Poe's Stories: William Wilson Summary & Analysis

The narrator introduces himself to the reader, asking us to use the name William Wilson instead of his real name, which cannot be uttered because it's too heinous. The man connected with this name is an outcast from the world. The narrator asks whether there will always be such a dark cloud barring him from heaven. He says that it is the latter years of his life that turned to disaster. Most men turn rotten gradually, but for him it happened all at once. The event that provoked such a fall is about to be related to us, he assures, because he is approaching death.

William wishes that people would pity him. If no man has ever been tempted so awfully, and fallen so far, then surely no man has suffered as much as he has. He is surely dying within a nightmare. He goes back to the beginning, to his antecedents, who all had a tendency for imaginative and extraordinary lives. William declares himself typical of this family. As he grew, the willful temper became more established in him. He showed evil tendencies that his parents, being of the same breed, could do little to quash, and William soon becomes the master of his household.

William recalls his school, in a misty, Gothic village with shadowy avenues and a haunting church bell. He recalls the place with pleasure, but then says it's ridiculous for one so evil to take relief in memories. But because these memories are of such an important time in his development, William decides to indulge.

The school house was surrounded by a thick wall. The children were permitted beyond the wall on Saturday and Sunday, when they paraded to church. Young William watches with wonder each time the reverend, who is also the principal of the school, steps up to the pulpit and assumes such a figure of authority. The wall of the school was broken only by an impressive gate and its grounds were extensive and comprised of various nooks. The house itself is similarly winding and large, full of quaint crannies and illogical stories, so that one never felt quite at home. The school room was the largest room in the house and held several enclosures used by the principal and other fellows.

This is where William spent his youth. His youth, he says, didn’t need grand events. Even the monotony of his childhood’s days were more impressive than the crimes and passions of his later eras. He calls himself unusual, in that he remembers vividly even though there is little to remember. The emotions and sensations caused by those tedious daily events have stamped an eternal mark on William’s mind.

William’s energetic character sets him apart from his school mates and he finds himself able to dominate the playground, with the exception of one boy, who coincidentally has the same first and last name as our narrator. Because this original name is so hateful to him, William’s rival will also be known as William Wilson. This rival rebels from William’s followers and competes with him in everything he does.

Outwardly, William treats this rebellion with bravado, but he is scared of it, fearing that the ease with which his rival equals him signifies the other boy's superiority. Strangely, none of his other friends seem to notice the rivalry. It is almost a private game, and the rival’s efforts mirror William’s so precisely that it seems to be his sole purpose to embarrass him. Sometimes, an affectionate side to the battle can be detected, and William puts this down to a certain protectiveness and almost narcissism of a doppelganger.

The narrator reveals that he shares so many details of life with the other William that some schoolmates, even older boys, talked about them, and gossiped that they were brothers. They were even born on exactly the same day. But despite the trouble that his doppelganger causes him, William has some kind of affection for him. They have daily fights in the school yard, but they always manage to remain on speaking terms. The narrator can’t quite figure out how he feels: sometimes respect, sometimes hatred, sometimes fondness. But whatever it is, they are inseparable.

This troublesome relationship is the focus of William’s antics and the outlet of his wits. He plays practical jokes on his double that are sometimes violent. But William’s ploys have limited success in taunting his rival, who, it seems, has no weak spot. But there is one thing that causes the other William embarrassment: he cannot speak louder than a whisper.

William’s double has also found William's weakness, though how the other boy discovered it is beyond William, because he sees it as a small, petty thing. William is embarrassed about his common last name. The fact that the other William shares it makes him even angrier, and whenever they are confused for each other, or he hears the name repeated, his anger grows. As the rivalry grows more and more severe, it becomes obvious how physically identical the boys are too.

William is worried that the older boys at school are talking about this relationship between the two boys, but there is no evidence to suggest they have noticed anything. It is obvious that the second William has noticed their similarity too; William can tell because of how he uses it against him. The other William's favorite trick is to do an imitation of William, mimicking perfectly his dress, mannerisms, and, apart from the volume, his tone of voice. This imitation tortures William. The only consolation is that no one else seems to have noticed it. His double seems to really enjoy the effect he’s having. William does not understand why everyone else is ignoring what’s going on. Maybe, he thinks, it's because the imitation is so focused at him that it escapes others’ notice.

Another thing William hates is the way his double talks down to him, offering condescending advice, although he admits that the advice is not immature or misguided, and he knows that if he had followed some of it, he might be a happier man today. But as a boy this counsel infuriates him and the doppelganger’s arrogance makes their rivalry become more and more bitter. The narrator had thought that their rivalry was akin to friendship in a way, but now it is all hatred.

The doppelganger William notices this change and starts to avoid William. On one occasion around this time, the pair get into a fight, and the tone and openness of the doppelganger astonishes William, because it reminds him so much of his infancy, some barely formed childhood memory that he can’t explain. It is a fleeting sensation but he mentions it because it occurred on the day of their last conversation and he wants to remember the day properly.

The narrator reminds us of the awkward shape of the school building and all its nooks and crannies. Some of these little alcoves were turned into dormitories, and this is where William’s double lives. One night, William gets up when everyone is asleep – he has been plotting a practical joke that will make his double aware of his hatred. He enters the tiny room and when he is sure that his double is asleep, he brings his lamp in and draws back the curtains that surround the boy’s bed. But as the light hits the boy’s face, the narrator cannot believe his eyes. He had always been a perfect replica but now he doesn’t recognize his own double! Terrified, William hurries from the closet and leaves the school house, never to return again.

After a few months, William starts studying at Eton instead and the strength of the horrible memory fades – he now remembers that night as if remembering a hallucination rather than a real occurrence. And his life at Eton, filled with folly and thoughtless games, promotes his unserious view of life. While at Eton, he passes years of careless misery, and develops bad habits. One night, he invites some peers to drink with him and their revelry is unbridled, and reaches its peak as the sun begins to rise.

At the height of the party, William is about to make a toast when he is interrupted by the announcement that someone has arrived to speak with him. In his drunken state, William is excited by the interruption. He goes directly to the small hallway, which is almost completely dark. He makes out a figure waiting for him, dressed in a morning coat just like he is. Then, as he enters the room, the figure rushes towards him and announces himself as William Wilson in a chilling whisper. It is the quality of this voice that shakes William to his core and reminds him violently of his childhood. But when he recovers his senses, the figure is gone.

Though the event remains vivid to William afterwards, it also has a paranormal quality that makes him more curious than frightened. He knows well the form of the apparition but wonders why and how he appeared. The only thing he can find out is that a family accident caused his double to leave the old boarding school on the same day that the narrator did. But he is soon distracted when he moves to the city of Oxford, a move that has been funded by his parents.

The narrator begins this new stage in style and luxury and with an even greater love of danger and revelry. He tells us that we will hardly believe that he could sink to gambling but he does. He knows that his close school mates would rather disbelieve their eyes than think that the sociable, generous figure of their youth had turned to such a base vice.

William introduces a new character, a wealthy young man called Glendinning, whose “weak intellect” makes him the perfect gambling partner. William plays him frequently, letting him win a lot of money in the first games. Then, when he has befriended and soothed Glendinning enough, they meet with other Oxford boys to gamble.

William ensures that Glendinning is the only opponent left in the game, and has been, at William’s invitation, drinking liberally all evening, so that at one turn in the game, Glendinning proposes doubling the stakes. William feigns reluctance. Everything is going according to plan and Glendinning bets larger and larger sums, and gets more in debt, but his face, which had been flushed with wine, now looks very sickly. William had thought that he had so much money that it wouldn’t matter what he lost, but the concerned whispers of his friends tell him that he has effected the man’s complete financial ruin.

Embarrassment and sadness comes over everybody. William is relieved by an unexpected interruption – the doors open suddenly, blowing out all the candles. In the dim light, a stranger enters in a cloak. The room is not totally black but they can sense he is there. Then, in an unforgettable whisper, summoning all present to listen, he says it is his duty to inform them of the true nature of their host, and directs them to investigate William’s shirt cuff, which he claims hides some little packages. The room is stunned. The visitor leaves as quickly as he arrived.

The narrator can hardly describe his terror when pairs of hands seize him and he is searched by his friends, who find, as predicted, packets of false cards used for cheating. The discovery is greeted with silent contempt by his friends. The host of the party asks him to leave immediately and quit Oxford, and hands him his cloak. William is so embarrassed that he expects he will lash out at the host, but something else occurs to him with more force. He notices that he is already holding his cloak, an unusually expensive one in a strange fashion, and the one he is being offered is an exact replica. He remembers that the figure had also worn a cloak. He thinks on his feet and takes the replica without anyone noticing that he now carries two cloaks. He leaves the room, in painful disgrace, and soon after, leaves Oxford, and the country.

William tries to escape his alter ego, but even on the continent, he finds signs of the other William. He flees from country to country, each time pursued by his rival. He again questions with all his might why and how this man is pursuing him but realizes that the only offence his doppelganger is committing is stopping certain immoral deeds that the narrator has schemed, like his cheating of Glendinning. The narrator also notices that, though his double always wears a matching outfit, he never shows his face. William wonders if he really believes that he can avoid being recognized as the original doppelganger.

William hurries to the final stage of the story. He admits that through all these encounters, he had been frightened of his doppelganger. He had felt deep awe as well as terror, which had stopped him from fighting back. As time goes on, he drinks more and more and his temper worsens, and as it does, he becomes more firm with his rival. He feels that in becoming more courageous he creates the opposite transformation in the other William. He feels hopeful that his curse won’t last forever.

At Carnival time in Rome, William has been drinking and moves, frustrated, through the crowd. He is even more impatient because he has an object of interest in the crowd, a married woman, who had told him what she would be wearing so he could spot her in the masses. But just at this moment, he hears the dreaded whisper again. Enraged, William turns and grabs his rival by the collar of his identical costume and fires insults at him and drags him into an adjoining room. The double is wearing a veil over his face.

Now, William throws him into the room and shuts the door and draws his sword. The other William reluctantly also draws. After a brief fight, William has his double pinned and vulnerable and stabs him repeatedly in the heart. Someone is trying to enter the room but William prevents them. He goes back to the body of his nemesis, but is shocked to find that the room has changed. Now, a mirror stands in the room and presents to him a reflection of his own figure, but covered in blood. As the figure comes to meet him, he sees that it is also the other William, and when he speaks, it is as if he himself is speaking. In a voice, no longer a whisper, he tells William that he has murdered himself.