DR. SEWARD'S DIARY
5 June.--The case of Renfield grows more interesting the more I get to understand the man. He has certain qualities very largely developed, selfishness, secrecy, and purpose.
I wish I could get at what is the object of the latter. He seems to have some settled scheme of his own, but what it is I do not know. His redeeming quality is a love of animals, though, indeed, he has such curious turns in it that I sometimes imagine he is only abnormally cruel. His pets are of odd sorts.
Just now his hobby is catching flies. He has at present such a quantity that I have had myself to expostulate. To my astonishment, he did not break out into a fury, as I expected, but took the matter in simple seriousness. He thought for a moment, and then said, "May I have three days? I shall clear them away." Of course, I said that would do. I must watch him.
“Just now his hobby is catching flies. He has at present such a quantity that I have had myself to expostulate.”
Today, we might wonder why a medical doctor is allowing his patient to catch large amounts of flies. However, the germ theory of disease was relatively new; in 1876, Robert Koch demonstrated the link between anthrax and the anthrax bacillus. In 1882, Koch identified the bacillus that causes tuberculosis. He received a Nobel Prize for that work over twenty years later, in 1905.
Houseflies and blowflies were definitely seen as a nuisance when Renfield was building up his miniature menagerie. However, as the Nobel committee demonstrated many times, there is usually a lag between when a discovery is made, and when it is widely accepted by scientists. It takes even longer for behaviours to change. The flies that annoyed Seward were not widely viewed as a source of disease until around 1910, when "Swat the Fly" campaigns were seen in several North American cities.
Posted by: Most Significant | June 05, 2022 at 08:17 PM
Point of clarification: the first Nobel prizes were awarded in 1901. However, recent Nobels definitely follow a pattern of recognizing discoveries and advances made decades earlier, perhaps to avoid the pitfall of making a bad award.
https://slate.com/technology/2012/10/who-is-the-least-deserving-winner-of-a-nobel-prize.html
Posted by: Most Significant | June 06, 2022 at 11:46 AM