The Double

by Otto Rank

Otto Rank (1884-1939) the early disciple and colleague of Freud, who later broke with him and developed his own psychoanalytic school, was a many-sided man whose genius found expression beyond the strictly psychoanalytic field in contributions to the criticism of art and literature, and the history of myth and religion. The Double , inspired partially by H.H. Ewer's silent film classic 'The Student of Prague', is primarily a study of the Doppelganger theme as it appears in European and American literature, exemplified in the works by such authors as Goethe, Hoffman, Dostoevsky and Wilde. By integrating psychoanalytic concepts with insights from poetry and myth, the investigation is extended to examine issues at the core of human identity, narcissism, the relation of past to present, and the fear of death.In his book 'Acts of The Life and Work of Otto Rank', Rank's biographer E. J. Lieberman has described The Double as a "seminal Work on the relation of shadow, reflection, ghost and twin to the idea of soul and immortality".

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Theory, Reference, Essays

Paperback

First published July 6, 1914

About the author

Born in Vienna as Otto Rosenfeld, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, an editor of the two most important analytic journals, managing director of Freud's publishing house and a creative theorist and therapist. In 1926, Otto Rank left Vienna for Paris. For the remaining 14 years of his life, Rank had a successful career as a lecturer, writer and therapist in France and the U.S..

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The English version can be found below.

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German version:

Das erste Kapitel ist eine kurze Hinführung und Erläuterung der Methode.

Im zweite Kapitel werden gefühlt alle literarische Texte des 19. Und anfänglichen 20. Jahrhundert auf ihre Spuren den Doppelgängertums hin analysiert. Darunter auch Freuds Variante der Hoffmann-Analyse (besonders: ‚Die Elixiere des Teufels‘), was Freud in sehr ähnlicher Form in sein ‚Das Unheimliche‘ überträgt.

Das dritte Kapitel befasst sich mit den Dichtern selbst, wobei viele Erscheinungen hatten, die an ein Erscheinen eines Doppelgängers grenzen oder ein Gefühl der Gespaltenheit. Darunter wird v.a. Maupassant sehr ausführlich beschrieben. Diese Vorstellungen sollen Maupassant auch zu ‚Der Horla‘ inspiriert haben.

Kapitel vier bringt den Schatten mit dem Tod in Verbindung. Man findet hier spannenderweise auch den Grund, warum das Zerbrechen eines Spiegels Unheil bedeuten soll.

Kapitel fünf ist ein Überführen aller aufgezeigten Inhalte in die Psychoanalyse. Dabei wird als Grund für den negativ konnotierten, todbringenden Doppelgänger der Narzissmus und die Schuld eingegangen. Außerdem wird auch der Ursprung der Vorstellung des Doppelgängers thematisiert ebenso wie die damit verbundene Todesangst.

Ein absolut interessantes und aufschlussreiches Werk, das so viel tiefer gräbt und logischer argumentiert, als Freuds quasi-Kopie des Inhalts.

Gesamt: 4,6🌟
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English version:

The first chapter is a brief introduction and explanation of the method.

In the second chapter, almost all literary texts of the 19th and early 20th century are analysed for their traces of doppelgangerism. This includes Freud's variant of Hoffmann's analysis (especially ‘The Devil's Elixirs’), which Freud transfers in a very similar form to his ‘The Uncanny’.

The third chapter deals with the poets themselves, many of whom had apparitions that bordered on the appearance of a doppelganger or a feeling of being split. Maupassant in particular is described in great detail. These ideas are also believed to have inspired Maupassant to write ‘The Horla’.

Chapter four links the shadow with death. Interestingly, this is also the reason why the breaking of a mirror is supposed to mean doom.

Chapter five is a transfer of all the content shown to psychoanalysis. Narcissism and guilt are discussed as the reason for the negatively connoted, deadly doppelganger. The origin of the idea of the doppelganger is also discussed, as is the associated fear of death.

Absolutely interesting and insightful work that digs so much deeper and argues more logically than Freud's quasi-copy of the content.

Total: 4.6🌟

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great piece of (psycho)analytical literary criticism.
Freud copy-pasted it ad nauseam in his The Uncanny.

[Sheziss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empiezo por un libro cortito para no desalentarme de seguir leyendo al autor. Me ha sorprendido por la claridad de su exposición. Viene a decirnos que soñar o hacer historias sobre dobles es un reflejo del narcisismo. Hace alusión a la metáfora Narciso asomándose al agua y enamorándose de su propia imagen o de la imagen de su mellizo que es igual a él: solo puedes amar a lo que es igual a ti o una extensión de su ser, la "homosexualidad" latente. Es decir, que no puedes amar al Otro, a lo diferente, a lo que no eres tú. Menciona también la paranoia, el verse perseguido, a menudo por uno mismo.

[Hagar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was insightful in some parts, but Rank summarises the literary and cinematic references more than he does his analysis. It's still quite enjoyable. Through the cultural phenomenon of the doppelgänger, he shows the enduring tension within the human psyche: the simultaneous yearning for conformity and asserting individuality.

He argues that the core of the double's manifestation lies in a profound sense of guilt, compelling the hero to externalize blame for their actions, projecting it onto a separate entity – a double – who becomes the embodiment of their darker impulses. This double may be a literal personification of evil, or it may arise from a Faustian pact, a symbolic surrender to the forces of the unconscious. Ultimately, the double, a manifestation of narcissistic self-love, inevitably obstructs sexual fulfillment. Alternatively, originating as a defense against the fear of annihilation, he is reimagined in superstition as the harbinger of death.

[Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The translation of this work by Otto Rank made for easy reading. Rank's work on the double was reworked on a number of occasions, but was originally released in 1914 and influenced Freud's 1919 essay on the uncanny. Rank does an interesting reading of different 19th century writers to show how the concept of the double is prevalent in writers as diverse as Edgar Allen Poe, ETA Hoffman, Dostoyevsky, Jean Paul, Heine, Alfred de Musset and others. What seems most interesting is the fact that it is male writers who explored this idea so extensively. Rank, like Freud, seems to avoid any attempt to engage with women writers and their use of the double. For Rank the double seems a spiritual problem which he then links to Narcissism, thanatophobia and suicide. This work is interesting as a comparison piece to that of Freud and to Ralph Tymms.

[julieta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me gusta muchísimo cuando se analizan figuras literarias desde la psicología, ya desde el principio este libro es un placer. Ahora quiero leer todos los libros que señala, (no he leído el Doble de Dosto!!) por los múltiples simbolismos que trae consigo el doble (narcisismo, miedo a la muerte, etc), y lo que ha significado tanto en la literatura, como en distintas tradiciones. Me encantó.

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating early work of psychoanalysis on the divided self, neurosis, and paranoia, written by a man who was himself paranoid, neurotic, and divided. Rank said elsewhere that paranoia was a symptom of latent homosexuality, and of course he was allegedly that, too.

I wish I owned a copy (good luck!) because even though it's been ten years or so since I read it, I remember it being engaging, short, and eminently quotable.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite useful to add texture to the atmos into which Freud sent his "The Uncanny," but on its own not especially energizing. Still, people who write on doubles should have palindrome names.

[María]

no me pregunten porque no entendí nada

[Kevin Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The persistent and provocative emergence of the Double, or Doppelganger, in myth and fable, legend and literature, is the subject of this extraordinary study by one of the great pioneers of psychoanalysis, Otto Rank. Ranging in sources from the tale of doomed Narcissus, to Dostoevsky's novel "The Double," to Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," this outstanding book also draws upon a wealth of ethnographical and anthropological material to support the thesis that the "Double" in an engrained, almost "archetypal" element of human consciousness, found throughout the ages, in many cultures, but especially found in Romantic and Post-Romantic literature. Rank even throws in an example of a popular film, "The Student of Prague," as an exemplar of this motif in a more modern, oneiric media, that of the cinema. The compact nature of the book in no way describes the breadth and support Rank brings to the defense of his thesis. So, while some elements of the text show the limitations of time, this book still stands the test of time as an example of psychoanalytic critical writing and as an archaeological "excavation" of a relevant topic in human psychology and culture. A good read this is!

[Konstantin Petry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine abwechslungsreiche psychoanalytische Studie zum Doppelgängermotiv des Freud-Schülers Otto Rank, die auf sehr vielen Beispiele beruht. Dies führt leider zu einer gewissen Redundanz, ist aber gleichzeitig aber auch Beleg für die Modernität der Freud-Schule: Rank beginnt mit der Beschreibung eines Films, des "Studenten von Prag", um dann sowohl Lektüren aus dem damaligen bildungsbürgerlichen Kanon sowie der nichtkanonisierten Literatur vorzunehmen. Auf diese Weise wird en passant die Unterscheidung zwischen E- und U- problematisiert. Ranks Studie ist damit ein interessanter früher Beitrag zur psychoanalytischen Kulturtheorie.

[Claudio Valverde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente estudio acerca de la idea del doble a partir de distintas obras literarias. El estudio psicológico enrededor de la idea del doble es exhaustivo. Lectura muy recomendable en es especial para psicologos o estudiantes de psicología, de hecho Otto Rank fue uno de los discíplos de Sigmund Freud.

[pati (semi-mia bc uni) · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you, mr rank, for a clear account of the double motif in literature and psychoanalysis, and the entymology provided with it. coherent and well-structured, it was not a pain to read. nevertheless, there were too many examples and not enough analysis.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought Rank wrote this after having been inspired by Freud on The Uncanny -- the reverse is true. A very nice survey of the relevant literature, literary and psychoanalytic.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ottimo saggio sulla teoria del doppio, che partendo dalle analisi di opere che trattano il tema, arriva ad analizzare la questione dal punto di vista psicologico e antropologico.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El eterno conflicto del hombre consigo y con los demás, la lucha entre su necesidad de semejanza y su deseo de diferencia."

[Vartanian · Rating 4 out of 5]

صادق هدایت در نامه‌ای به م.فرزانه تأکید می‌کنه که برای فهم بهتر جهان بوف کور، کتاب همزاد از اتورنک رو بخونه‌.
واقعا اثر بزرگیه و هنوزم میشه ازش چیزهای زیادی آموخت