LITR 4328 American Renaissance Research Posts 2015 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Sarah Robin Roelse

Conflicting Personalities:  A Research on the Doppelganger and Twinning

          Introduction

          The literary term “twinning” is defined from our course page as “a ghostly double of a living person that haunts its living counterpart.”  While mostly this means comparison between humans, it can also be seen through various forms of object to person comparison.  My interest in this particular term stems from an interest in good vs. evil, light vs. dark, or flourished vs. failed which is often how we see “twinning” in literary works, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s William Wilson, The Fall of the House of Usher, and even Ligeia. The writings that I will be focusing on are each written by Edgar Allan Poe, who frequently uses the idea of “twinning” in his writing to create a psychological disorientation or a harrowing image of humanity; I’ve chosen to use these writings by Edgar Allan Poe because to the common eye (or someone who isn’t in ourTtragedy course), should be able to notice the attributes encompassing “twinning” thoroughly with this short research project.

          William Wilson

          In Poe’s short story, William Wilson, the main character, who calls himself William Wilson, is the one who suffers from the idea of “twinning.”  In this story, “twinning” is best represented in the category of good vs. evil, where we have a seemingly innocent boy who has a counterpart who is not as quaint or innocent.  The major action in the short story takes place when William stabs his doppelganger, only to realize that he has in fact stabbed himself; for the audience this can sound confusing but it is really a depiction of one side of a character’s personality trying to take over the other half (Unknown, 2015).  This particular instance in writing is quite odd because we are hearing the story from the point of view of William Wilson, who has essentially committed suicide (Poe, William Wilson, 1839).
          At the closing of the story William Wilson has murdered his “twin” which can be interpreted in many ways:  This could be the dissolution of evil, conversely it could be the up-rising of evil that has finally taken over Wilson and ruined him; this could be William Wilson’s way of coping with mental disorder; or it could simply be Poe’s designated and preferred writing style that was often a reflection of his own inner-workings. Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s life, I believe that this is not a reflection of Poe himself, but rather the depiction of a complex character whose fatality can be explained by one of his personality characteristics taking over him completely  (White, 2015).  In the instances which William Wilson encounters his other half in the story, there seems to be a moral complexity that stirs the arrival of the second William Wilson, such as the formative years of a young boy, the university years of a young man, and eventually the formed years of adulthood (Poe, William Wilson, 1839).

          The Fall of the House of Usher

          Again, in Poe’s writing we can see the idea of “twinning” depicted in The Fall of the House of Usher, though this time it is between the decaying mansion where the Ushers live as a reflection of the Ushers themselves, particularly Roderick Usher (Poe, 1893). Roderick Usher, as his friend remembers him (his friend being the narrator) was a spry, young man, however upon seeing him after years have passed, Roderick is aged, delicate, and fragile – much like the estate in which he lives, which has a “fissure” dividing the house on the outside, a symbol of Roderick’s cracking physical and mental state (Belazouz, 2011).  As the narrator approaches the house, he notices its decay and neglect, an echo of the family and the dismal state that his friend has succumbed to.  While the narrator is the character in the story that we hear the account of the actions which take place in the house of Usher, the story itself is about the mental destruction of a man once he realizes that there is no salvation from allowing his formerly grand family name to decay, fail, and eventually expire (Poe, 1893).
          Physically, the “twinning” that we see can also be shown between Roderick and his sister, Madeline.  According to David Grantz, Roderick was the physical aspect of an immortal soul, while Madeline was the mental portion (sensory) of a person, one who is actually ill and dying (Grantz, 2001).  The decline of both characters throughout the story is symbolic in the fact that often a person loses their mental capacities before they lose their physical being; this is seen by the fact that Madeline is ill and dying, while Roderick is still slightly stronger than her physically.  The reality of this is quite disturbing when we stop to think of the house as a tomb for Roderick and a pre-mortem burial site for Madeline (as well as final resting place for both siblings after their final fight where the house literally crumbles around them).

          Ligeia

          The aspect that the reader sees in Poe’s Ligeia is the theory of the light vs. dark sentiment.  There are two women in the story who are seemingly opposites of the other, Ligeia and Rowena; initially, their direct appearances are juxtapositions of one another.  We have Ligeia with a dark aura surrounding her, her physical attributes include:  “Raven-black” hair, ivory skin tone, a cold embrace from her lanky and frail form, and somewhat ghost-like demeanors; then we have Rowena who is a “fair-haired and blue-eyed lady” (Poe, Ligeia, 1838).  We can also assume that the women’s personalities were complete opposites from one another based on the narrator’s descriptions of them.  While the reader can assume that the two women had never met, the ending of the story shows the reader that the spirit of the dead Ligeia has entered into the body of the dying/dead Rowena.
          In the final scene of the story, the Rowena that we have formerly seen in the story is no longer a part of herself; she has completed the “transformation of fair Rowena into dark Ligeia.” (Heller, 1980).  This portrayal of the doppelganger shows how the horror of one person can sink into another just through the mere idea of them being placed into one’s mindset, this accounts for the good in Rowena being erased and replaced with the tainted personality of Ligeia.  While the narrator isn’t sure how to explain this extreme transcendence, it can be most likely summed up by his expressed overdose of opium and alcohol because Rowena does not actually come back to life through the night.

          What I Have Learned Through My Research

          From what we have learned about Poe in class and his writing style, I assume that more than likely, his writings were not direct reflections of his life, but rather a way to make a living for himself; while he did use various drugs and was considered an alcoholic, none of these writings are plausible to be seen as straight echoes of his life.  I have learned that as a literary tool, “twinning” can be used in order to depict a character with conflicting personalities, decaying demeanor, or a struggle for one’s innocence.  I have also learned that while “twinning” was often used in Poe’s writing, it can also be seen in many of today’s mediums, such as comic books, films, and novels.  The idea of the doppelganger is very popular, especially in terms of graphic novel superheroes that have inherent flaws with their personalities and deflect them with their alter-ego. From what I can understand, the idea of the doppelganger hasn’t changed much over time, and while Poe’s writings were popular in their time (and remain so), that the use of quarreling personalities has become even more popular because it depicts how people really are as three dimensional characters.