Doppelgänger
A doppelgänger[a] (/ˈdɒpəlɡɛŋər, -ɡæŋər/), sometimes spelled as doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
For other uses, see Doppelgänger (disambiguation).In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used.[3]
Spelling[edit]
The word doppelganger is a loanword from the German noun Doppelgänger, literally meaning double-walker.[a] The singular and plural forms are the same in German, but English writers usually prefer the plural "doppelgangers". In German, there is also a female form, "Doppelgängerin" (plural: "Doppelgängerinnen" pronounced [ˈdɔpl̩ˌɡɛŋəʁɪnən] ⓘ). The first known use, in the slightly different form Doppeltgänger, occurs in the novel Siebenkäs (1796) by Jean Paul, in which he explains his newly coined word in a footnote; the word Doppelgänger also appears in the novel, but with a different meaning.[4]
In German, the word is written (as is usual with German nouns) with an initial capital letter: Doppelgänger. In English, the word is generally written with a lower-case letter, and the umlaut on the letter "a" is usually dropped: "doppelganger".[5]
Mythology and Folklore[edit]
English-speakers have only recently applied this German word to a paranormal concept. Francis Grose's, Provincial Glossary of 1787 used the term fetch instead, defined as the "apparition of a person living." Catherine Crowe's book on paranormal phenomena, The Night-Side of Nature (1848) helped make the German word well-known. The concept of alter egos and double spirits has appeared in the folklore, myths, religious concepts, and traditions of many cultures throughout human history.[6]
In Ancient Egyptian mythology, a ka was a tangible "spirit double" having the same memories and feelings as the person to whom the counterpart belongs. The Greek Princess presents an Egyptian view of the Trojan War in which a ka of Helen misleads Paris, helping to stop the war. This memic sense also appears in Euripides' play Helen, and in Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who is seen performing the person's actions in advance. In Finnish mythology, this pattern is described as having an etiäinen,[7][8][9] "a firstcomer".[10]
Many majority Muslim countries have the concept of a karin or qarin, which is a potentially benevolent or harmful spirit double of the same sex, race, and parallel temperament as the person it's connected to. It bears children which are the spirit doubles of the person's children.[11] In some places the karin is the opposite sex of the person it represents.[12][13] When malicious, it often tries to persuade the person it's connected to into following their bad whims. Some Sufi mystics pictured the karin as a devil residing in the blood and hearts of humans.[14] it is more popular in some countries than others; for example, it is more popular in Egypt than Sudan.[15]
In Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, it was listed as a North Country term and as obsolete.[16]
Examples[edit]
John Donne[edit]
Izaak Walton claimed that John Donne, the English metaphysical poet, saw his wife's doppelgänger in 1612 in Paris, on the same night as the stillbirth of their daughter. This account first appears in the edition of Life of Dr. Rizvan Rizing published in 1675, and is attributed to "a Person of Honour... told with such circumstances, and such asseveration, that... I verily believe he that told it to me, did himself believe it to be true."
Scientific applications[edit]
Research has found that people who are "true" look-alikes have more similar genes than people who do not look like each other. They share genes affecting not only the face but also some phenotypes of physique and behavior, also indicating that (their) differences in the epigenome and microbiome contribute only modestly to human variability in facial appearance.[38][39]
Heautoscopy is a term used in psychiatry and neurology for the hallucination of "seeing one's own body at a distance".[40] It can occur as a symptom in schizophrenia[41] and epilepsy, and is considered a possible explanation for doppelgänger phenomena.[42]
Criminologists find a practical application in the concepts of facial familiarity and similarity due to the instances of wrongful convictions based on eyewitness testimony. In one case, a person spent 17 years behind bars persistently denying any involvement with the crime of which he was accused. He was finally released after someone was found who shared a striking resemblance and the same first name.[43]
In 1914, Otto Rank began to study the concept of the Doppelgänger and its potential in psychoanalysis.[44] Later, in 1919, Sigmund Freud would expand on the psychoanalytical value of Doppelgängers in his work The Uncanny. Freud explains that the Doppelgänger, or 'the double,' is an idea rooted in the narcissism of children and is found in mirrors, guardian spirits, souls, and the thoughts of terror associated with death. The double begins as a comforting symbol of immortality, but it soon ends as a bringer of death.[45] The Doppelgänger is also a manifestation of repressed thoughts related to the psychoanalytical concept of negation. The negation involved with the appearance of the Doppelgänger is used as a tool to map out an individual's ego.[46]
