“The pale organisms of literary heroes feeding under the author's supervision swell gradually with the reader's lifeblood; so that the genius of a writer consists in giving them the faculty to adapt themselves to that...”
The ambiguity of whether Hermann and Felix actually look alike is a running gag in the narrative and can only trust the author’s writing. The author has the power to dictate if the reader gets to know the actual truth of their story thus the imaginary nature of the prose. In the statement, Hermann highlights this idea in that the author’s knack lies in being able to successfully sell an invention or idea through the protagonist. In the narrative, the reader’s ability to know whether Hermann and Felix are identical is skewed until the end.
“And what is death, if not a face at peace - its artistic perfection.”
The statement follows Hermann’s observation of how Felix’s face looks identical with his when it is motionless rather than when full of life. It allows the reader to delve into his psyche and how he perceives mortality and his grasp on reality. The assertion also illustrates how Hermann is gradually becoming psychopathic since he is not typically an irate individual. However, he feeds this perception which pushes him to murder another person for his own interests. On a deeper level, it also means he is self-loathing and suicidal in that he murders an individual whom he believes is a spitting image of himself.
