Abstract
In the twentieth century the theme of the double is used as a means to investigate the human psyche. A mark of the misunderstanding of reality is also the use of the names of the characters in the stories, that sometimes are identical, sometimes give rise to changes from the original to his avatar following modifications which can be classified as addition, substitution, transformation. The meetings with machines that duplicate humans (Primo Levi), revenants who penetrate the soul of children (Savinio), childhood dreams that materialize (Buzzati) offer a plethora of designations which appear similar but not identical to the original and which give rise to grotesque and distressing situations.