Spock's "Dagger of the Mind"?

[KeepOnTrekking]

We all know this episode. The title comes from Macbeth.

"A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?"

It's fairly obviously referring to the falsely induced memories that Dr. Adams put into Kirk's brain as well as others with the neural neutralizer.

As I have been rewatching episodes with a "Spock-centric" interest in how he develops through out the stories, I've always did a doubletake over his line on the Bridge with McCoy about "Where there are no emotions, there is no need for violence." He is referring to his own planet of Vulcan. Is that statement true or a "dagger of the mind" that Spock has grown up believing as truth in his own mind?

Does Spock indeed believe that Vulcans have no emotions instead of merely controlling them? Evidence from "Yesteryear" would point to this conclusion. Spock tells his younger version that "What you do not yet understand is that Vulcans do not lack emotions. It is that ours are merely controlled." Being a human/Vulcan hybrid (if not the first), could Spock be blaming ALL of his emotions on his human side? Does he really believe that his Vulcan side has none present? It would appear so. For the adult Spock to risk contaminating the timeline to tell this to young Spock, he must have felt it a fair trade-off to young Spock for when he was about to lose his confidante, I-Chaya.

In "All Our Yesterdays," Spock goes back 5000 years into the past and begins experiencing his ancient Vulcan ancestors "feelings." (Similar to the brief outburst the Intrepid crew "felt" when they died by the giant amoeba in "Immunity Syndrome.") Having never gone back into the past that far, Spock has been exposed to a new phenomena...the strong racial emotions that almost destroyed Vulcan before the time of Surak. He now has to deal with the realization that his Vulcan side is just as responsible for his emotions as his human one. He comes across very honest with the simple statement, "I have lost myself." He is unsure of who he is any longer. All this time he has blamed his human half unfairly on this "emotional witch hunt," if you will, only to find out that it has been unfairly accused and some of the blame lies with his Vulcan side. Spock is forced to consider ALL our his yesterdays for the truth...his Vulcan yesterdays as well as his human ones.

"All Our Yesterdays" is often overlooked as a third season puzzle-box story where Spock "falls in love." I see it as a story where Spock finally learns another grain of truth about himself. McCoy and Spock are isolated to discover this truth while Kirk is out of the immediate action providing the witch hunt analogy which helps map out the emotional witch hunt while Spock is realizing that his human half has been falsely accused of all of Spock's emotions problems during his life time.

It's a very nicely choreographed episode where Spock's "icy" Vulcan outward persona can be symbolized by the Sarpeidon Ice Age. The human McCoy is dying in the sterile cold. They make their way into the warm caves where McCoy begins to recover and Spock begins to become emotional, fall in love, eat meat, and lots of other human things. But they are things also in common with his Vulcan ancestors. The harsh red lighting of the caves kind of resembling a Vulcan look is nice foreshadowing of the revelation that this, too, is part of being Vulcan at one time. Like pon farr, this, too, is part of the Vulcan heart and soul. Modern Vulcans have just learned to "control" their emotions with Surak's teachings. But the emotions ARE present. Spock learns something about himself that contradicted what he stated back in "Dagger of the Mind."

I've learned to take 2 episodes which I merely found as "blah" and appreciate them in a whole new light. Some might dismiss it as "ret-conning" but that's the fun of taking what's already there and learning to see it in a new way. I've definitely been finding a few as I go through these shows again.

 

[Sky]

I'm rereading Christopher Bennett's Ex Machina, which has Spock exploring these questions quite a lot. You might want to read it, if you haven't yet.

 

[JustKate]

It's weird. Throughout TOS, Spock and McCoy and pretty much everybody (with some exceptions) talks as though Vulcans don't have emotions, and yet clearly they do. So my guess is that this was just a little bit of hyperbole on the part of the writers - that early on in the series, they conceived of Spock as "emotionless" and they kept that up even after the character began displaying emotion, or that this was their way of adding drama. It was unnecessary, IMO, but then again it was also unnecessary to have McCoy go into his "You don't feel anything, do you, Spock?" speech every 3rd or 4th episode, yet they did that, too.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Sturgeon's approach to "Amok Time" was bloody brilliant - he gives us the first look at this homeworld of Spock's where the folks are so notoriously rational and the plot revolves entirely around Vulcan lust, jealousy, snobbery and deceit of various kinds - including what amounts to a murder plot.

 

[T'Bonz]

As a human, watching Vulcans suppressing emotions is of interest since in a lesser way, we try to control our sometimes inappropriate ones.

But as a sci-fi fan, I wonder what things would have been like had they made the Vulcans truly unemotional and purely rational. No suppression, and no comprehension of emotions.

It might have been interesting, especially given the Sarek-Amanda marriage and Spock. Would Spock's road had been harder or easier had Vulcans truly not had emotions? Non-emotional beings wouldn't taunt, on one hand, or be arrogant or snobbish, but on the other hand, there is no love and there would be no compassion for his dual nature.

I think he would have just been an enigma to his people, but would have avoided a lot of hassle had Vulcans truly been unemotional.

 

[Alienesse]

I think it's better that Vulcans do have emotions because it gives Vulcan characters more depth. And it's easier to relate to them because we too have to struggle with our emotions every day. A large part of Spock's charm is exactly that: his inner battle to control his emotions, which are further enhanced by his Human ancestry, and the elegant way in which he manages to live with that burden. A lot of the times when Dr. McCoy criticized him for his apparent lack of emotional response, I couldn't help thinking that, had Spock been entirely human, he would have felt hurt by that criticism. And maybe he actually did.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I'm rereading Christopher Bennett's Ex Machina, which has Spock exploring these questions quite a lot. You might want to read it, if you haven't yet.

That's for the tip!! I stopped buying ST novels shortly after the DS9 line came out. Too many titles per month to afford at the time. TOS being my favorite, I have been looking through the used bookstores lately and picking some of the older ones up. I'll keep my eyes peeled for it!!

So my guess is that this was just a little bit of hyperbole on the part of the writers

Yeah, they did that a lot in the beginning. Supposedly all logic but yet he was smiling or yelling. Some things I've just learned to mentally edit as long as it wasn't a major plot point. You'd think that Spock would realized that emotions do come from both his sides but sometimes the obvious answers are the hardest ones to realize...or accept.

Sturgeon's approach to "Amok Time" was bloody brilliant

Amen to that!! I'm part of the group that thinks that Sturgeon intended that T'Pring and Spock were going to do it right there in front of everybody after the ceremony. Otherwise, why the invitation to come to the ceremony but the redundant warnings of their rituals. T'Pau was almost challenging to the humans when she declared that this was the Vulcan heart and soul and their way of doing things. What exactly did she expect them to see since this was said before T'Pring's challenge was issued??!!

Non-emotional beings wouldn't taunt, on one hand, or be arrogant or snobbish,

Agreed!! The scene of the school boys taunting Spock in "Yesteryear" was always disturbing to me in that they seemed to display their emotions so openly. I liked the ST XI version a little better. It came across as a little more intellectual rather than dripping with emotional sarcasm like the animated show.

I think it's better that Vulcans do have emotions because it gives Vulcan characters more depth. And it's easier to relate to them because we too have to struggle with our emotions every day. A large part of Spock's charm is exactly that: his inner battle to control his emotions, which are further enhanced by his Human ancestry, and the elegant way in which he manages to live with that burden. A lot of the times when Dr. McCoy criticized him for his apparent lack of emotional response, I couldn't help thinking that, had Spock been entirely human, he would have felt hurt by that criticism. And maybe he actually did.

I think Spock's response in "All Our Yesterdays" proves your point: "I don't like that! I don't think I ever did and now I'm sure of it!!" I kind of like to see Spock not so much as a Vulcan but as a human being (probably the first) who has to "go where no man has gone before" and learn how to live with this alien Vulcan side.

 

[Alienesse]

I think it's better that Vulcans do have emotions because it gives Vulcan characters more depth. And it's easier to relate to them because we too have to struggle with our emotions every day. A large part of Spock's charm is exactly that: his inner battle to control his emotions, which are further enhanced by his Human ancestry, and the elegant way in which he manages to live with that burden. A lot of the times when Dr. McCoy criticized him for his apparent lack of emotional response, I couldn't help thinking that, had Spock been entirely human, he would have felt hurt by that criticism. And maybe he actually did.

I think Spock's response in "All Our Yesterdays" proves your point: "I don't like that! I don't think I ever did and now I'm sure of it!!" I kind of like to see Spock not so much as a Vulcan but as a human being (probably the first) who has to "go where no man has gone before" and learn how to live with this alien Vulcan side.

Right! I'd forgotten about the scene in "All Our Yesterdays".
I enjoyed seeing Spock finally express his feelings and frankly, McCoy deserved what he got.

 

[T'Girl]

Amen to that!! I'm part of the group that thinks that Sturgeon intended that T'Pring and Spock were going to do it right there in front of everybody after the ceremony. Otherwise, why the invitation to come to the ceremony but the redundant warnings of their rituals. T'Pau was almost challenging to the humans when she declared that this was the Vulcan heart and soul and their way of doing things. What exactly did she expect them to see since this was said before T'Pring's challenge was issued??!!

I never have understood why some fans believe that the pon farr process naturally culminates in immediate sex. If Spock remained in the blood fever, you might have a point, however.

Spock doesn't enter the blood fever until after T'Pring issues the challenge, up until then he was in at least partial control of himself. The blood fever might not be a common part of pon farr if there is no challenge. After combat the need for the blood fever disappears, Spock might not have been completely freed of the effects of pon farr yet, but he had re-obtained the level of rational thought that he had when he walked into the arena, and that level of rational thought would have likely stayed with him if T'Pring had simply accepted the marriage.

... this was said before T'Pring's challenge was issued

T'Pau probably knew there was going to be a challenge prior to T'Pring actually making it. I think it was pretty obvious that T'Pring intended to pick Stonn originally as the challenger too, he was the only Vulcan present who wasn't part of the official wedding party, chime guys, weapons carrier, headsman. T'Pring brought Stonn. As soon as Spock saw him, he should have known too that there was going to be a challenge.

Did you notice that after he hit the gong a second time and Stonn entered the arena, even as Spock approached T'Pau, Spock kept the gong's mallet in his hand? Subconscious need for some kind of weapon?

I wonder if the weapons, weapons carriers and the headsman are part of the usual wedding party? I don't think so. Most likely T'Pring let it be known that she intended to challenge, informed T'Pau formally and made arrangements for the weapons to be present. If T'Pring hadn't intended to challenge the marriage they would have been absent.

If T'Pring hadn't intended to challenge the marriage Stonn definitely would have been absent.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Horror Club, I love your post!! Lots and lots of good stuff to think about!! My original thinking was about Mr. Sturgeon's generous descriptions of his story. The unusual cut of T'Pring's outfit. Was it style or accomodation? The Stonehenge atmosphere of the arena. Stonehenge is known for its sexual ritual overtones. Having the couple consumate their pon farr in front of others would help keep the act on a physical level rather than accomodating an emotional one.

Koon-ut-kal-if-fee was said to mean "marriage or challenge." Was the plak tow or blood fever a normal part of the marriage ceremony or just part of the challenge if it occurred. Some good thinking material there!! I never thought about questioning the presence of the "executioner" Vulcan and the weapons bearers!! Since Koon-ut-kal-if-fee means "marriage or challenge," I guess it would be logical to have them present during every ceremony since it would always be a possibility if not a probable one.

I've always wondered why Spock hung on to that mallet after the second gong. Did he hang on to it when he saw Stonn enter the arena?? Spock seemed dazed as if he didn't realize that he still had it in his hand when the "executioner" swung the axe in front of him. Was Spock already gearing up to the blood fever before T'Pring's challenge was issued?

As for Stonn's presence hinting a challenge by T'Pring, I could see it that way. Spock said that the male was allowed to be accompanied by his closest friends. Whether the female is allowed any, we were never explicitly told. The way T'Pring schemed and planned, maybe every one except Stonn wanted nothing to do with her at the ceremony!!