NTIM-ADDAE !1Nicole Ntim-Addae Professor Gonzalez

WRIT135: Age of the Antiheroes

The Continuum of Free-Will in the Sandman

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is the tale of the Lord of the Dreams re-assent and death

after being captured for an occult ritual on earth. As Gaiman describes his own work: “The Lord

of Dreams must change or be destroyed.” Of all the volumes within Gaiman’s Sandman universe,

Season of Mists immediately strikes the reader as an ode to the conundrum of free will. “Season

of Mists tickles places where the reader does not like to be tickled.” (Mellette, 2015.) In Seasons

of Mists, Dream realizes the error of his ways in relation to his old lover, Nada. He is hesitant to

go to the realm of Hell to save her because he has recently slighted its master, Lucifer, the First

of the Fallen in the first Volume of the series, Preludes and Nocturnes: “A Hope in Hell”.

However, Dream has “no choice” in the matter. He returns to Hell, only to find it gutted, with

Lucifer explaining that he is leaving his own realm “for good”. The rest of the Seasons of Mists

is about Dream deciding the new owner of the realm of Hell. Dream later gives the realm of Hell

back to the Creator and saves Nada. Critics of Neil Gaiman have pointed out the ambiguous

nature of free will in The Sandman. Andrew Porter, notes, “[the] ambiguity [reflects] Gaiman’s

awareness of theological debates about free will and determinism is maintained in the subsequent

narrative.” (Porter, 2013) Jokahim Jalmar also agrees with him. Gaiman’s The Sandman: Seasons

of Mists is in conversation with John Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Judeo-Christian Bible and

draws on the preconceived notions of Lucifer’s character. Season of Mists presents Gaiman’s

view of the conundrum of free will, where some characters have it all the time, sometimes, and

none of the time.

NTIM-ADDAE !2 The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines free will as the “capacity of rational

agents to choose a course of action from among

various alternatives.” An agent is defined as “a

being with the capacity to act, and ‘agency’

denotes the exercise or manifestation of this

capacity.” In short, free will is the ability of a

conscious being to choose from an array of choices,

regardless of the consequences. Although both

definitions are simple to understand, they are difficult to apply to nature. Free will corresponds

rightly with the ability of free agents to also be moral beings, and it only natural that an epic

about the capacity of morality in higher beings would grapple with this complex issue. In the

Christian faith, different denominations believe in pre-determinism, in which God has already

chosen his people for heaven. In other denominations, salvation is determined by the works of

man. In Sandman, the concept of free-will in itself is a choice: you can choose to exercise it, or

be a willing participant in your fate, whether you are Dream, Lucifer, or an occupant of Hell.

Although there are times when it seems that the Creator meddles in creation affairs, free-will is

in the hands of the being who wishes to use it as the critics of the field generally agree.

Ultimately, there is evidence for both free will and predestination in the Sandman. Gaiman

explores both concepts with three characters: Destiny, Dream, and Lucifer.

On the side of the idea of pure determinism in the Sandman universe is the figure of Destiny,

the embodiment of the concept of predestination. “Destiny of the Endless is the only one who

Figure 1: The Gates of Hell, Season of Mists

NTIM-ADDAE !3understands the peculiar geography [of fate].”, given that the word “destiny” means “a power

that is believed to control what happens in the future.” (Merriam-Webster, 2016.) He has

accepted his fate in a way that no other characters do.

In Seasons of Mists, we start off in his garden,

following the paths of fate that have already be laid

out all the choices of all beings that have come and are

to come. He walks along a path he already knows the

end to. “[He] has no path of his own.” (Gaiman,

1990.) Determinism according to The Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy is “the idea that every

event is necessitated by antecedent events and

conditions together with the laws of nature.” The

garden is a visual scale of the idea of determinism.

Every new path is spawned from the previous paths the agent has taken, with the exception of

Destiny himself who does not walk the path, but glide over it. He is approached by the Old Grey

Ladies who deliver the vague declaration that “A king will forsake his kingdom.” (Gaiman,

1990.) He spurs his brother, Dream to go to Hell because it was revealed to him to be his destiny,

ignoring the dangers of Dream facing off with Lucifer so soon after he slighted him. Destiny,

regardless of how he made feel about putting his brother in harm’s way, complies with his fate as

revealed to him by the Grey Old Women. The audience sees no clear emotions on his face as his

eyes are always averted, distant, and his remaining features casted in complex shadow. A

complex shadow or silhouette effect clouds the audience’s perception of the character by

Figure 2: Destiny of the Endless, Season of Mists.

NTIM-ADDAE !4obscuring its face and making it difficult to perceive the character’s emotions. The artists of The

Sandman and Neil Gaiman put a lot of effort into the character design of Destiny to visually

revel parts of his personality. Gaiman has stated that in The Sandman, he likes to give the

impression that his stories go on “forever”. (Gaiman, 2012) Unlike his siblings who have paper

white complexions, he seems to have an olive complexion. Ironically, it is because of his skin

complexion that he looks more like a human being than his siblings do, perhaps “casting no

shadow” not be to mistaken as one. Myths surrounding him speculate whether or not he is

“blind” or whether he can see all, and holds his words to his chest, unlike his siblings. Destiny as

compared to the other characters seems to lack free will as he embodies the concept of

determinism.

Gaiman also grants some of his creations total

free will, as in the figure of Lucifer, who has

“pure” free will. Jahlmar and Porter are quick to

point out that the Lucifer of The Sandman is very

different from the Satan of Paradise Lost.

“Gaiman both invokes comparison [with Paradise

Lost and the Christian Satan] and suggests that

Milton was wrong.” (Porter, 2013.) As insomuch

that Lucifer complains of having no choice in his Fall,

he did have a choice to rule Hell as no one explicitly instructed him to. He then also decides to

leave Hell with no mandate to “lie on a beach somewhere” because he has no desire to go back

to the Silver City, the Realm of the Creator. Lucifer as acts as a “tempter”, keeping to his

Figure 3: Lucifer in Season of Mists.

NTIM-ADDAE !5Miltonic character and also as a Savoir, contradicting his character as “The Tempter ere th’

Accuser of man-kind,/ To wreck on innocent frail man his loss/ Of that first Battel, and his flight

to Hell” (Book IV, Paradise Lost. Milton.) In Season of Mists, Lucifer leaves Hell, and he guides

the occupants of Hell out, or rather, he alerts them of their choice in the matter of their

damnation. He ‘frees’ their souls from eternal torment, and even ‘forgives’ the grievous sins of

men so that they can find peace elsewhere. As he said to Breschau, “[The generation] that

remembers [you or your sins] is long gone.” Jahlmar states that “free will necessitates the

continuous option for change” which he then constructs that Lucifer has some of the time, and

briefly noting that Dream and the Endless are as close to free will capable in Gaiman’s Universe.

I disagree with Jahlmar on this point. “The Lord of Hell will do what he damn well likes.” I do

agree with Jahlmar that Gaiman essentially “called out” Milton when Lucifer commented to Cain

“We didn’t say it. Milton said that, and he was blind.”, Lucifer shares little in common with the

Satan of Paradise Lost. He shares many characteristics with Samael, the Jewish version of Satan

as an antihero. At times, the audience is convinced that his choices are free and just, and other

times, we are lulled to believe that that he is as much a pawn to play as Destiny is.

And then there’s Dream who has the ability to choose to choose when he pleases. Dream is

the titular character of The Sandman Series, so naturally his character would be the most

developed and complex. In the beginning of the narrative, we are made to understand that he has

a moral duty to return to Hell and save his lover that had slighted him 10,000 years before.

Destiny called a meeting of all of his siblings in Episode 0 of Seasons of Mists where two of

Dream’s sisters called out how “appallingly” he acted towards Nada who did not want to be his

queen in the Dreaming. He sentenced Nada to Hell until the time he so choose to let her go. For

NTIM-ADDAE !610,000 years, he had the choice to go back to Hell and

free her, and he actively ignored his choice. In “A

Hope in Hell”, Dream passed by his old lover on his

way to confront Lucifer for his helm of office. She

called out to him to set her free, and he refused. “[He]

loves [her] but has not yet forgiven [her].” Now, in

Season of Mists, he has no choice but to save her. In

Episode 0, Death and desire confront him about how

appallingly he acted towards Nada. When he arrives

in Hell, he finds it empty and gutted with Lucifer

‘resigning’ as a monarch of his realm. Lucifer gives

him the key to Hell, “the most desired piece of

[property]” in the Universe. (Gaiman, 1990.) As a moral being “[he] keeps [his] own counsel”

and does have the ability to choose from an array of

choices. Dream is given propositions from several

different deities in The Dreaming for the Key

to Hell.

Each proposition is tempting in its own right,

and he exhibits his ability as a moral being to

debate with himself as to which choice is the

best option for the Dreaming and himself. For

the Realm of Hell, Odin offers part of his future “Essence” in the finally battle of Ragnorok, The

Figure 4: Dream in Season of Mists: Episode 3

Figure 5: Dream and Nada in "A Hope and Hell"

NTIM-ADDAE !7Jemmy of Chaos offers the safety of his realm, Bast of the Egyptian delegation offers the

location of his brother, Destruction, and Azazel, the one of the triune leaders of Hell offers his

lover, Nada and Choronzon, the demon who changed him to his helm in “A Hope in Hell”. In the

end, Gaiman throws the audience a curveball and allows Dream to give Hell back to its Creator,

gaining nothing for the exchange. Azazel challenges the results, only to be defeated in the

Dreaming and being forced to free Nada and Choronzon. Dream, in his strongest realm, then is

subjected to Nada’s anger and frustration. Dream by far has the most complicated relationship

with the concept of free-will. He oscillates between being a pawn of fate to being a fully free

agent to do as he pleases.

There is not distinct “pure” free-will, as a

biological being or pure determinism as a moral

being. However, Dream and Lucifer are not

biological beings, and should have an agency

closest to the pole of free will. Jahlmar’s and

Porter’s stance as Lucifer as his own person

contradicts with his own admission that he

“wonders how much of [his rebellion] was

planned”, although I believe he is an example of the purest form of free-will. In Sandman, the

concept of free-will in itself is a choice: you can choose to exercise it, or be a willing participant

in your fate, whether you are Dream, Lucifer, or an occupant of Hell. Like many things in life,

free-will is a continuum. “Sometimes we can choose the path we follow. Sometimes our choices

are made for us. And sometimes we have no choice at all.”

Figure 6: Nada slapping Dream in The Dreaming.

NTIM-ADDAE !8Citations

1. Gaiman, Neil, Steve Oliff, and Danny Vozzo. The Sandman: Season of Mists. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1992. Print.

2. Gaiman, Neil, Malcolm Jones, Todd Klein, Robbie Busch, Danny Vozzo, and Dave McKean. The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes. New York: DC Comics, 1995. Print.

3. Jahlmar, Joakim. "“Give the Devil His Due”: Freedom, Damnation, and Milton’s Paradise Lost in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Season of Mists." Partial Answers: Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas Partial Answers 13.2 (2015): 267-86. Web.

4. Porter, Adam. "Neil Gaiman’s Lucifer: Reconsidering Milton’s Satan." The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 25.2 (2013): 175-85. Web.

5. Mellette, Justin. "Serialization and Empire in Neil Gaiman’s the Sandman." Studies in the Novel 47.3 (2015): 319-34. Web.

6. Daiches, David. Paradise Lost (Milton). Deland, FL: Everett/Edwards, 1973. Print.

7. O'Connor, Timothy. "Free Will." Stanford University. Stanford University, 2002. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

8. Gaiman, Neil. "DREAMING AMERICAN GODS: AN INTERVIEW WITH NEIL GAIMAN." Interview.