The enlightenment age during the 18th century was an era of reason and logic, dominated by intellectual thought. This “age of reason” or “century of philosophy” included a range of notions centered chiefly on logic, which was predominantly the foundation for authority and validity. Friedrich Nietzsche, who was just one of countless philosopher’s during the enlightenment period, brought forth the idea of binary opposition. Nietzsche argued that by accepting the contradictory aspects of life, one can ultimately achieve Eudaimonia. Binary opposition one of his many ideas, states that the pairing of two opposing ideas, will allow one to have a full understanding of life. In the novel, Ingenious Pain, Andrew Miller depicts James Dyer, the main protagonist, as a man who cannot feel pain. This lack of emotion, then leads James Dyer to be no more than an object; lacking empathy, compassion, and sympathy; he is therefore unhindered by traumatic events. His incapability to feel pain prohibits him to feel joy, connecting to Nietzsche’s theory of binary opposition.
When James Dyer is born, he does not cry nor make any sounds due to his inability to feel pain. Unlike his siblings or peers he does not begin to speak until the age of 11, and does not show any hint of emotion. Due to Dyers lack of emotion, he is shown to be proud, arrogant, and self-confident. In primary school, it is shown that many of the older students are scared of Dyer, “The older boys think twice before making any trouble with him. There is an independence, an arrogance, out of place in a boy of six,” (Miller, 70). Miss Luckett an assistant in the schoolhouse, takes a particular interest in James. In her observations of the young James Dyer, she notices that he is more skilled than the ordinary children in schoolwork such as drawing or sewing. Furthermore, stories bore James and he seems to lack the capability to draw things that are not in front of him, as if seeming to lack imagination and creativity.
In the late summer of 1750, Gummer, meets James during a wedding being held at the Dyers farm. During the wedding ceremony, James is seen climbing a tree with the attempt to fly, however his attempt leads Dyer to fall and break his leg. Gummer then notices that the Young James Dyer does not feel pain when he sets his leg back in place, “James do you feel something here? A kind of fire? Gummer sharply taps the boys foot. The boy’s expression is thoughtful, as though he were listening for a stone to sound in the bottom of a well,” (Miller, 83). Immediately afterwards, Gummer describes Dyer as an anomaly and begins to think of ways of how he might benefit from the boy’s abnormality.
Following the wedding, an epidemic of smallpox arises in the small English village. Dyers sister Sarah is the first to be infected and killed from the disease, later his brother Charlie and his mother Elizabeth die from the epidemic as well; leaving James, Liza, and his father Joshua. Joshua, eventually goes mad due to the sudden death of his loved ones and starts to spend most of his time alone; praying or meditating. Dyer is shown to become curious and rather impatient to see “how things will end” and even predicts, rather accurately, that his father will someday leave without any indication or warning. The day finally comes around spring, Joshua is found dead in the barn; Liza cries out for her father in pain and agony, however James seemingly unhindered by the tragic event, leaves home, and joins Gummer in Bristol, England.
While with Gummer, James is used as a “confederate” in order to sell a fake substance that eliminates all pains. In order to deceive the crowd and prove that the substance eliminates pain, Gummer stabs a needle through Dyer’s hand. The trick is ultimately successful no matter where they travel. However, at the age of thirteen, Dyer is kidnapped by Mr. Canning, an enlightenment enthusiast, and adds Dyer to his massive collection of anomalies within his estate. During his stay at the estate, Dyer meets the twins. The Collins twins, are identical twins joined in utero-a rare phenomenon. Later, Dyer has sex with the Twins, but feels no pleasure. Furthermore, the whole endeavor seems to tire and bore James; relating to Nietzsche’s theory of binary opposition-to feel pleasure, one must also feel pain.
Throughout the novel, James undergoes a series of events, that reveals the importance of pain. Although James does not feel any agony or displeasure from any of the traumatic events in his life, it is also shown that James Dyer lacks the capacity to feel happy. In relation to Nietzsche’s early life, he is portrayed to be isolated in his room, purposefully depriving himself of experiences, in favor of Schopenhauer's pessimistic view; that the best life is a rather short one that prevents pain or suffering at all costs. However; later, Nietzsche realizes that the amount of joy one experiences is related to the amount of pain and suffering one is willing to endure. This then correlates to James Dyer, because later throughout the novel he begins to experience pain as well as pleasure.
The start of James transformation begins, when Mary, reaches into James chest while he is sleeping. This incident is seen by Julius Lestrade and is depicted as there being no sight of blood, and Dyers chest separating as if it were made of water. Soon after this, Dyer begins to feel pain inside as well as outside his body- feeling all of the pain his previous self never felt from the start of his birth, in Blind Yeo. He then becomes insane and is later sent to an asylum, where his pain increases day by day. During this period of his life, James meets Dot Flyer and falls madly in love with her. For the first time in his life, Dyer experiences pleasure, while having sex with Dot during A Midsummer Night's Dream play. However, this pleasure is short lived, when Dot dies from a seizure leaving Dyer to grieve for the loss of a loved one. In relation to Dyers new capacity to feel pain, Nietzsche would emphasize the importance of pain by describing it as being essential for eudemonia (human flourishing). The principle of suffering and pain, is the byproduct alone that has elevated humanity to overcome all of its obstacles and flourish as a whole.
Soon after Dyer is released from the mental asylum, exhausted from his long interview with the physician he stays at Lestrade’s house to practice empathy and sympathy towards others. Dyers transformation from a robotic-like surgeon to a compassionate feeling man leads him to understand the experiences of joy as well as its misfortunes. Furthermore, the new James Dyer is now filled with self-doubt and hesitation; unlike his previous self that was full of arrogance and self-confidence.
In addition, just as Mary once saved Dyer by touching his heart, Dyer performs surgery on John Amazement and saves his heart as well as his life. Furthermore, while James felt fear during this procedure, it portrays Dyer as having “real courage,” for courage is not doing something without fear, but is instead doing something with the presence of absolute fear. For the first time in Dyer’s life, his skills as a doctor finally overlap with the feelings of empathy towards others.
Overall, towards the end of the novel James Dyer transforms into a compassionate individual. James falling deeply in love and experiencing the joy of having a romantic interest and later is filled with grief and melancholy when Dot passes away allows him to reach a “full circle.” And although, the world of pain is cruel and morbid, it’s vastly essential to understand the mere joys of life. For without pain, one lacks the essence of humanity. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical beliefs there is nothing in this world, without the suffering of pain. For pain and joy overlap with one another, and without one of the two of these polar opposites one cannot truly experience life.