ABSTRACT
Companion to Literary Myths, Heroes and Archetypes, doubles and counter parts many expressions have been used to convey the idea of the double or counterpart. The first is Rank's psycho-analytical interpretation of the concept, 1914, which combines an examination of the various aspects of the treatment of the double in literature with an analysis of the personalities of the authors concerned and a study of myths, Narcissus and mythological traditions. It is himself that he loves in her; as in the case of Narcissus she is his reflection and counterpart, his only means of relating to the world; yet Olimpia is also the symbol of his alienation. Sometimes he dies, but generally he adapts; and here people return to the Platonic myth of human malleability. Dorian escapes the human condition of ageing, through having an ideal double, while the portrait becomes the emblem of his inner self, the image of conscience.
