Poe's William Wilson

A detailed Summary of Poe's William Wilson

Have you ever thought of your conscience as a separate being in the physical state? Well, Edgar Allen Poe describes a situation in which this may be the case in William Wilson. Who was the other William Wilson? What were the chances the narrator and William Wilson had the same name, same date of birth, and the same physical appearance? Was William Wilson the narrator's conscience?

When William Wilson was introduced in the story, the narrator did not enjoy his presence. The narrator was befuddled that William Wilson entered school on the exact day that he did. At this point, he also found out that their names were identical. A key point in the story is when the narrator pointed out that "... my rival had a weakness in the faucial or guttural organs, which precluded him from raising his voice at any time above a very low whisper. Of this defect I did not fail to take what poor advantage lay in my power" (15). The fact that William Wilson always whispered is an important clue that suggests that he is the narrator's conscience.

The narrator was irritated with him for having the same name. He did not like the fact that the things that William Wilson did, were often confused with his own

From the various clues provided by Poe that I have illustrated, I believe there is a very strong argument that establishes that William Wilson is the narrator's conscience. Again, it could be disputed that Wilson was actually a hallucination created by the narrator, and I believe there was a hallucination because the narrator could see Wilson. But I believe that the hallucination itself was the physical form of the conscience. The narrator clearly suffered from sort of mental disease and that disease, his conscience, eventually brought him to the edge and ultimately to his fall.

Towards the end of the story, when the narrator is frantically running from Wilson, he speaks about Wilson and says "...the apparent omnipresence and omnipotence of Wilson, added to a feeling of even terror..." (24). This description of Wilson's existence gives strong support that suggests Wilson is the narrator's conscience. Describing Wilson as omnipresent (present in all places at all times) and omnipotent (having virtually unlimited authority or influence) suggests the narrator's fear of Wilson and these facts may have provoked the narrator to attempt to murder Wilson.

I felt angry with him for bearing the name, and doubly disgusted with the name because a stranger bore it, who would be the cause of its twofold repetition, who would be constantly in my presence, and whose concerns, in the ordinary routine of the sc

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Approximate Word count = 952
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English