Cornell likes his characters to think about death. No Future - Ace and Benny about Jan, Human Nature - Benny thinks about Guy, 'Father's Day'...Death is a character in Cornell's Seasons quartet. Dead is dead, but is Death death? What does it mean for the Doctor to dance with Death, deal with Death, for the Monk to become Death's Champion? Don't make this symbol too concrete.
When does Death show up in Human Nature? After the Doctor chooses to be Smith (p13), after Tim chooses to accept the bullying (p94), after Smith chooses to be the Doctor (p234). In Love and War (p80) Death shows up when the Doctor chooses not to sacrifice Ace. The Monk in No Future tries to take away the Doctor's choices. You can see where I'm going with this. It's an idea less gracefully handled in Falls the Shadow.
What about Time? When the Doctor acts as Time's Champion it seems that the ends justify the means. The means are time travel, but what are the ends? Protecting the time lines, but what is that? The Doctor thinks he should believe in reincarnation (Love and War, p234). Smith gets down on his knees and prays (Human Nature, p203). Perhaps being Time's Champion is a recognition that the Doctor feels the need to ground his actions in something bigger than himself.
He was watching with his eyes closed, because he knew that if he opened them, he'd really be just standing in the dome. (Human Nature, p232)
1 comment:
Incidentally, in The Shadows of Avalon, the Brigadier is a character really thinking about death. Unfortunately his grief over Doris is the only good thing about the novel.
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