MASTERCLASS
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Helen Walters uses a story of twins to look at things that aren’t supposed to work in your stories... but can be really effective when they’re done well
TO READ THE STORY
https://writ.rs/oneoftwins
This month’s story, by Ambrose Bierce, explores the complications of being born ‘One Of Twins’. Life as a twin starts out as an amusing curiosity for Henry Stevens, but ultimately leads to disaster and tragedy. As always, you will get the most out of this masterclass if you read the story yourself: https://writ.rs/ oneoftwins
The story is in the form of a letter from Henry, that has apparently been found in the papers of a certain Mortimer Barr, a researcher into the psychology of twins, after his death. Note how presenting the story in this way lays claim to a level of provenance and authenticity. Notice the indications of a blurred sense of identity in this early section. The twins, Henry and John, were identical to the point that Henry couldn’t be certain whether or not their identities may have swapped back and forth in the earliest years of their lives. They were so alike that even their parents couldn’t tell them apart, and their father attested to their blended identity by calling them Jehnry. At this point Henry enjoyed twindom as' nature’s practical joke’.
It is in adulthood that the joke stops being funny, and becomes somewhat unnerving instead. We learn that circumstances (including the death of both their parents) cause Henry and John to live apart. Due to this, they live largely separate lives with different circles of friends. So far, the contents of the letter have given us the background to the story, but then we move on to the circumstances that are going to lead to tragedy for John and heartbreak for Henry.