Title: Undertow

Author: Karl Edward Wagner

Date of First Publication: 1977

Place of Publication: Whispers #10

Type: Short story

Characters: No Character

Themes: ANDROID; BYRONIC HERO; POSTHUMAN; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER

Critical Summary: In the city of Carsultyal, a woman named Dessylyn escapes into the night to flee her merciless lover. Although she is beautiful and spellbinding, she is only approached by love-struck fools. For the residents of Carsultyal know that she is Kane’s woman. The name Kane is well known and feared, and once dusk arrives on the island the inhabitants take to their homes, lest they cross his necromantic creatures. Dessylyn wants nothing more than to escape Kane and be free. But she knows more than anyone the power that Kane possesses, which is why she knows she cannot escape. There is not a place she can go where Kane cannot reach her, and who would be willing to risk death to help her. That is, until she meets Mavrsal, captain of the ship Tuab. With his help Dessylyn plans to finally leave Kane by escaping to the boundless sea where she hopes to break from his influence and control. In her escape Dessylyn is reminded of her previous lover, Dragar. The young barbarian who wields the magical blue-hued sword called Wizard’s Bane, and the man who once promised to set her free. Unbeknownst to Mavrsal, Dessylyn has made other attempts to leave Kane. Which adds more to Dessylyn’s character than she herself would have revealed. Although Dessylyn makes herself out to be a victim of her ex-lover Kane, there might be more to their relationship. She might have more power over herself than she claims, using her beautiful looks and sympathetic story to play a deadly game with the lives of her saviors.

Karl Edward Wagner’s story combines the Victor Frankenstein character with the monster. Kane is a Mad Scientist who uses necromancy to create creatures. Although he has this in common with Victor, he is much more like the monster in appearance and personality. Kane is the dark and mysterious Byronic character that haunts the city of Carsultyal. He is unnaturally strong and is quick to turn to violence and murder. Although Kane resembles the monster a great deal, he is not the only character that takes after him. Dessylyn, although not a monster in appearance, is a corpse that has been brought back to life. She is tortured because she feels isolated and separated from society (much like the monster in Frankenstein). Unlike Frankenstein’s monster however, Dessylyn is not an ugly wretch that must hide herself from humanity. Instead, she is beautiful and sympathetic woman. She is under the constant control of Kane, the person she once loved, but now despises. In a way, this may be a look into what would have happened if Victor would have created a mate for his monster. The monster assumed that a female creature would be content with her life with him. The monster didn’t take into consideration how she would have felt about her life and creation. This is the same way Kane treats Dessylyn. He does not care about her or what she wants, he only wants her so he can satisfy himself.

Administrative Notes:  Andrew Ruvalcaba, CSUF; Kyle Kalmanson (editing)