Before I begin my actual post, I have a fun fact to share: Caroline makes a Buffy reference in the premiere of the 7th season of Bones. She refers to Brennan's and Booth's group as the "Scooby Gang." Considering David Boreanaz plays Booth, I assumed it was consciously done.
Ok, now on to my actual post . . .
I really enjoyed "Dopplegangland" because, in focusing on Willow's doppleganger and her interaction with this reflection of herself, it gave her a chance to shine. Although the episode contains a plethora of dopplegangers for each of its main characters - you could argue that Willow has at least four (Anya, Vamp Willow, Percy, and Cordelia) - I'm going to focus on her most obvious doppleganger (ie. Vamp Willow) because it reveals the most about the role of the doppleganger in Gothic literature and Willow's personality.
As we observed in class, dopplegangers serve as mirrors in Gothic literature, which enable their counterparts to see their true selves clearly and without bias. In doing so, they enable characters to confront themselves and, if they so desire, to change themselves for the better. In "Transformation," Guido encounters his doppleganger, a horribly misshapen dwarf with supernatural powers, on a remote beach near Genoa during a storm. While Guido doesn't immediately realize that this mysterious character is his doppleganger and that his ugly appearance symbolizes the degraded state of his soul, the narrator imparts this knowledge clearly to the reader. The supernatural events surrounding the dwarf's arrival on shore, especially the horrific storm that appears out of nowhere, intimates to the reader that the dwarf is more than he appears. As such, we are not surprised when he strikes a bargain with Guido and exchanges his chest of riches for Guido's beautiful and perfect body. We, the reader, know that the dwarf has no intention of honoring his agreement with Guido and suspect he will most likely use his new body for nefarious purposes. After three days, Guido reaches this conclusion and sets off to Genoa in search of his body.
He finds "himself" at Juliet's house and discovers that "he," with deep humility and a clearly penitent spirit, has reinstated himself into Torello's good graces and won Juliet as his bride. Naturally, this discovery outrages Guido and incites him to confront "himself." Thanks to the actions the dwarf carried out while inhabiting his body, Guido now sees himself for the terribly selfish monster his beautiful form previously masked and decides it will be better to die than continue on his current path. Although Guido is willing to sacrifice his life to protect Juliet from having to marry a dwarf, who Guido believes is some kind of demon, he does so for selfish reasons and doesn't place himself in danger until he has the greatest chance in returning to his body. Guido claims to have been transformed by his encounter with his doppleganger; however, he admits that he confronted the dwarf not because he realizes the error of his ways and wished to reform change himself for the better but because he cannot bear the thought of someone else possessing Juliet, especially someone he knows to be as ugly as the dwarf. He does tell us that he has ostensibly become a better person - he is more faithful and kind - but he cannot mask the fact that he hasn't completely transformed as a result of his ordeal. He still retains a semblance of his old personality, albeit a weak shadow of its former depravity. Indeed, Guido, as a mere human, couldn't completely leave his old self behind because he and his doppleganger were the same person; their personality traits were just magnified in different ways.
"Dopplegangland" plays with this idea as well. While the audience's initial introduction to Vamp Willow suggests that she possesses a completely different personality from the real Willow, the episode goes on to emphasize the fundamental similarities between these two figures. Whereas Vamp Willow embraces her sexuality and comfortably wears more form-fitting outfits, Willow clearly cannot conceptualize herself as a sexual being when she dons the same outfit. Her "oh" of surprise when she notices how Vamp Willow's outift accentuates her "assets" indicates that she never really thought of herself as a sexual being before this moment. After all, there is a reason for the big pink Granny sweater she sports during the episode, and the other "cute" outfits she wears during the early seasons of Buffy. Most obviously, Vamp Willow revels in violence while Willow shrinks from it. However, she doesn't shrink from punching Anya in the face when she tries to undermine the situation and direct Vamp Willow's followers to hurt Willow and her friends. The two Willows also share a fundamental dislike of their current reality. When Vamp Willow complains, "This world's no fun," Willow seems surprised and remarks, "You noticed it too?" Despite their differences, Vamp Willow and Willow clearly represent different aspects of the same personality, for they share a fundamental dislike of the current status quo - the world in which the episode occurs.
Willow ultimately recognizes these similarities. When she confronts her doppleganger, Willow states, "I know we have a big nothing in common;" however, she cannot bring herself to kill her alter ego. Buffy, in contrast, is poised to strike the death blow to Vamp Willow before Willow stops her. Willow's inability to dispose of her alter ego and her desire to help her return to her world, which is more fun anyway, emphasizes that Willow understands she and her doppleganger are merely two different aspects of the same person. She establishes a friendly relationship with Vamp Willow and even affectionately advises her, "Good luck. Try not to kill people." Most importantly, Willow admires the freedom and power of Vamp Willow. She has no desire to be "Old Reliable" anymore but is reluctant, like all people, to step outside her comfort zone and to change. While she initially decides to retain her pre-Vamp Willow personality, telling Buffy, "I see now where the path of vice leads," the change wrought by her alter ego in Percy convinces her that acting like Vamp Willow has its advantages and would make her a "better" person. Consequently, she decides to skip homework for the night in favor of attending Oz's gig. In contrast to Guido, whose experiences evince little change in his overall personality, Willow changes completely after meeting Vamp Willow. She abandons her "goody two shoes" demeanor, for a more relaxed outlook on life. Like Guido, she doesn't become fully bad, but merely incorporates a more exaggerated aspect of her existing personality into her external character.
Overall, "Transformation" and "Dopplegangland" reveal that dopplegangers are not the exact opposites of their look-alikes. Rather, they amplify existing parts of their look-alikes' personalities that their look-alikes have repressed. Thus, Guido becomes a "better" person following his encounter with the dwarf and Willow becomes more "reckless."
Ok, now on to my actual post . . .
I really enjoyed "Dopplegangland" because, in focusing on Willow's doppleganger and her interaction with this reflection of herself, it gave her a chance to shine. Although the episode contains a plethora of dopplegangers for each of its main characters - you could argue that Willow has at least four (Anya, Vamp Willow, Percy, and Cordelia) - I'm going to focus on her most obvious doppleganger (ie. Vamp Willow) because it reveals the most about the role of the doppleganger in Gothic literature and Willow's personality.
As we observed in class, dopplegangers serve as mirrors in Gothic literature, which enable their counterparts to see their true selves clearly and without bias. In doing so, they enable characters to confront themselves and, if they so desire, to change themselves for the better. In "Transformation," Guido encounters his doppleganger, a horribly misshapen dwarf with supernatural powers, on a remote beach near Genoa during a storm. While Guido doesn't immediately realize that this mysterious character is his doppleganger and that his ugly appearance symbolizes the degraded state of his soul, the narrator imparts this knowledge clearly to the reader. The supernatural events surrounding the dwarf's arrival on shore, especially the horrific storm that appears out of nowhere, intimates to the reader that the dwarf is more than he appears. As such, we are not surprised when he strikes a bargain with Guido and exchanges his chest of riches for Guido's beautiful and perfect body. We, the reader, know that the dwarf has no intention of honoring his agreement with Guido and suspect he will most likely use his new body for nefarious purposes. After three days, Guido reaches this conclusion and sets off to Genoa in search of his body.
He finds "himself" at Juliet's house and discovers that "he," with deep humility and a clearly penitent spirit, has reinstated himself into Torello's good graces and won Juliet as his bride. Naturally, this discovery outrages Guido and incites him to confront "himself." Thanks to the actions the dwarf carried out while inhabiting his body, Guido now sees himself for the terribly selfish monster his beautiful form previously masked and decides it will be better to die than continue on his current path. Although Guido is willing to sacrifice his life to protect Juliet from having to marry a dwarf, who Guido believes is some kind of demon, he does so for selfish reasons and doesn't place himself in danger until he has the greatest chance in returning to his body. Guido claims to have been transformed by his encounter with his doppleganger; however, he admits that he confronted the dwarf not because he realizes the error of his ways and wished to reform change himself for the better but because he cannot bear the thought of someone else possessing Juliet, especially someone he knows to be as ugly as the dwarf. He does tell us that he has ostensibly become a better person - he is more faithful and kind - but he cannot mask the fact that he hasn't completely transformed as a result of his ordeal. He still retains a semblance of his old personality, albeit a weak shadow of its former depravity. Indeed, Guido, as a mere human, couldn't completely leave his old self behind because he and his doppleganger were the same person; their personality traits were just magnified in different ways.
"Dopplegangland" plays with this idea as well. While the audience's initial introduction to Vamp Willow suggests that she possesses a completely different personality from the real Willow, the episode goes on to emphasize the fundamental similarities between these two figures. Whereas Vamp Willow embraces her sexuality and comfortably wears more form-fitting outfits, Willow clearly cannot conceptualize herself as a sexual being when she dons the same outfit. Her "oh" of surprise when she notices how Vamp Willow's outift accentuates her "assets" indicates that she never really thought of herself as a sexual being before this moment. After all, there is a reason for the big pink Granny sweater she sports during the episode, and the other "cute" outfits she wears during the early seasons of Buffy. Most obviously, Vamp Willow revels in violence while Willow shrinks from it. However, she doesn't shrink from punching Anya in the face when she tries to undermine the situation and direct Vamp Willow's followers to hurt Willow and her friends. The two Willows also share a fundamental dislike of their current reality. When Vamp Willow complains, "This world's no fun," Willow seems surprised and remarks, "You noticed it too?" Despite their differences, Vamp Willow and Willow clearly represent different aspects of the same personality, for they share a fundamental dislike of the current status quo - the world in which the episode occurs.
Willow ultimately recognizes these similarities. When she confronts her doppleganger, Willow states, "I know we have a big nothing in common;" however, she cannot bring herself to kill her alter ego. Buffy, in contrast, is poised to strike the death blow to Vamp Willow before Willow stops her. Willow's inability to dispose of her alter ego and her desire to help her return to her world, which is more fun anyway, emphasizes that Willow understands she and her doppleganger are merely two different aspects of the same person. She establishes a friendly relationship with Vamp Willow and even affectionately advises her, "Good luck. Try not to kill people." Most importantly, Willow admires the freedom and power of Vamp Willow. She has no desire to be "Old Reliable" anymore but is reluctant, like all people, to step outside her comfort zone and to change. While she initially decides to retain her pre-Vamp Willow personality, telling Buffy, "I see now where the path of vice leads," the change wrought by her alter ego in Percy convinces her that acting like Vamp Willow has its advantages and would make her a "better" person. Consequently, she decides to skip homework for the night in favor of attending Oz's gig. In contrast to Guido, whose experiences evince little change in his overall personality, Willow changes completely after meeting Vamp Willow. She abandons her "goody two shoes" demeanor, for a more relaxed outlook on life. Like Guido, she doesn't become fully bad, but merely incorporates a more exaggerated aspect of her existing personality into her external character.
Overall, "Transformation" and "Dopplegangland" reveal that dopplegangers are not the exact opposites of their look-alikes. Rather, they amplify existing parts of their look-alikes' personalities that their look-alikes have repressed. Thus, Guido becomes a "better" person following his encounter with the dwarf and Willow becomes more "reckless."
No comments:
Post a Comment