Super brief summary in which I reveal something of a girl crush on Rose Walker: Rose Walker. I love that name. Every time someone says it, I want to steal it for myself. Rose will go on to deliver one of my favorites pieces of dialogue in all The Sandman series, you know the one – about love? – but here, in The Doll’s House, she is only just beginning to come into her own. She’s full of a curious mix of pep and piss and vinegar, and I love her from the start. I used to have fantasies in which I got to play Rose Walker in some magically perfect production of the comics. I think, ultimately I just wanted someone to look at me and tell me, as Gilbert tells her, “You were the best thing about being human.”
But Rose represents more than a beautiful girl with an awesome name and a bit of spark about her. In this, the second collection and arc of the series, as Dream embarks on a quest to round up errant dreams, Rose and her family quickly take center stage. Morpheus realizes she is a vortex that threatens the Dreaming and all of reality with it, and the circumstances of her creation have implications regarding his younger sibling, Desire. As Dream seeks Rose and the runaway dreams, we see his personality more than in Preludes and Nocturnes, we see his interaction with the world of dreams and humans, and we see him once again frustrated by situations for which there seem to be no…rules.
The Rules
The Doll’s House gives us some more insight into the rules for the universe and its inhabitants. More than anyone, Morpheus seems to take these rules and his obligations as a member of The Endless and lord of his realm, very seriously (well…except in that one case – Nada).
- Sometimes these rules involve communication between the mystical and humans, or between any creatures, really. Brute is admonished by Glob for nearly speaking Morpheus’ name while they are hiding out inside poor Jed’s head. “His name could grant him immediate access here!” he exclaims. He’s not kidding. Speaking the name brings Morpheus to Rose’s side in her moment of need just as Gilbert promised it would at the end of The Collectors. He’s fast!
- Dream believes he has a function, an overall rule for purpose of existence, and when he fails in his function it hurts him deeply. We seem him clearly upset over having to kill Rose, but not nearly as upset as he was when he failed to protect a world from a vortex in the past and the world perished. It takes Unity’s cunning to allow Rose to live. Dream does not feel free to do so himself. (Adam, on our message boards, pointed out that sometimes Dream is more trapped by his own sense of obligations than anything).
- Dream believes in these rules for others as well. His admonishment for the Corinthian isn’t so much about the horror of what he has done as the ways he has failed to fulfill the function Dream imagined for him – to be the dark mirror for humanity. “You have told them there are bad people out there. And they’ve known that all along,” he says. He is disappointed in Gilbert for a similar reason, yet ultimately shows him far more mercy. Dream does, it seems, have a heart.
At the end, Rose and Dream have opposing thesis about the relationship between all the immortal forces out there and humans. Rose contends we are the dolls in their game, Dream the reverse (Desire, it seems, just thinks everyone is his/her doll, mortal or not). From the evidence, I’d agree with Dream. Mortals seem much more in touch with the fact that they have choices.
Good ol’ Hob Gadling knows this. He even decided not to die. Men of Good Fortune draws some attention to the theme of Change again. We see the world change around Hob, yet he maintains the important things stay the same – good and bad. Certainly the parallel conversations in the pub at the beginning and end of the story (politics, disease, God) seem to support his claim. I wonder then how he explains the fact that after storming out indignant at the thought that an Endless would ever need companionship from mortals, Morpheus comes back 100 years later and offers to buy his “friend” a drink. (In that case the quotes are actual quotes…he calls him a friend. Not the sarcastic kind of quotes).
OK, I know I know. I went on about change last time. I can hear Bex saying, “move on, Proffitt!”
Lets get to what we all came here to talk about: The Collectors.
Obviously, Neil Gaiman didn’t write these as graphic novels, but I can’t help thinking of The Collectors as The Doll’s House’s answer to 24 Hours. They are both as much horror comics as anything. Along with the terror, The Collectors has a dark humor. As a reader, I find myself tremendously creeped out and having a tremendous amount of fun at the same time.
For instance, in the opening pages, Gaiman has some fun with language.
The convention name, of course: Cereal Convention.
The words used by the attendees in small talk about jobs and food and life: (the journey was) killer, (wouldn’t be seen) dead, killed (the lights), (to) die (for), (he) slays (me), (the issue was) dead and buried, (the tv version) butchered it.
It’s fun – the panel discussions alone, I mean, come on! Women in Serial Killing? We Are What We Eat? Classic.
But…it’s also terrible (in a good way). One of my favorite parallels in this collection is Gilbert’s story of Red Riding Hood and what happens to Rose when Funland attacks her. The use of the phrase “you won’t need it anymore” to imply impending horror raises goosebumps. There’s something genuinely scary about this story.
And then there are the moments that are both. Like this:
*Thunk*
One last thought. It’s interesting to me who Dream forgives and who he does not. Both Dee and Funland get a measure of compassion despite being pretty rotten guys. You sense that as a being not human, Dream can understand something about them from an outsider perspective. While he does not want them to hurt
Totally understandable.
others, he also does not seek to punish them. Yet…look at what he does to Nada. I mean, I don’t want to beat a dead horse here, but…it is a *bit* harsh sending her to hell and all. Especially given she is trying to do exactly what he would in her place: obey the rules that will keep the people for whom she is responsible safe.
Is Pride the killer sin for Morpheus?
That’s it for me, friends. You?
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I’m still trying to wrap my mind around why Dream granted a good dream to Funland-rewarding him so to speak, but the others at the convention got the realization or how small their existence and what they are is.
What I’m contemplating is: How do we think the women’s story of Nada goes? I can’t remember if we ever hear it.
The art in this one is phenomenal. Very collage like and it’s what made me realize there was more than primary colors and panels to comics. And I love that Rose is the vortex and over half of her panels have a window, a door, or a dollhouse in them sharing the same space. And all the instances where a dollhouse or visual representation of a Doll’s House is in the panels. Multiple rooms and you can see what is going on in each- wide open from the outside. Such as Unity’s dollhouse, Rose’s apt. people, the hotel, and the dream house for Lyta/Hector.
I’m also pondering for a later comment- who really is more manipulative, playing a game, or “dolls” so to speak- humans toying with The Endless, the Endless toying with humans, humans toying with each other?
We’ll have to see how pride pans out for Morpheus. So far I’d say his downfall is underestimating the living when he knows he shouldn’t.
Things I took from The Dolls House:
1)If the King of the Birds tells you to leave something alone, you best leave it alone.
2)If your dreams in any way resemble “Little Nemo in Slumberland” you are pretty much boned.
3)You only die if you think you have to.
4)A place doesn’t always have to be a place.
5)If you are driving late at night and there is a Cereal Convention going on, just drive on to the next town.
Things I Love About it:
1) Introductions: We have Dream’s Sister(s) Desire and Despair, Nada, the Fates, Hippolyta Hall (and her baby), Barbie, the Corinthian.
2)Fun Land’s T-shirt.
2b)Gilbert’s telling of Little Red Riding Hood
3)Chantel’s Dream “Chantal is having a relationship with a sentence.”
4)The idea that the Corinthian, one of the most well known and horrifying serial killers of this fictional world, was a disappointment to Dream, in that he wasn’t terrifying enough.
Bex, I never thought that Fun Land’s dream was given to him, as Dream only told him “dream”. I always assumed that this was just a command to get him out of the way for the time being. That being said, I could just imagine how terrifying it might be to be someone like Fun Land, to have a dream like that, where all of your victims are loving, accepting, and forgiving of you, only to wake up. (I also hold that at the end of the convention, when Dream takes the collectors “Comforting daydreams” away, that Fun Land, along with any who might not be in the hall at that time, were included.)
We need to keep 2 books going-
1. Rules of the Endless (more of a pocket guide type thing)
and
2. Things I Learned from The Sandman (or Neil Gaiman in general)
Perhaps they exist already but we’ll have one with our spin on it.
I just assume in my head that Funland got the eternal dream like he gave out the eternal waking nightmare. I’d feel better thinking it was a one time thing and he’ll be punished like the the others when he awakes.
Although Neil wasn’t really thinking in terms of graphic novels at this point, The Doll’s House was a good name for the arc he was mostly doing here. The exception is, of course, “Men of Good Fortune”. Certainly he was always going to do it, but it isn’t part of the arc and has nothing to do with doll houses; it would have fit better in one of the anthology books, like Dream Country. I believe I read that some kind of delay made him go to this story he was planning to put in later.
In the same way as all the death and killing puns during the convention, he has all the doll puns at Hal’s house. Look at Ken and Barbie, references to perhaps the most famous dolls ever, or Hal’s alter-ego, Miss Dolly.
Notice that it all starts with Desire. Dream is indeed his/her older brother and in a parody of 1984, he/she says “Big brother I’m watching you.”. It’s all an elaborate plot sparked by Desire’s animosity toward his/her sibling, which will partly be explained later.
It has been noted the different levels of Dream’s anger. It seems he is angry when the rules are broken, but his anger is in bounds and almost too merciful by our standards. But cross his vanity and ego and his anger becomes unreasonable, unproportionate; understandably human-like. That and his friendship with Hob shows him becoming perhaps too human.
I love that Desire looks like a Nagel painting which is symbolic of 80′s (and Duran Duran’s Rio) which is considered a decade of excess at least in the US.
We are starting to see the recurring leitmotifs of Sandman. The heart passing from one hand to another. The skull held in a hand. A panel full of faces.
Also hospitals. Rose says she doesn’t like hospitals. Matthew the raven says the same, for his own reasons, from his own history. And we have Lushing Lou “The Hospital” who propositions Dream.
And Desire. All told probably the worst of the Endless; even though Despair is ugly, she isn’t heartless. Deceptively good looking, causing all sorts of trouble, a creature of transient whims, and like everybody else capable of self-deception. At the end of the book Desire feels nothing like a doll; but what is the Threshold but another Doll’s house?
I would have to argue with the statement that Desire is the worst of the Endless. The Endless are what they are, no more, no less. To assign value to one or more of them would be counter to their own nature. They are not bound to the same sense of morality that people or even gods are. They just are, and are only bound to their own set of rules.
(I am pretty sure that it’s not actually said in the 75 issues, but am unsure about the ancillary works, is it ever said who set down the rules that they live by? Such as the no Endless/Mortal love?)
From the rest of the Endless’ POV, The Missing Brother (not named here, spoilers sweetie), having abandoned his realm, would most likely be considered to be the “worst” of them.
And poor little Delirium, would almost certainly be thought of as the worst off.
“They are not bound to the same sense of morality that people or even gods are.”
That about sums up why I think even Death didn’t go trying to find Morpheus knowing he was imprisoned. I don’t think she didn’t try to help him because she was the intended target, or she that didn’t care because she obviously does. I think it was because it’s just not what the Endless do.
Such fun revisiting this volume – the first graphic novel i ever read,as i was then a student and couldn’t afford to buy and P&N was out at the library!
Just to pick up on the issues of rules,and challenging those rules, it struck me on my re-read that the characters who adapt most easily to and/or challenge the situations in which they find themselves are women, whereas Dream finds himself confused and/or angry if the “rules” are broken.
*(spoilers follow!)*
in particular,unity, in resolving the “vortex” situation, and nada, in refusing Dream’s offer to be his consort. I appreciate that the Endless are not necessarily male or female and that they are depicted as one or the other for convenience (save of course for desire who is always expressly both). but it’s interesting that those wishing to challenge the status quo are female, in a book where many of the characters are at first glance doll-like (hal/dolly, barbie,lyta prior to dream’s arrival) and where other characters see women as mere playthings (eg the fake bogeyman). saying that,hob gadling is as much of a lateral thinker as unity.but i wonder whether Dream would have thought of accepting a deviation from the normal course of things such as hobs decision not to die in the way that Death (depicted as female) does?
ooo, Rachel this is a new idea for me. I’ll keep it in mind as I continue the re-read.
I suspect that Hob’s confident thinking that he can avoid death would have come to nothing if Dream and Death had not decided to accommodate him.
And of course Desire is no better or worse than the others. It is only that in the showing of this series, this is the impression one might get; that I get. Neil made a conscious decision to make Death very attractive in all sorts of ways; the fact of it is, most of us are still not looking forward to real Death and Neil would probably be dismayed if we did.
There are many mysteries about the Endless. What is the mechanism by which love between an Endless and a mortal are punished? It has a rough parallel with the dangers of loving a god, but the Endless are not exactly God’s.
I see the whole thing being about choices. Our lives are just that, a series of choices, what choices we make shape us define us and finally determine the choices we make later in life when we wail pitifully “But I had no choice!”. I used to keep a printout at my desk where I could see it clearly “Choose” reminding myself that It was my choices to let negative things affect and have an effect on me.
As to who are the play things and who are the players I have learned that the best servant is a good master, ie a master is actually the servant of those whose lives they direct and hold in their hands.
Oh, and YES! Pride is Dreams worst flaw. Nada had the nerve to refuse him when he was willing to break?/bend? the rules for her, Fate forbid! And as his pride is _stillsu wounded he will not let her go because then he would have to admit *gasp* he’s wrong! The woman’s version is never told by Neil, maybe one of us could get permission to do so?
I’ve always wanted to see Hobb Gadling’s story turned into a play or movie or tv something, he never loses sight that it is his choice! ;-P
It would make a neat arc for a TV series. One season, or a mini-series.
How smart is Morpheus? It’s a question we will keep coming back to. Against the formidable devils, he certainly seems clever enough. It rather looks like he lucked into victory against Doctor Destiny, however. It seems to me that, matched against females, he sometimes comes up short. Nada stymies him; he cannot understand her, because of his emotional need. Unity thinks he’s not very clever and he seems to luck into this solution too, which could have been disastrous for him, if he had killed Rose. (Incidentally, I think Neil might have got this from Jurgen, by James Branch Cabell, where an all-powerful creator is perhaps not very smart).
Now, how did Unity figure this problem out? In her life, she has certainly spent more time in The Dreaming than in the waking world. And perhaps she is just inspired by the need to save Rose’s life.
It is possible that his unconscious mind is smarter than the conscious one. The same might be true of all of us. (But usually, the unconscious one is less logical, at least).
Alex – I like the idea that we know things in our unconscious that we do not always realize in our conscious mind. I don’t think I’d use the word “smarter,” but I definitely think there is a different kind of intelligence under the surface. The idea that dreams would manifest that intelligence is interesting. Another thought that hadn’t occurred to me before. Damn, I’m loving this re-read group!
I’ve been rereading this series for a long time, but I just figured out something; which may just mean I’m dumber than most people. Having just been saved by Dream from being killed by Nathan Diskin “Fun Land” she is startled by a huge shape, which turns out to be Gilbert holding Jed. Obviously, she first mistakes him for Fun Land; but it wasn’t obvious to me for many years!
I believe I read that Fun Land was originally meant to be Disneyland; note how he says,”It’s a small world after all” on page 168. What he says on page 160 about them hushing things up has been reported before, notably in a book by Carl Hiassen.
I believe a lot of cartoonists and animators look at Disney as the evil empire they might create if they went to the dark side. I wonder if sign painters and painters in general feel that way about Hitler?
Oops! I meant house painters, not sign painters.
Re-reading this I also took notice of all of the murder-related puns used. Also agree that the idea of The Corinthian not being terrifying enough makes me uneasy. Very uneasy.
Question- I’m at work so I can’t find the exact page, but it’s near the beginning when they are at Unity’s. There is a panel with the dollhouse in it and there’s a little person in the window smiling. It looks Endless-y so who do you think it is and why are they there? Too happy to be Dream. Is it Desire keeping eye out? It looks like Death to me but why would she be there? Any thoughts?
I’ve always thought it was Desire, For pretty much the same reason you did. Too Happy to be Dream. Death has no reason to be there.
Alex- yes, artists look to Disney and Hallmark as the evil empires they could end up with.
I’ve always enjoyed the repetition of “The Sound of Her Wings” at the beginning of this book. Perhaps it just because I’m a bird person (the way some are dog or cat people) and so have an affinity anyway. But I think it’s more because we see Morpheus smile – genuine happiness, not a smirk of impending revenge – for the first time.
In a way, Nada’s story seems like an echo of Eve’s story. Both stories are about loss of paradise and death – even though Eve doesn’t die in the story, her choice to eat the apple brings death into her world, as does Nada’s choice to refuse Dream.
Hobb’s story is much more complex – a lifetime of lifetimes. He gets to reinvent himself on a regular basis, try new things, new careers, new vices, new kinds of interactions with others, and he changes and grows over the years. In our last view of him, he seems like any other “normal guy.” He’s not, but neither is any other “normal guy” I’ve ever met. We all have our stories and our oddities.