Author: Uzma Shafi

Abstract: Gothic literature is known for its conflicts and tensions, one of the sources of which is the human psyche. Interpersonal relationships are also sources of conflict in the Gothic mode. Both these are exemplified by the literary motif of the Gothic double, be it in the form of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Frankenstein and his monster. The gothic double is either a splitting of the self, or the mirroring of oneself in actions and personality as seen in some other individual. Through such doubles, gothic explores the anxiety about boundaries, whether they are moral, social, or psychological. The Robber Bride (1993), a neo-Victorian Gothic novel by Margaret Atwood reworks the conventions of Gothic to explore the psyche of its female characters through the idea of doubles. The paper seeks to examine the psychology of the double, while also understanding its socio-cultural significance. Gothic features like the transgression of boundaries, the interrelationship between the past and present, the uncanny, haunting, and so on will be studied in the context of Gothic doubling. Concepts of psychoanalysis and abnormal psychology will be used for the same. The paper will also attempt to explore the relevance of gender and gothic narrative to doubling and duality. The significance of the mirror motif to the Gothic double will also be examined with respect to the characters.

Keywords: Haunted Self, Gothic Novel, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Self, Doubling.