Asterios and the Nature of Duality

Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli, is an incredible feat of both design and content – much like its main character of the same name. Asterios was one-half of a set of twins, but his brother, Ignazio, died at birth; the latter is the narrator of this graphic novel. While the story at first appears to follow the life, career, and relationships of Asterios, there is really only one thing being illustrated by Mazzucchelli: Asterios’ desperate scramble to find balance and symmetry in the makeup of the world in an attempt to compensate for the constant feeling of extreme unevenness that the death of his twin created (even his surname was cut in half by an "exasperated Ellis Island official). He goes on long, philosophical rants about the construction of things, and how there are really only ever two aspects of a person or object’s nature; he accepts the existence of a spectrum in any given situation, but in the end restates that there is only ever “this or that.” In his architectural designs, Asterios drew up concepts that featured symmetry, like his “Parallel Park,” and lauded the parallelism of the World Trade Center. In every night’s sleep that is featured in this story, his dreams are haunted by duality or – lack thereof. Most feature Ignazio. After sleeping with Hana, Asterios reveals his perpetual feeling of having someone standing behind him, just out of sight, but eternally present. This duality is challenged, however, when Hana accuses him of only ever being able to talk about himself. Ignazio’s death may very well have served to define Asterios, driving his most successful designs. Through the theft of his duality, Asterios became singular. By means of his beautiful designs and brilliant narrative construction, Mazzucchelli is able to very literally illustrate empty space and the effect it can have on an individual.