The doppelganger : advocate of change in The Woman in White and The New Magdalen.

Abstract

This research paper explores the role of the doppelganger in two of Wilkie Collins's sensation novels, The Woman in White and The New Magdalen. Collins's unconventional approach to the doppelganger motif in these two novels overturns previous assumptions about doppelgangers. He portrays the doppelgangers in both novels as victims, suggesting that there exists a cycle where the younger generation of the upper classes are victimised by their ancestors' sins. He then illustrates that the only way to break free from this cycle is through death or departure from England. By using such extreme solutions, he exposes the hypocrisy that is prevalent in Victorian society. This paper argues that Collins uses the doppelganger motif in the two novels to advocate change in Victorian society.