# XVIII: Vanished explained — The Dark Other

> Chapter companion for The Dark Other by Stanley G. Weinbaum.

## What happens

Patricia Lane, unable to reach Nicholas Devine by telephone, grows increasingly anxious and seeks Dr. Horker's advice. Horker suggests writing a letter to Nick's last known address, speculating that he will leave a forwarding address. Pat writes a brief, hopeful letter and posts it, but her mood darkens again after seeing the Doctor's hypochondriac patient leave.

## Themes in this chapter

### Duality of Self

Dr. Horker discusses the Jekyll-and-Hyde concept and Stevenson's idea that liberating evil can also release good, reflecting Nick's dual nature.

### Psychological Trauma

Pat's panic and anxiety over Nick's disappearance, and her emotional volatility, highlight her psychological distress.

### Science vs. Superstition

Pat questions the efficacy of psychiatry, comparing doctors to Salem witches, while Horker defends the medical profession's occasional successes.

## Character check-ins

### Patricia Lane

Frantically tries to contact Nick, then consults Dr. Horker; writes a letter to Nick expressing hope and love.

### Dr. Carl Horker

Calms Pat, suggests writing a letter, discusses the Jekyll-and-Hyde concept and the limits of psychiatry.

### Nicholas Devine

Has vanished; Pat cannot reach him by phone and fears he has left without a forwarding address.

### Mrs. Lane

Briefly appears opening mail, exchanges a few words with Pat about Dr. Horker.

### Mueller

Mentioned as having brought Pat home the previous night and as a potential tracer of Nick's whereabouts.

## Key lines

> He doesn't answer! I'm too late

Pat thinks she has missed her chance to reach Nick.

_Opening line expressing Pat's despair._

> Sometimes even my psychiatry is puzzled to explain how you can be so clever and so stupid, so self-reliant and so dependent, so capable and so helpless—all at one and the same time.

Dr. Horker tells Pat she is a bundle of contradictions.

_Horker's observation of Pat's paradoxical character._

> Jekyll and Hyde! ... Is that possible?

Pat asks if a person can truly have two separate personalities like in the story.

_Pat connects Nick's behavior to the classic tale._

> We do cure people occasionally. You'll admit that.

Horker defends psychiatry by noting that sometimes treatments work.

_Horker's rebuttal to Pat's skepticism._

> So did the Salem witches—occasionally.

Pat retorts that even historical witch trials had occasional 'successes.'

_Pat's sharp comparison between psychiatry and superstition._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_dark_other_se/chapters/xviii-vanished
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_dark_other_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_dark_other_se/chapters