The theme of the short story “William Wilson” by Edgar Allan Poe is inner conflict and duality. William Wilson is constantly caught between his tendency to engage in immoral acts, and his moral conscience, which tries to prevent that.
What is Edgar Allan Poe's William Wilson about?
"William Wilson" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839, with a setting inspired by Poe's formative years on the outskirts of London. The tale follows the theme of the doppelgänger and is written in a style based on rationality.
Why did Poe write William Wilson?
Two years ago, King told CBS News how his book was inspired by Poe's psychological drama about doppelgängers: “The guy [Wilson] is at school, another guy comes to school who looks just like him, dresses like him, and has the same name,” King said.
What happens at the end of William Wilson a tale?
One night, at a masquerade ball, he decides to finally put an end to this. He takes his double into a private room and stabs him fatally only to find that, rather than facing a second William Wilson, he faces only his own reflection in a mirror.
What does the other William Wilson represent?
This second self haunts the protagonist and leads him to insanity and also represents his own insanity. According to Poe biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn, the second self represents the conscience. This division of the self is reinforced by the narrator's admission that "William Wilson" is actually a pseudonym.
How does William Wilson end?
Edgar Allan Poe's William Wilson Wilson ultimately ends up killing his double, though the story's ambiguous ending implies that the narrator may have actually killed himself. It's a complex and ambitious story, and arguably prescient in its anticipation of certain psychological principles.
What does William Wilson represent?
In this tale of twin-selves, the surviving William Wilson represents man-without-morality. His troublesome double, who constantly interfered with Wilson's schemes by whispering caution or truth, represents everything that was wholesome or positive in his personality. Poe externalizes his character's internal struggle.
What is the story of William Wilson about?
The story follows a man of "a noble descent" who calls himself William Wilson because, although denouncing his profligate past, he does not accept full blame for his actions, saying that "man was never thus tempted before".
What does the doppelganger represent in William Wilson?
The doppelganger represents the narrator's attempt to project an inner evil on the outside world. Whereas “The Tell-Tale Heart” shows how the mad narrator internally fixates on something external—the old man's eye—“William Wilson” portrays the reverse of this psychological trajectory.