Coriolanus: The Unheimliche Doppelgänger, The Uncanny and The Double

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This paper attempts at a reading of Coriolanus, one of the four Roman plays by Shakespeare, within a theoretical framework drawn upon Freudian psychoanalysis, focused on the concept of unheimliche doppelganger. This reading mainly reflects on the protagonist Coriolanus, the relationship he has with the rest of the gentry, pleabians, his family and his opponent causing the tragic downfall of this great warrior, what triggered it and his personal reaction to it. This study discusses how Coriolanus’ self-perception as a noble, proud soldier within his world bears uncanny elements when he is presented ‘a new world’ –being a consul. The fact that he identifies himself with his rival Aufidius the Volscian soldier as his mirrored self-image creates a double uncanniness. By drawing on both classical and contemporary perspectives, the argument which is put forward is elaborated on with the insight into self-dividedness, projection and reflection of one’s self; the double self as both the source and the product of the unfamiliar in the familiar.