Bewildering Stories discusses...

Louise

by Gloria F. Watts

“My Twin Sister Louise” appears in this issue.

The story is based on a formulaic premise: good twin-evil twin. In that light, the circular structure — “Louise was always the pretty one” — and the crime-doesn’t-pay moral are a bit too pat. An open ending with the possiblity that the evil twin gets away with her crime seems potentially more interesting and might spice up the formula a bit.

This disussion probably constitutes a Challenge Response. I don’t have any ready answers, myself, and you may well be right.

The story strikes me as an idea that is interesting because it could go in any number of directions, for example:

There is only one Louise, and the “good twin” is a figment of her imagination.
There are two Louises, and the “evil twin” only imagines that “John” incites her to commit murder.
The “evil twin” escapes but sees, to her dismay, that “John” has ditched her and become her mother’s lover. The story begins again where it started, with no end in sight.
The story takes a Rashomon turn and switches points of view between the two twins, “John,” and anybody else unlucky enough to be caught up in the intrigue.
(Add your own.)