Hi Lotte
Lotte wrote "Does anyone out there know of any writings with a particular
focus on filmic
interpretations of the doppelganger? I'm having a lot of difficulty locating
the first origins of the doppelganger idea. Any suggestions would be
appreciated".
S Lee Hager has written a very interesting essay on Doppelgangers as a
Recurring Theme in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. In particular the essay
deals with the origins of the doppelganger idea. The essay points out that
"the word doppleganger was originally coined in the 18th century by the
novelist Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825), one of the earliest Romantic
writers. Richter's doubles were twins who felt one another's every psychic
agitation. While they could not stand to be together, they could not exist
apart. While Richter coined the word, the idea was far from new. Sir James
George Frazer, in his landmark anthropological work, The Golden Bough,
originally published in 1890, points out that virtually all cultures contain
myths about twins. Carl Jung, in his study of hero myths, recounts that
there are four cycles to the hero myth, the fourth cycle involving twins.
These hero twins are said to be sons of the Sun who were originally united
in the mother's womb but separated at birth. The twin's nearly impossible
mission is to be reunited and again form a whole being. The twins are
usually represented as opposites; one is mild and reflective, the other
dynamic and aggressive. A study done by Donald Ward entitled The Divine
Twins: An Indo-European Myth in Germanic Tradition, supports Jung's findings
and adds that the twins are thought to have two different fathers, which
explains their opposite characters...Ward also describes two types of
mythical twins: parallel twins who are of the same sex and cross twins who
are of opposite sexes. Cross twins, like the Vedic Yama and Yami, Nordic
Askr and Embla, and Jewish Adam and Eve represent traditions involving the
beginnings of humanity that exist universally."
I hope this has been some use. I also believe that you will be able to get a
full copy of Hager's useful essay applying the doppleganger myth to
Hitchcock's films at
http://www.csuchico.edu/art/contrapposto/contrapposto98/pages/%20essays/hage
r.html.
Good Luck
Simon Jones
London
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