The phenomenon of doppelganger in the novellas by R. L. Stevenson “Markheim” and “Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

The article deals with the novellas “Markheim” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by R. L. Stevenson, the English writer of the second half of the 19th century. The phenomenon of doppelgänger determines the poetics of these works at the level of form and context. In these works “dual models” which reveal the philosophical basis of this phenomenon are regarded. The motive of doppelgänger is presented as a contrast of light and darkness - both in the outer and inner space. The source of these Stevenson’s ideas is the Christian doctrine of the soul, which is always a battleground of two opposing principles. Stevenson’s heroes suffer powerful struggle between good and evil in their souls. The writer solves moral and psychological problems in the form of dialogue with the double. In the novels the writer speaks about a state of madness as a psychological basis of a split personality. Particular attention is paid to the methods of the dual representation used by the writer: the portrait, a mirror imaged, landscape, and spatiotemporal organization of the works. The article examines doppelgänger not only in the mind of the hero, but also in its appearance. Transitions of internal states change the portrait beyond recognition, and the ugly side of the twin soul breaks inside and determines the outer side. Stevenson emphasizes the dependence of the twins’ appearance on the hero’s state of mind. In disclosing the phenomenon of doppelgänger the motive of the mirror plays an important role. The mirror becomes a symbol of the human soul, its inner “shell”. The landscape in the novellas is also essential for understanding of the phenomenon. Inner darkness goes into the external darkness, these symbols are twilight, fog and wind. Doppelgänger is presented in the spatiotemporal organization of the narrative: a confrontation of night and day, the open space of the street and closed rooms. Therefore, in this article it is observed that the phenomenon of doppelgänger has a special place in Stevenson’s novellas as a structural element of the poetic works.