# William Wilson — Short Fiction character guide

> William Wilson in Short Fiction by Edgar Allan Poe.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** William, Wilson

**First appearance:** 0026-william-wilson

## Snapshot

A dissolute schoolboy whose every vice is shadowed, mimicked, and thwarted by a double who shares his name and his very voice.

## Who they are

William Wilson drifts through school and university as a self-indulgent heir, only to find his schemes undone by another boy who matches his name, his bearing, and his whispered reproaches. The double's interference breeds a hatred that curdles into obsession. Their escalating contest turns the tale into a study of conscience, identity, and the self that will not be outrun.

## In the story

### [Edgar Allan Poe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/edgar-allan-poe)

Character from Poe's tale of conscience, referenced as an example of his storytelling.

### [William Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/william-wilson)

The narrator and protagonist, who adopts the pseudonym William Wilson to conceal his true identity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/william_wilson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters