“Doppelgänger” is a German word that literally means “double-goer” or “double-walker”. In society, a doppelgänger is usually a person that resembles another person in an uncanny way, because they may have never met or be related to each other. In literature, it is known as a character that has a double or a twin. It can also be defined as “an apparition of oneself or someone whom we are acquainted with and even someone whom we have never met before” (White, 2013). Sometimes doppelgängers can be two alter egos, or two characters that are complete opposites regarding good and evil. They appear often in fairy tales, myths, and gothic literature, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Superheroes are known to be dual characters, which are considered to be doppelgängers as well. (White, 2013)

A good example of how doppelgängers are used in literature is the alternate characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

“I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (Stevenson, 1886). Good and evil live in parallel parts in the protagonist here. Dr. Jekyll is talking now about his struggle between his two personalities. His consciousness is split into two—the honest, polite side that succeeds; and the immoral side that indulges on animal instincts. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are essentially the same person, but are two alter egos that are classified as doppelgängers.

Citations:

Buzwell, Greg. “’Man Is Not Truly One, but Truly Two’: Duality in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” The British Library, The British Library, 13 February 2014, https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/duality-in-robert-louis-stevensons-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde

Stevenson, Robert L. “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson.” The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson : chapter10, ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/stevenson/robert_louis/s848dj/chapter10.html.

White, Craig. “Doppelgänger.” Terms & Themes, 9 November 2013, http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/D/dpplgngr.htm

The word doppelgänger refers to the double, alter-ego or counter part of a living person (Merriam-Webster). The word doppelgänger is a German word that means “double-goer” and refers to someone who is a ghostlike replica of a living person (Holloway 2014). A doppelgänger is sometimes referred to as being an “evil twin” that represents the worst counterpart to the living being that it is doubling and are viewed as a bad omen or considered bad luck (Holloway 2014). The motif of the doppelgänger is typically used in fictitious literature but there are some people who have accounts of real life experiences of a doppelgänger. A doppelgänger is typically an exact physical replica of the person they are doubling with possibly some slight differences in minor physical features. For example, Abraham Lincoln’s suspected doppelgänger was described by him as almost exactly the same but a few shades paler (Holloway 2014).

The presence of doppelgängers in literature dates back to ancient mythology with one of the earliest references originating in Iran, whose authors used a doppelgänger to represent good verse evil (Holloway 2014). Doppelgängers were also used by authors of the 1800’s. Before Jekyll and Hyde, Edgar Allan Poe created a doppelgänger for his character “William Wilson” in a short story written in 1839 (Holloway 2014). Some years after this depiction, Jekyll and Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1885. Stevenson’s depiction of Hyde in the novel illustrates what a doppelgänger is. Hyde is similar to a doppelgänger of Jekyll in that he represents the worst parts of Dr. Jekyll’s persona. However, Hyde was different from the “normal” doppelgänger because he was not an exact twin of Dr. Jekyll in terms of physical appearance. In most literature using a double, the doppelgänger is often mistaken for the person they are doubling and as a result leave the living person to suffer the consequences of the doppelgänger’s actions. In the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, people did not recognize Dr. Jekyll at all in Mr. Hyde’s appearance and had no reason to believe he had anything to do with Jekyll based on physicality. This allowed Jekyll to live a separate life from Hyde without being physically tied to his doppelgänger.

Stevenson wrote a unique narrative of a doppelgänger in that the doppelgänger was intentional created by Dr. Jekyll. For the most part, literature written about a doppelgänger often has the doppelgänger either appear out of nowhere or supernaturally. This specific portrayal of a doppelgänger offers a new perspective of the role of a doppelgänger in literature. Today, we often here more common conceptions of doppelgängers in the modern world in the form of clones and the implications of cloning. Doppelgängers could be considered the foundation of these modern day ideas.

Works cited

1. Devolder, Katrien. “Cloning.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 14 July 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/cloning/.
2. “Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America’s Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/.
3. Holloway, April. “Doppelgangers and the Mythology of Spirit Doubles.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/doppelgangers-and-mythology-spirit-doubles-001825.
4. Littlehale, Kristy. “Doppelganger Definition & Examples in Literature.” Storyboard That, Storyboard That, 14 July 2016, www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e/doppelganger.