The effects of duality on freedom and control in Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens' last completed novel. Our Mutual Friend, instigates an idealistic theory of duality which culminates in the realism of his unfinished novel. The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In Our Mutual Friend duality only exists outside the characters. The main characters are not internally torn between two conflicting identities but, instead, have clearly defined identities which are eventually changed for the better by the contest of the external, dialectic forces of manipulation and benevolence. This contest reveals truth and causes the characters to change in light of that revelation. Since conflict must take place in order for the characters to progress, these good and bad forces must be free to interact. Consequently, freedom is lauded in Our Mutual Friend, and manipulation is disparaged. The ideal world of Our Mutual Friend refuses to limit any character's freedom. Such an idealistic view of the world denies the need to punish evil and even attempts to deny the very existence of evil. The Mystery of Edwin Drood presents a more realistic definition of and solution to duality. This novel illustrates that the good and bad forces of benevolence and manipulation are part of all men and that in order to discover truth, dialectic internal forces must be controlled rather than freed.