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Death (mythology): Difference between revisions
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== Behind the scenes == | == Behind the scenes == | ||
=== In Happy Endings === | === In Happy Endings === | ||
Death's appearance in ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'' conflates her with Death as depicted in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''The Sandman'' comics (being most identifiable by her self-description as the one whose job it will be "to turn off the lights once [[End of the universe| | Death's appearance in ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'' conflates her with Death as depicted in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''The Sandman'' comics (being most identifiable by her self-description as the one whose job it will be "to turn off the lights once [[End of the universe|everybody's gone]]". | ||
Gaiman's Death was depicted as one of "the Endless," a line-up of cosmic embodiments of concepts. Gaiman's Endless, who debuted in [[1989 (releases)|1989]], had notable similarity to the [[Menti Celesti]], down to the words "Endless" and "[[Eternal]]" being synonymous, thus facilitating the identification. The original run of ''Sandman'' comics was almost exactly contemporary with the [[Virgin New Adventures]], making the crossover allusion doubly significant. However, the canonical line-up of siblings in ''The Sandman'' differs from the one used in DWU | Gaiman's Death was depicted as one of "the Endless," a line-up of cosmic embodiments of concepts. Gaiman's Endless, who debuted in [[1989 (releases)|1989]], had notable similarity to the [[Menti Celesti]], down to the words "Endless" and "[[Eternal]]" being synonymous, thus facilitating the identification. The original run of ''Sandman'' comics was almost exactly contemporary with the [[Virgin New Adventures]], making the crossover allusion doubly significant. However, the canonical line-up of siblings in ''The Sandman'' differs from the one used in DWU media: there is no Endless of Time, a male [[w:c:sandman|Destiny]] instead of the female [[Fate (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)|Fate]], and a male [[w:c:sandman|Destruction]] instead of [[Pain (Set Piece)|Pain]]. Additionally, Destiny is described as the oldest of the Endless, whereas Pain is the oldest of the Menti Celesti. | ||
Although according to [[Paul Scoones]], [[Paul Cornell]] himself confirmed the allusion to ''The Sandman'' in Death's description in ''Happy Endings''<ref>[https://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv49/endings.html Wedding Notes: An Annotated Guide to Happy Endings]</ref> [[Neil Penswick]] (to whom the section of ''Happy Endings'' in which she appears is attributed) disputed this notion in the fanzine ''Broadsword''. Though acknowledging that she "had appeared in other works", he denied that this was in fact Gaiman's Death.<ref>http://www.sorddin.com/broadsword-old/issue11/interview11i.html</ref> | |||
=== In Torchwood === | === In Torchwood === | ||
The untranslated form of Death's dialogue in [[TV]]: ''[[Dead Man Walking (TV story)|Dead Man Walking]]'' ("''Melenkurion abatha duroc minas mill khabaal!''"/"I shall walk the [[Earth]], and my hunger will know no bounds!") is a quotation from Stephen R. Donaldson's dark fantasy series ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant''. Within the series's setting, the Land, it is part of a powerful incantation known as the Seven Words. "Melenkurion" means bastion or source; "abatha" means endurance, or the need for it; "duroc" means Earthpower, a type of natural energy found within the Land; "minas" also means Earthpower, but used as a foundation rather than as theurgy; and "khabaal" has numerous meanings. The sixth word, "harad", which signifies a commitment not to use Earthpower for dark purposes, is omitted here; it had not been revealed until the then-recent eighth volume, so it is unclear whether its omission from the episode is significant or intentional. When a fan described the scene to Donaldson, he replied that he had never heard of ''Torchwood'', but that "if it isn't a) an "homage" or b) an in-joke, then it's just stupid. I suggest that we all simply enjoy it for whatever we think it is. Unless the makers of "Torchwood" know something I don't? <muffled gasp>"<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=03</ref> However, Donaldson was impressed when an anonymous fan subsequently told him that Davies was a huge fan of the ''Covenant'' books and re-read them once a year.<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=04</ref> | The untranslated form of Death's dialogue in [[TV]]: ''[[Dead Man Walking (TV story)|Dead Man Walking]]'' ("''Melenkurion abatha duroc minas mill khabaal!''"/"I shall walk the [[Earth]], and my hunger will know no bounds!") is a quotation from Stephen R. Donaldson's dark fantasy series ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant''. Within the series's setting, the Land, it is part of a powerful incantation known as the Seven Words. "Melenkurion" means bastion or source; "abatha" means endurance, or the need for it; "duroc" means Earthpower, a type of natural energy found within the Land; "minas" also means Earthpower, but used as a foundation rather than as theurgy; and "khabaal" has numerous meanings. The sixth word, "harad", which signifies a commitment not to use Earthpower for dark purposes, is omitted here; it had not been revealed until the then-recent eighth volume, so it is unclear whether its omission from the episode is significant or intentional. When a fan described the scene to Donaldson, he replied that he had never heard of ''Torchwood'', but that "if it isn't a) an "homage" or b) an in-joke, then it's just stupid. I suggest that we all simply enjoy it for whatever we think it is. Unless the makers of "Torchwood" know something I don't? <muffled gasp>"<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=03</ref> However, Donaldson was impressed when an anonymous fan subsequently told him that Davies was a huge fan of the ''Covenant'' books and re-read them once a year.<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=04</ref> | ||
