Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
One of Twins explained
The narrator, one of a pair of identical twins, recounts his uncanny experiences of mistaken identity and a tragic love triangle that culminates in the deaths of his brother John and Julia Margovan.
What happens
The narrator, one of a pair of identical twins, recounts his uncanny experiences of mistaken identity and a tragic love triangle that culminates in the deaths of his brother John and Julia Margovan. After being mistaken for his brother and invited to the Margovan home, he falls in love with Julia, who is secretly engaged to John. The narrator hears his brother's agonized cry from afar, rushes to the Margovan house, and finds Julia dead by poison and John dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Self
The twins' indistinguishable appearance and the confusion over their names (Henry vs. John) highlight the fragility of personal identity and the ease with which it can be mistaken or lost.
Death and the Supernatural
The narrator hears his brother's agonized cry at the moment of his death, despite being miles away, suggesting a supernatural connection between the twins.
Guilt and Retribution
The narrator's romantic involvement with Julia, who is secretly engaged to his brother, leads to a tragic outcome that suggests a moral reckoning for all involved.
Characters to notice
- John Stevens
The narrator's twin brother; dies from a self-inflicted pistol wound after the tragic events at the Margovan house.
- Julia Margovan
The woman loved by both twins; dies by poison in her home.
- Mr. Margovan
Father of Julia Margovan; mistakenly invites the narrator to dinner, believing him to be John Stevens.
Key passages
“You ask me if in my experience as one of a pair of twins I ever observed anything unaccountable by the natural laws with which we have acquaintance.”
You want to know if, as a twin, I ever witnessed something that defies the natural laws we understand.
The narrator introduces the central question of the chapter: whether twin telepathy or other supernatural phenomena can occur.
“I have no words to describe the ghastly change that came over his own; it was a look of unspeakable terror—he thought himself eye to eye with a ghost.”
I cannot express the horrible transformation in his face; he was terrified, believing he was seeing a ghost.
Describes the reaction of the man who mistakes the narrator for his dead brother John Stevens.
“Suddenly, striking through my thought and parting it as a tense cord is parted by the stroke of steel—I can think of no other comparison—I heard a sharp cry as of one in mortal agony!”
Suddenly, cutting through my thoughts like a steel blade through a taut rope, I heard a sharp scream of someone in terrible pain.
The narrator hears his brother's death cry from a distance, suggesting a psychic bond between the twins.