Imagine yourself on a typical day at work: you’re running errands, making copies of that final document you have to submit in an hour, in and out of meetings with your boss, and desperately needing a burst of energy to help you finish out the work day. Coffee it is!, you decide, and take a brisk walk down to the corner coffee shop for a quick espresso pick-me-up. The barista takes your order, spells your name wrong, again, and hands you the double-chai-espresso vanilla latte you ordered. As you turn around to trek back to the office, you hear the bell above the door jingle, alerting employees that a new customer has arrived. Looking up, you catch a glimpse of the newest coffee consumer: it’s you. Or at least it looks like you. Nearly an exact mirror reflection, the person walking towards the counter seems to replicate your entire being. They also order a double-chai-espresso vanilla latte. Is this déjà vu? Are you dreaming? Although not always as espresso related and eerie feeling, many people have experienced moments much like this: meeting their doppelganger.
A doppelganger is defined as a ghostly double, someone who looks, and sometimes acts, nearly exactly like another person. This is different from a twin; doppelgangers are not related, didn’t share a womb, and typically did not grow up in the same neighborhood or environment. The idea of doppelgangers is a strange concept that can be found in the novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley. The doppelganger motif, a ghostly double which haunts its fleshy counterpart, plays a strikingly important role in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In the novel, both Frankenstein and the creature have tragic flaws leading them into a downward spiral to their ultimate demise. It is in this downward spiral that the reader sees how the creature's flaws mirror those of Frankenstein and how they both succumb to evil, revenge and ultimately death. Furthermore, the reader sees the doppelganger motif when analyzing Walton. Walton's pursuits seem to mimic those of Frankenstein by believing that the quest for knowledge against great odds will lead to self-immortality. It seems that Frankenstein and Walton share this same tragic flaw, however, Walton is able to see Frankenstein as a warning and avert the disaster that has become Frankenstein's life. In the novel, the doppelganger motif between Frankenstein and the creature and Frankenstein and Walton both represent different facets of Frankenstein where, in essence, Walton is the cause and the creature is the effect. Thus, it is the pride and overwheening ambition of both Walton and Frankenstein that leads to the misery and revenge between the creature and Frankenstein. The doppelganger motif is produced very quickly …show more content…
With the death of his little brother, Frankenstein describes that, "Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish”(85). Likewise, the creature exclaimed, "I, like the archfiend, bore a hell within me”(132). In these two quotes the reader sees the exact reproduction of the phrase "bore a hell within me,” and this can lead to nowhere except to the conclusion that the creature is Frankenstein's ghostly double. By creating the creature, Frankenstein automatically shares a certain amount of solidarity with the creature and as their lives progress their emotions and passions merge as
A doppelganger is defined as a ghostly double, someone who looks, and sometimes acts, nearly exactly like another person. This is different from a twin; doppelgangers are not related, didn’t share a womb, and typically did not grow up in the same neighborhood or environment. The idea of doppelgangers is a strange concept that can be found in the novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley. The doppelganger motif, a ghostly double which haunts its fleshy counterpart, plays a strikingly important role in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In the novel, both Frankenstein and the creature have tragic flaws leading them into a downward spiral to their ultimate demise. It is in this downward spiral that the reader sees how the creature's flaws mirror those of Frankenstein and how they both succumb to evil, revenge and ultimately death. Furthermore, the reader sees the doppelganger motif when analyzing Walton. Walton's pursuits seem to mimic those of Frankenstein by believing that the quest for knowledge against great odds will lead to self-immortality. It seems that Frankenstein and Walton share this same tragic flaw, however, Walton is able to see Frankenstein as a warning and avert the disaster that has become Frankenstein's life. In the novel, the doppelganger motif between Frankenstein and the creature and Frankenstein and Walton both represent different facets of Frankenstein where, in essence, Walton is the cause and the creature is the effect. Thus, it is the pride and overwheening ambition of both Walton and Frankenstein that leads to the misery and revenge between the creature and Frankenstein. The doppelganger motif is produced very quickly …show more content…
With the death of his little brother, Frankenstein describes that, "Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish”(85). Likewise, the creature exclaimed, "I, like the archfiend, bore a hell within me”(132). In these two quotes the reader sees the exact reproduction of the phrase "bore a hell within me,” and this can lead to nowhere except to the conclusion that the creature is Frankenstein's ghostly double. By creating the creature, Frankenstein automatically shares a certain amount of solidarity with the creature and as their lives progress their emotions and passions merge as