The Spectacle of Twins in American Literature and Popular Culture

<p> The cultural fantasy of twins imagines them as physically and behaviorally identical. Media portrayals consistently offer the spectacle of twins who share an insular closeness and perform a supposed alikeness--standing side by side speaking and acting in unison.</p><p> Treating twinship as a cultural phenomenon this first comprehensive study of twins in American literature and popular culture examines the historical narrative--within the discourses of experimentation aberrance and eugenics--and how it has shaped their representations in the 20th and 21st centuries.</p>