The Use of Force: Reviews

​The story “The Use of Force” by Williams is a bit strange. After all, it is about a doctor, and what doctors do is they help people, they cure them. And this doctor is no different in that respect. In fact, he has enough knowledge and experience to know what the danger is and how to get a child to cooperate, which he does. If the child does not open her mouth and let the doctor examine her throat, she could die from diphtheria. The doctor knows what to do and does it to his best ability. However, when the little girl resists, the doctor’s primal side overpowers him. When the girl refuses to open her mouth under any circumstances, it comes time for a more involved solution. However, the doctor mentions that he did not have to resort to violence: “Perhaps I should have desisted and come back in an hour or more. No doubt it would have been better.” And then he adds, “But the worst of it was that I too had got beyond reason. I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her. My face was burning with it.” Now, first, he compares himself to the child by using the phrase “I too had got beyond reason.” The key word here is “too.” This grown man is no longer acting like an adult. Could it be that the child in the doctor sprang to life and engaged in a sort of a game children play when they can be quite violent, senseless, and cruel? Second, he enjoys it. How very human and primal at the same time. The doctor confesses further: “And all these things are true. But a blind fury, a feeling of adult shame, bred of a longing for muscular release are the operatives. One goes on to the end.” What is “longing for muscular release” here? The fight-or-flight reaction is probably described. This is an example of primal behavior in the highly evolved species. In the end, the girl’s true condition is discovered, but only at the price of reducing a grown adult male to a little aggressive boy.