E X T E N S I O N THE THEME OF THE DOUBLE The divided nature of man, the theme of good and evil aspects of a character has attracted many English writers. Let s think about Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. In the first novel the doctor, Victor Frankenstein, creates a monster that in a certain way represents his double . As a consequence of his manipulations1 with nature, Frankenstein is punished because his creature kills the people that the doctor loved. Wilde s novel is the story of a young man that is very beautiful: his portrait2 grows3 old but he remains young. His portrait represents his double , his soul corrupted4 by his bad actions. At the end of the novel, Dorian dies when he destroys his picture with a knife. Another less famous work is Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, in which a respected teacher changes into a killer at night. In 1839 also Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story about a mysterious double : its title is William Wilson. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are symbolic of the duplicity of the Victorian Age: on one side Jekyll represents the public face of the individual and is a respectable man; on the other side, at night in the bad areas of London, he is Mr Hyde, who represents the dark side present in all people. Even the name Hyde is linked to the theme of the double: it means to hide, to do what you cannot do openly5. A common element in all these stories is their moral message: sooner or later6 the protagonists will be punished for their sins7 because in the end the evil will be defeated8. M. Shelley C. Dickens E. A. Poe 1. manipulation: the act of controlling or influencing somebody, often in a dishonest way. 2. portrait: the painting of a person. 3. grows: becomes. 4. corrupted: become dishonest or immoral. O. Wilde 5. openly: not secretly. 6. sooner or later: at some time in the future. 7. sins: something that is against the rules of religion or moral law. 8. defeated: won, beat. 57