As ruler of the dream world, Morpheus may not be viewed as a totally benevolent character, but in most instances in Volumes 1 and 3, it seems like his motives are generally geared towards doing the “right thing” (punishing his captors, giving Rachel a humane death, stopping Dee, freeing Calliope). Yet while readers can see Morpheus in a mostly positive light, the act of dreaming in and of itself is given a much more ambiguous moral treatment by Gaiman. This sense of moral ambiguity in the text seems to grow even stronger if we are meant to read dreams as a reflection of society.
In Volume 1, dreams are shown to be volatile and extremely destructive forces. We see the devastation on an individual scale with Rachel. Her addiction to dreaming destroys her physically and mentally, also leading to the death of her father (although I guess there’s something still alive in the dream-inducing goo?). Morpheus and Constantine finding the Creeper being “eaten alive” by his dreams reinforces the negative implications of dreaming. On a larger scale, when Dee unleashes the power of Morpheus’ ruby, the darker side of human dreams gives release to the “blackness from their souls” (pg. 188), overtly referencing the nastier parts of our human nature.
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats” was the only tale in Volume 3 in which dreaming plays a central role, and it presents dreams in a vastly different light than Volume 1. This story was my favorite in either volume – partially because dreams are shown to have a dual role for the cats as both the reason for their oppression at the hands of humans, and as beacons of hope for a better future. Certainly this episode has its darker elements as well, but Gaiman tells a more playful, somewhat optimistic story about the nature of dreaming here. But maybe this optimism rests in the fact that readers are witness to the dreams of a cat, and not a human.
The texts lead to some interesting questions about dreams, and also about what the nature of our dreams say about us. Does Gaiman use dreams as a framework to make his own moral commentary on society/human nature? Or do dreams serve predominately as the canvas for him to tell his stories involving anthropomorphic, biblical, mythological, and historical characters? I would imagine it’s a little bit of both, but I wonder if those who’ve read a larger sample size of Sandman have any other insights into the nature of dreams in the texts?
John
Having read most of the series (all but volume two, I believe), I think Dream and his realm are really Gaiman’s way of talking about our desires and need for narrative to make sense of the world. Additionally, the conception of Dream’s journey also shows the way central beliefs must transform or fade away, perhaps (I’ve not thought about it this metaphorically before – preferring to get caught up in the emotional immediacy of the personifications than their symbolic significance) providing Gaiman’s view of philosophies and religions?