Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature David Uhříček The Theme of Twins in Works of Philip K. Dick Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Filip Krajník, Ph.D. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. David Uhříček I would like to thank my friends and family for their support and encouragement. Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1. The Life of Philip K. Dick .................................................................................................. 6 2. Jane and the Dark-Haired Girl ...................................................................................... 17 2.1 Philip K. Dick’s Femme Fatale .......................................................................... 18 3. Twins in Philip K. Dick’s Fiction ................................................................................... 32 4. Twin Cosmogonies of VALIS and The Divine Invasion ............................................. 41 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 49 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 51 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 54 Resumé ...................................................................................................................................... 55 Introduction During his life, Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) managed to achieve something unique. Not only did he become a well-respected icon of the science fiction genre, whose literary legacy is still relevant to this day, but his work has transcended the boundaries of this, often scorned, literary genre, and has permeated into the mainstream popular culture, a feat that is not very common among other sci-fi writers. Some of his novels and short stories would endure the test of time to become popular radio, television, film and even theatrical adaptations celebrated worldwide long after his death, be it large-scale Hollywood productions such as Ridley Scott’s 1982 picture Blade Runner, Dick’s very first venture to the silver screen, the 1990 Total Recall, or even the, much lesser known, French adaptation Barjo (1993). These have become classics in their own right that not only represent important milestones in the genre of science fiction, but in many ways shaped the popular culture of their respective eras. One thing that makes Philip K. Dick unique is his rather different, yet instantly recognizable approach to the science fiction genre, especially when compared to writers such as Stanisław Lem, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke, who are often categorized as “hard” sci-fi for their more pronounced focus on the scientific aspects of the genre, and their vast worlds filled with futuristic technology. Instead, Philip K. Dick has become known for his distinct emphasis on strong characters, sometimes to the detriment of the technological components typical of the genre. Although the scientific element is still present, it is often used merely as a technical means of getting the message across, while the emphasis of the story tends to lie on the more philosophical and psychological matters at hand. The “Phildickian” universes include alternate 1 timelines and realities, and are often built around dystopian or post-apocalyptic societies and totalitarian governments. Dick’s protagonists undergo deep traumas; they are ordinary people stricken with misfortune, often struggling with mental illnesses, who found themselves alienated and rejected by the society. An individual is often stood against a tyrannical and unjust system. It is the psychological transformation of his characters that forms the centerpiece of Philip K. Dick’s fiction and makes the characters, if not always relatable, extremely real to say the least. When examining Philip K. Dick’s work, one can clearly identify its fundamental, recurring themes. In the introduction to The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings, Lawrence Sutin isolates these themes into two simple questions – “what is real” and “what is human” – and describes the majority of Philip K. Dick’s writing as a “quest to uncover the mysteries of [these] two great themes” (Sutin xiii). The questions of reality, identity, existential anxieties and the concepts of simulations, humanness, or fakeness; such themes can be found in most of his best-selling novels, including The Man in the High Castle (1962), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), or A Scanner Darkly (1977), as well as his mainstream novels and short-stories such as Confessions of a Crap Artist (1975). In essence, the secondary literature that deals with Philip K. Dick is predominantly concerned with the aforementioned themes. What is, however, often overlooked is the autobiographical nature of the author’s fiction, since it is not always immediately apparent how deeply his life is embedded in his stories. But even though that the autobiographical qualities are present in a significant portion of his work, and are highly relevant for the analysis of his books, they tend to be sidelined by readers and scholars alike, and have not yet been documented in great detail. 2 As such, the aim of this thesis is to explore one such autobiographical feature in particular – the death of Philip K. Dick’s twin sister Jane, whose early death represents a trauma which stayed with Dick until his death, and not only does it appear to have a significant effect on the author’s personal life, but, more importantly, on his writing. In Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, Lawrence Sutin writes that the loss of Jane is “at the heart of the difficulties – the toppling, twisting universes, death-dealing wives, desperate loves – that his fictional characters must overcome” (Sutin 19). Since the remnants of this trauma are ever-present in Dick’s fiction, and thus crucial for understanding his work, this thesis is meant to demonstrate the extent to which this event influences his stories, characters, and writing in general, as well as document the recurring theme of twins, twin-like characters and entities that appear in his work. It analyzes the biographical nature of selected novels, and attempts to establish the link between Jane and Dick’s female characters. In addition, the thesis explores how his sister shaped his personal life, especially in the context of his significant others, and, more importantly, draws parallels between his life and his fiction. The thesis recognizes the abovementioned themes of reality and identity, but is not primarily concerned with them, unless it is crucial in analyzing a particular work. As Jane’s death forms the very identity of Philip K. Dick as a writer, such analysis is important in understanding Dick’s inclination to portray his protagonists as weak, ordinary men contrasted with evil and controlling women, and the author’s continual fictionalization of autobiographical events that is somewhat atypical for the science fiction genre. Since it is deemed relevant and necessary for understanding the bigger picture of Philip K. Dick’s fiction, as well as important for the following chapters, the very first chapter will cover Philip K. Dick’s life with a focus on his formative years, the death of Jane itself, his marriages and romantic partners, as well as the so-called supernatural 3 events of “2-3-74”. This chapter is based primarily on Lawrence Sutin’s Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, which is the first ever written biography of Philip K. Dick’s life. This extensive biography is greatly detailed and includes numerous interviews, conducted by Sutin himself, with people who played a role in Dick’s life. It provides a look behind the curtains and presents important context and background, critical for the analysis of autobiographical elements of Dick’s work. The second and third chapter will be dedicated to selected primary literature and its analysis. The second chapter will deal with the idea of Jane being re-imagined as the trope of a dark-haired girl, which keeps frequently occurring in the author’s fiction. Firstly, the trope will be looked at from a more general standpoint, analyzing the said trope as a rather common literary archetype. The trope is then further analyzed in depth in the novels We Can Build You (1972), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and A Scanner Darkly. The chapter’s primary focus is to demonstrate how exactly is the trope employed as an integral component to Dick’s syncretic narratives. It also defines the link between Dick’s female characters and their real-life counterparts, who served as an inspiration. A substantial part of the chapter consults The Dark Haired Girl – a collection of Philip K. Dick‘s speeches, essays, and personal letters, published in 1988. The third chapter will be concerned with the novels Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (1974), Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb (1965), and Confessions of a Crap Artist. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the representation of fictional twins and twin-like characters in said