With special guest Longinus, the boys review a shandy from Founders, then continue their "shortcut to the classics" series with a review of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" -- a haunting 1886 novella that ripped the mask off Victorian respectability and exposed the brutal split within human nature.
Set in the same foggy, gaslit London as Sherlock Holmes, this story of duality, repression, and moral despair hit like a thunderclap on both sides of the Atlantic. But it’s more than just a gothic thriller — it’s a mirror held up to human nature and society itself.
We explore:
* The origins of the story and why Stevenson rewrote it from scratch after his wife’s critique
* The moral message: man is not one but two — and there may be no salvation for either
* The symbolism of Jekyll’s divided house, the hidden back door, and the cultured facade over inner rot
* The novella’s critique of Victorian England, where public virtue masks private vice
* Interpretive lenses: from Romans 7 and Christian theology to Jung’s shadow, Freud’s psychoanalysis, and even Star Trek
* Why Hyde isn’t some external monster, but a part of you — and why that makes the story more disturbing
* The tragedy of Jekyll: not that he loses control, but that he wants to
We also ask whether Stevenson’s bleak vision of human nature holds up — and contrast it with the biblical vision of a unified, redeemable self.
If you've ever wrestled with the dark side of human nature — or just want to understand why this little book still packs a punch — this episode is for you.
