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Examples Of The Doppelganger Motif In Frankenstein

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Playing a significant role in Gothic literature, many authors have made use of the doppelganger motif, just like Mary Shelley in her most famous work “Frankenstein“. Back in that time doubling was one of the key concepts to eerie fiction, as Marshall Brown puts it : “There can be few traditions so beset with second selves and doppelgangers as the Gothic novel“ (Palmer 85).
But in how far do Victor and his created entity belong to this literary idea of the double ? And to what extent is the protagonist able to be compared to the daemon ? The following paper argues that the similarity of Victor Frankenstein and his constructed monster goes so far that one can speak of a double.

In Gothic fiction, which “provides the best known examples of
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There are not many similarities at first sight when investigating these two main personalities. However, when looking beyond their outward apparent surface, one needs to admit that they have far more in common than just sharing the connection of creator and creation. The probably most striking aspect is their repeated urge for going into and hiding in the nature. The monster sees nature as a welcomed place to just be who he actually is and to hide himself from humans as they are scared of him and also tend to attack him due to his appearance. On the other hand Victor needs the nature not only for his mood but also for his health and makes use of it every time he feels under the weather or is critically ill : “It had then filled me with a sublime ecstacy that gave wings to the soul, and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy“ (Shelley 66).
Besides nature, it’s also remarkable that both characters have a serious drive for knowledge, since Victor Frankenstein is invigorated by science and devotes himself to create supernatural life. The daemon’s drive for knowledge is visible when he starts understanding human society and secretly learns how to speak, so that he is able to interact with human
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