Poe's Stories brief biography of edgar allan poe
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Short Story By Flannery OConnor
| William is no longer a child but his traumatic childhood memories haunt him in his new habits. His lively, domineering personality seeks an outlet, which was always filled and flattered by the presence of his double, but now goes into vices like drinking instead. At the height of the party, William is about to make a toast when he is interrupted by the announcement that someone has arrived to speak with him. In his drunken state, William is excited by the interruption. He goes directly to the small hallway, which is almost completely dark. He makes out a figure waiting for him, dressed in a morning coat just like he is. Then, as he enters the room, the figure rushes towards him and announces himself as William Wilson in a chilling whisper. It is the quality of this voice that shakes William to his core and reminds him violently of his childhood. But when he recovers his senses, the figure is gone. In the height of the careless atmosphere of the party, William is caught off guard by the appearance of this figure. The sudden switch from the bright loud party to the confined dark corridor and the sudden approach of the double is an explosive reminder that the horrors of the past remain unresolved. The experience also once again suggests the sudden appearance of one's conscience in the midst of doing something wrong. Though the event remains vivid to William afterwards, it also has a paranormal quality that makes him more curious than frightened. He knows well the form of the apparition but wonders why and how he appeared. The only thing he can find out is that a family accident caused his double to leave the old boarding school on the same day that the narrator did. But he is soon distracted when he moves to the city of Oxford, a move that has been funded by his parents. Though the narrator fled his old school in fear, the old obsession comes back to him and the doppelganger seems to feel the same way, having sought William out. The meeting is so unfinished and curious that even when the narrator describes himself moving onto iiOxford, we know that the rival is still lurking. The narrator begins this new stage in style and luxury and with an even greater love of danger and revelry. He tells us that we will hardly believe that he could sink to gambling but he does. He knows that his close schoolmates would rather disbelieve their eyes than think that the sociable, generous figure of their youth had turned to such abase vice. The narrator’s life grows increasingly excessive. He wants more and more wealth and the closer he comes to ruin, the more his vices overtake him. Without his rival (or conscience, William is free to dominate his social circle. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2017 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 31 William introduces anew character, a wealthy young man called Glendinning, whose weak intellect makes him the perfect gambling partner. William plays him frequently, letting him win a lot of money in the first games. Then, when he has befriended and soothed Glendinning enough, they meet with other Oxford boys to gamble. Glendinning appears as another rival figure for William, but this time, he is no match for William’s personality. William’s active pursuit of Glendinning shows us that, despite his hatred for the other William of his childhood, part of him needs a rival to sustain his power. William ensures that Glendinning is the only opponent left in the game, and has been, at William’s invitation, drinking liberally all evening, so that atone turn in the game, Glendinning proposes doubling the stakes. William feigns reluctance. Everything is going according to plan and Glendinning bets larger and larger sums, and gets more in debt, but his face, which had been flushed with wine, now looks very sickly. William had thought that he had so much money that it wouldn’t matter what he lost, but the concerned whispers of his friends tell him that he has effected the man’s complete financial ruin. Download 0.58 Mb. Share with your friends:
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