United We Stand? The Antinomy of Self Unity versus Multiplicity as Manifested in the Figure of the Doppelgänger

The question regarding being one versus being many has been discussed mainly within two disciplines: philosophy and psychology. This article suggests that literature may serve as a fertile ground for the investigation of this alleged antinomy. Particularly, literary works focusing on the theme of the double (doppelgänger) seem to explore this issue in a way possible only within fiction, namely, by an explicit personification of both poles of the contradiction at stake – unity and multiplicity of one’s self. The article presents some views on the issue from a philosophical perspective, calling to conduct an experiment on the phenomenon of the self, aimed at clarifying what a single self is and the conditions under which more than one self might develop. Then follow references to the question made by prominent psychanalytical thinkers, differentiating between healthy and pathological multiplicity of the self and introducing the concept of ‘possible selves’. The article then introduces the potential contribution of doppelgänger literary works, e.g. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1991 [1886]), The Double (2002), Volver a Casa (2013 [1990]), I’m not Stiller (2006 [1954]), and Gantenbein (1982 [1964]), to the issue of self-unity versus multiplicity.