The Benefits of Dopplegangers

In my post, I’d like to focus on the positive aspects of meeting your doppleganger in both the Buffy episode of “Dopplegangland” and in Mary Shelley’s “Transformation”. I think Katherine did a great job summarizing the respective transformations of Willow and Guido, so I’m going to look a little more deeply at the constructive things each individual learned from their “other half”. In the Buffy episode, we watch Willow struggle with her own identity as “old reliable”, a pushover, and no fun. I thought it was very ironic that when Anya asks Willow to help her with a spell, Willow immediately perks up. This demonstrates that Willow’s practice of magic makes her feel powerful, important, and needed. This also may foreshadow Willow’s future descent into darkness and evil because, although in every other aspect of life, Willow is timid and easily controlled, in her magic, she has the control and is in charge. On another note, Willow’s doppleganger, Vamp Willow, served as a precious buffer for Willow to truly look inside herself and see what she thinks about herself. Vamp Willow acts as a barrier so that when regular Willow dresses up and pretends to be Vamp Willow, she can truly look at her normal, human self and see her faults for what they are. This allows her to assess how she acts in situations and makes her realize she would like to channel more of the confidence and sexiness of her alter ego. This mirror effect can be seen as beneficial to the development of Willow into a person that she can be proud of. It also helps her accept who she is and aids her in realizing that all people have good and bad traits. In “Transformation”, Guido literally becomes the physical manifestation of his internal ugliness. This provides him with a sort of awakening that allows him to see himself for what he truly is. However, Guido does not fully take the opportunity to evaluate himself, like Willow does, and merely wants his own life back. He takes away the bare minimum from his awful ordeal and only tries a little to act like a better person. Both characters had the opportunity to better themselves after meeting their other halves, yet Willow was the only one who took advantage of the occurrence.