll’s body (Jekyll’s eyes flash green when this happens). Hyde is at first totally perplexed by what just happened, but then he decides to use it to his advantage.

Jekyll himself is a little too delirious to know what’s happening. He looks around in confusion … and then Hyde tries again, this time with more success. He manages to get Jekyll up and move him over to his desk before Jekyll seizes control again. He understands what’s going on now and tries to fight it*, but he is too wobbly to retain control and Hyde manages to drink the potion. Then he is off.

*I think it is important that Jekyll FIGHTS him–he isn’t shown as the frightened, helpless innocent being taken over by his dark side. That would villainize Hyde too much and also make Jekyll seem a little less clever. Also for story’s sake, Jekyll shouldn’t really be seen as helpless until the end of act II. Oh and overall, this plot point serves to give Jekyll an additional reason to shut off Hyde altogether after this next night.