Title: The Third Drug (also: The Three Drugs)
Author: E. Nesbit (Edith Nesbit)
Date of First Publication: February 1908
Place of Publication: The Strand Magazine
Type: Short Story
Characters: No Character
Themes: ANDROID; BYRONIC HERO; POSTHUMAN; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER
Critical Summary: The short story, “The Third Drug,” by E. Nesbit, is set in Paris, on a warm May night. Stumped by some puzzle, Roger Wroxham leaves his studio to travel and clear his head. As he walks through the street, he is assaulted by three men. After a brief scuffle resulting in Roger being stabbed, he is able to escape and flees down the street, taking refuge in an unlocked house. Inside, he is greeted by a doctor. The doctor takes Roger to a back room farther in the house to rest and have his wounds treated. Roger becomes restless and uneasy, and goes to find the doctor. The doctor reveals to Roger that the reason he feels restless is due to a poison he administered to him under the guise of a healing salve. The doctor explains that this is the first of three drugs he will administer him to. The doctor administers the second drug, the antidote to the poison, then ties up Roger, and explains his plan. He reveals that he organized the assault on Roger to bring him into the experiment. The doctor also explains that the three drugs will turn him into a superhuman being of superior intellect and strength. Upon success of the process, the doctor administers the first and second drugs on himself, but becomes too weak to administer the third drug on himself and dies. Roger is bound and trapped, but is, eventually, saved by the men who had previously assaulted him.
This short story clearly exhibits the Mad Scientist theme from Frankenstein as the doctor attempts to create superhuman beings, even after many failed attempts and killed subjects. None of his subjects were willing participants and had to be kidnapped in order to participate in the experiment. He misleads Roger into participating in his experiment, which are performed in his home, rather than a proper medical facility. The doctor’s far-fetched scheme eventually leads to his death. His experiments are incriminating and involve the kidnapping and murder of many innocent people, driving him further into the trope of Mad Scientist. His experiment can also be viewed as blasphemous as he attempts to play God and create a new breed of people. Roger plays the part of the Byronic Hero in this story. He is gloomy, often brooding about his problem throughout the story, and very intelligent, especially after he is transformed by the drugs. He exhibits traits similar to Victor Frankenstein in the sense of his intelligence and cynical disposition. Roger views himself as superior to most people and obsesses over his problem so much that he is almost unable to recognize danger to his own life. Similar to Roger, Victor Frankenstein exhibits traits of obsession as he attempts to create his creature. Roger also contemplates his own death many times throughout the story. This story exhibits the android and post-human themes as the doctor attempts to transform Roger into a superior human via the drugs. The doctor wishes to create a race of superior humans, starting with himself.
Administrative Notes: Raymond Alarcon, CSUF; Cynthia Alvarado (editing)