Talk:William Wilson (short story)

Interesting bit of trivia...may be relevant

Since the subject is that of a doppelganger, it is interesting to note that in the 1980s in baseball there were two centerfielders who both were decent hitters, great fielders (although with questionable throwing arms) and very fast. The two players were Willie Wilson and Mookie Wilson whose given name was William as well.

Strange, no?

I know this is editorializing, but wow, that's creepy. You know, one of the 1980s Mets was accused of killing his girlfriend's pet kitten (The story is on Snopes.com, but be warned, it's graphic). The narrator in Poe's "The Black Cat" killed a cat, so whether or not the player in question really did kill a cat, that's a second example of a similarity between the 1980s Mets and a Poe story. Now it's even stranger, isn't it? Evernut (talk) 19:17, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Washington Irving Mystery

I'm a bit mystified regarding the contradictions in this extract from the article:

Additionally, Poe acknowledged that the idea of a story about the irritation one feels by meeting someone with the same name, thereby ruining a feeling of uniqueness, was inspired by an article by Washington Irving. At the end of Irving's tale, the main character kills his double with his sword, only to see his own face behind the mask.

Did Irving write an 'article' or a 'tale', and if so what was it called? Colin4C 21:32, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, the source I got it from uses both "article" and "tale" - not particularly surprising or mystifying considering that this stuff was being printed in newspapers and magazines. I was wondering about the title of the piece myself, but I haven't researched it deeply enough yet. Silverman is usually pretty good with this kind of info but he left me wanting more here. Let me know if you happen upon it. --Midnightdreary 00:02, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

I have just looked at the notes to 'William Wilson' in my Penguin edition of the Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Here it says 'The plot of the story was suggested by Washington Irving's 'Unwritten Drama of Lord Byron'. However the nature of Irving's piece is not made clear... Colin4C 10:21, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Good job finding that. Now that we have a name, maybe something else will pop up. I'll keep looking. Thanks for asking about this! --Midnightdreary 13:46, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Connections to Lolita?

This short story is an obvious reference point for Nabokov's Lolita: a confessional story of a murderer with a reflexive name who murders his doppleganger/arch-nemesis. Do you feel it would be appropriate to include this in the article? 69.116.66.190 (talk) 04:14, 10 May 2008 (UTC) TremorMilo (sorry not signed in)

Well, the tradition of the doppelganger is going to look similar (no pun intended) no matter what work of literature is utilizing it. Because it's Nabokov, I might believe it's specifically reflecting Poe. But, we can't add anything without a reference that says so, lest it fall under the dreaded original research. So, really, the answer here is no, unless you have a source you can cite. --Midnightdreary (talk) 11:27, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Delusion

• Is it possible that the "double" is actually Wilson "conscience" and that it is Wilson himself who has a split personalty which causes him to expose his own tricks? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.83.126.88 (talk) 16:11, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

Anything is possible. However, as you may know, this page is for discussing improvements to the article, not general discussion about the topic. Your theory can't be added because it is considered original research. --Midnightdreary (talk) 17:31, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

No mystery here. This obvious point is mentioned by virtually all writers on Poe who have discussed the story...See e.g. the standard bio of Poe by Quinn, page 77, 286-7 (1998 edition). Colin4C (talk) 14:13, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

So add it with a footnote to a reliable source. That's something completely different from what the IP user was asking. He seemed to be engaging in conversation rather than suggesting something be added to the article. --Midnightdreary (talk) 15:05, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Have done so...Colin4C (talk) 15:13, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Again, this was not what the user was asking. In the future, try to format footnotes properly. --Midnightdreary (talk) 15:39, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Whatever....Colin4C (talk) 18:13, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Adaptations

Does the 2013 movie "Enemy" starring Jake Gyllenhall count as an adaptation?2602:304:CE63:A250:7D86:CB11:AF16:5354 (talk) 18:20, 14 March 2015 (UTC)Bryan Crump

Adaptations have to be created consciously to emulate the original materials, even if only loosely. In the case of a film, the original source material is usually credited. Anything else is not a true adaptation. If you think it seems similar, that's original research, and not relevant on Wikipedia. --Midnightdreary (talk) 03:23, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

References

"Coincidence" removed

Material I removed:

Throughout the 1980s, there were two major league baseball players named William Wilson: one used the name "Willie", the other "Mookie". They also had similarities: born seven months apart in the South, both were center fielders, both were switch-hitters, each won one World Series, both had many stolen bases, many triples but few home runs, both had a high strikeout to walk ratio. Willie finished with a career OPS of .702 to Mookie's .700. 

Feel free to engage here as to whether or not this coincidence should be included on the article on this story. --Midnightdreary (talk) 13:49, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

For my own part, unless the players' parents specifically named their sons as a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's story, or if the duo engaged in activities inspired by the story (went to the same school, same parties, then stabbed one another), I believe the coincidence is merely that: A coincidence. Therefore, I believe it is irrelevant. Also, the cited sources do not seem to mention Poe or "William Wilson" at all. --Midnightdreary (talk) 13:52, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

References