Rose Walker
Encyclopedia
Rose Walker is a fictional character
from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman
. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House
story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair. (In later issues she is shown as having red hair with a blonde streak.) There are various indications that Rose is, or became, one of the immortals occasionally featured in Sandman. Desire of the Endless
is Rose's maternal grandparent (Desire is an "it" and gave life to Rose's mother with no semen transfer), and there are various examples through the book of characters falling in love or lust with her very easily, perhaps through this influence.
On the plane Rose has a dream in which she sees Morpheus and Lucien, who are talking about a "dream vortex," something that can bring about the end of the Dreaming itself. Morpheus states the vortex is a person—in fact, it is Rose herself.
Rose and her mother learn that Unity Kinkaid is actually Miranda's mother (and so Rose's grandmother). Unity was a victim of the 'sleepy sickness' that resulted from Morpheus' capture, waking up only after Morpheus finally freed himself. During her long period of unconsciousness she was raped by an orderly and conceived, giving birth to Rose's mother. Now that Unity has awakened she wants to get to know her lost family.
But one member is missing—Rose's brother Jed
—so Rose sets out to find him. This leads her to Florida
, where she finds a place to stay in a large house near Cape Canaveral
. The house is populated by the crossdressing landlord Hal; the eerily perfect couple of Ken and Barbie; the mysterious and odd gentleman named Gilbert; and the pair of Chantal and Zelda, known as the Spider Women.
With the help of Gilbert and even Morpheus, Rose is able to find Jed and save him from a convention of serial killer
s. But Rose has started to develop her "dream vortex" powers, so Morpheus decides to slay her. Unity appears in Rose's dream and asks her granddaughter to give her (Rose's) heart to her. Rose complies, and Unity takes in Rose's heart and then dies. Since the dream vortex then vanishes, Morpheus lets Rose live.
Morpheus learns that his sibling Desire
had conceived Rose's mother on sleeping Unity. Thus, Rose is Desire's granddaughter and Dream's grandniece. Had Morpheus killed her he would have spilled the blood of his kin and invoked the wrath of the Furies.
, Morpheus claimed that the Cuckoo was bound to Barbie's dream skerry partially through Rose's actions. Barbie's housemate Foxglove is the former girlfriend of Rose's deceased friend Judy, a remarkable coincidence which Barbie and Foxglove remark on.
(Sandman #57-69) it is revealed that Rose, in her twenties, is living in an apartment beneath Lyta Hall in L.A. She is living off her Grandmother's inheritance and doing some writing about 50's TV shows. In her spare time she babysits Daniel Hall
(though he is later kidnapped in her care) and looks after Zelda, the only living tenant of The Doll's House whom she maintains contact with.
Rose is affected by no longer having her 'heart' and often feels hollow and empty. She apparently never falls in love, or gets her heart broken, because she no longer possesses one in the corporeal sense. At one point she describes herself as "a cold bitch-on-wheels."
She doesn't age visibly. In The Doll's House we already see examples of her being taken for younger than her 21 years, and upon reaching 26 her youthful appearance is remarked on even more often.
However, her feelings of friendship towards others has not changed; she makes daily visits to the dying Zelda in the hospital, even paying for the medical costs; she refers to it mentally as 'A Vigil', because there is no-one else for the diseased woman. On one visit, Zelda gives Rose a message from her grandmother (suspected to be Unity, or possibly the amorphously-sexed Desire
): if Rose will go to her she'll give Rose back her heart (which reinforces the idea that it was Unity - since she is the one who received Rose's heart, not Desire).
Intrigued, Rose travels once again to England, under the pretense of researching her grandmother's life. Here she is introduced to the Curator of Unity's Elderly Residents Home - none other than Paul McGuire, the lover of Alexander Burgess - and unwittingly makes contact with the Three Witches once more after searching for them in the broom closet where they had made their last encounter.
While in England, Rose apparently falls in love — for the first time as far as the reader knows — with Jack Holdaway, the nephew of her family's now-deceased British attorney (although she admits to herself that she only "really likes" him instead of being totally in love). Unfortunately, when she later gives him a surprise call, it turns out Holdaway is with someone else, whom he should have informed her about. (It is later implied that he killed himself when his lover, a man, discovered what he had done).
Depressed and agitated, Rose visits Paul, who resides in the house belonging to the comatose Alex Burgess. Exploring, she wanders into the basement room that contains the Glass Chamber where her Great-Uncle Morpheus had once been kept prisoner. Waiting for her there is her "grandparent": Desire of the Endless. Desire wishes to inform Rose of something, but before it can Rose interrupts, delivering a cryptic monologue that betrays her subconscious feelings about love. The speech is written in italics to underscore the unusual or cryptic mode of speech Rose is using. As Rose collapses to the floor in tears, Desire remarks that it preferred her when she was stoically complaining about not feeling anything.
Their encounter is interrupted by Paul, who strolls into the room as Desire disappears in a puff of smoke. Dazed, Rose recalls the incident as a dream...but it is revealed to be no dream, as Paul finds, on the floor, her heart, left by Desire in the form of a silver 'art deco' cigarette lighter.
Rose's story is a kind of rite-of-passage
tale. Rose learns to open herself up, leaving her vulnerable to getting hurt, but also giving her the capacity to truly love and be loved.
, in which she meets and talks with her brother Jed
in the Dreaming, and makes amends of a sort with Lyta Hall. She also tells her brother that she thinks she's pregnant, and it is assumed that the child is Jack Holdaway's.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. She makes her first appearance in issue #10, part one of The Doll's House
The Sandman: The Doll's House
The Doll's House is the second trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. It collects issues #9-16. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli and Steve Parkhouse, coloured by Robbie...
story arc. She is a beautiful young girl, a blonde with red- and purple-dyed streaks in her hair. (In later issues she is shown as having red hair with a blonde streak.) There are various indications that Rose is, or became, one of the immortals occasionally featured in Sandman. Desire of the Endless
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
is Rose's maternal grandparent (Desire is an "it" and gave life to Rose's mother with no semen transfer), and there are various examples through the book of characters falling in love or lust with her very easily, perhaps through this influence.
The Doll's House
When she first appears, Rose is apparently asleep on an airplane and her mother Miranda says to her, "Wake up..." She and her mother are traveling to England to see a woman named Unity Kinkaid.On the plane Rose has a dream in which she sees Morpheus and Lucien, who are talking about a "dream vortex," something that can bring about the end of the Dreaming itself. Morpheus states the vortex is a person—in fact, it is Rose herself.
Rose and her mother learn that Unity Kinkaid is actually Miranda's mother (and so Rose's grandmother). Unity was a victim of the 'sleepy sickness' that resulted from Morpheus' capture, waking up only after Morpheus finally freed himself. During her long period of unconsciousness she was raped by an orderly and conceived, giving birth to Rose's mother. Now that Unity has awakened she wants to get to know her lost family.
But one member is missing—Rose's brother Jed
Jed Walker
Jed Walker is a DC Comics character. He appeared in Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's short-lived series The Sandman, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a...
—so Rose sets out to find him. This leads her to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where she finds a place to stay in a large house near Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
. The house is populated by the crossdressing landlord Hal; the eerily perfect couple of Ken and Barbie; the mysterious and odd gentleman named Gilbert; and the pair of Chantal and Zelda, known as the Spider Women.
With the help of Gilbert and even Morpheus, Rose is able to find Jed and save him from a convention of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s. But Rose has started to develop her "dream vortex" powers, so Morpheus decides to slay her. Unity appears in Rose's dream and asks her granddaughter to give her (Rose's) heart to her. Rose complies, and Unity takes in Rose's heart and then dies. Since the dream vortex then vanishes, Morpheus lets Rose live.
Morpheus learns that his sibling Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
had conceived Rose's mother on sleeping Unity. Thus, Rose is Desire's granddaughter and Dream's grandniece. Had Morpheus killed her he would have spilled the blood of his kin and invoked the wrath of the Furies.
A Game of You
Though Rose has no physical appearance in A Game of YouThe Sandman: A Game of You
A Game of You is the fifth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch and Dick Giordano, and lettered by Todd Klein....
, Morpheus claimed that the Cuckoo was bound to Barbie's dream skerry partially through Rose's actions. Barbie's housemate Foxglove is the former girlfriend of Rose's deceased friend Judy, a remarkable coincidence which Barbie and Foxglove remark on.
The Kindly Ones
In The Kindly OnesThe Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
(Sandman #57-69) it is revealed that Rose, in her twenties, is living in an apartment beneath Lyta Hall in L.A. She is living off her Grandmother's inheritance and doing some writing about 50's TV shows. In her spare time she babysits Daniel Hall
Daniel Hall
Daniel Hall is a fictional character in the Sandman comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. An infant for the majority of the Sandman series, he is the son of Hippolyta 'Lyta' Hall and Hector Hall, borne for two years in the Dreaming Daniel Hall is a fictional character...
(though he is later kidnapped in her care) and looks after Zelda, the only living tenant of The Doll's House whom she maintains contact with.
Rose is affected by no longer having her 'heart' and often feels hollow and empty. She apparently never falls in love, or gets her heart broken, because she no longer possesses one in the corporeal sense. At one point she describes herself as "a cold bitch-on-wheels."
She doesn't age visibly. In The Doll's House we already see examples of her being taken for younger than her 21 years, and upon reaching 26 her youthful appearance is remarked on even more often.
However, her feelings of friendship towards others has not changed; she makes daily visits to the dying Zelda in the hospital, even paying for the medical costs; she refers to it mentally as 'A Vigil', because there is no-one else for the diseased woman. On one visit, Zelda gives Rose a message from her grandmother (suspected to be Unity, or possibly the amorphously-sexed Desire
Desire (DC Comics)
Desire is a fictional character from the DC comic book series The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #10 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.-Publication history:...
): if Rose will go to her she'll give Rose back her heart (which reinforces the idea that it was Unity - since she is the one who received Rose's heart, not Desire).
Intrigued, Rose travels once again to England, under the pretense of researching her grandmother's life. Here she is introduced to the Curator of Unity's Elderly Residents Home - none other than Paul McGuire, the lover of Alexander Burgess - and unwittingly makes contact with the Three Witches once more after searching for them in the broom closet where they had made their last encounter.
While in England, Rose apparently falls in love — for the first time as far as the reader knows — with Jack Holdaway, the nephew of her family's now-deceased British attorney (although she admits to herself that she only "really likes" him instead of being totally in love). Unfortunately, when she later gives him a surprise call, it turns out Holdaway is with someone else, whom he should have informed her about. (It is later implied that he killed himself when his lover, a man, discovered what he had done).
Depressed and agitated, Rose visits Paul, who resides in the house belonging to the comatose Alex Burgess. Exploring, she wanders into the basement room that contains the Glass Chamber where her Great-Uncle Morpheus had once been kept prisoner. Waiting for her there is her "grandparent": Desire of the Endless. Desire wishes to inform Rose of something, but before it can Rose interrupts, delivering a cryptic monologue that betrays her subconscious feelings about love. The speech is written in italics to underscore the unusual or cryptic mode of speech Rose is using. As Rose collapses to the floor in tears, Desire remarks that it preferred her when she was stoically complaining about not feeling anything.
Their encounter is interrupted by Paul, who strolls into the room as Desire disappears in a puff of smoke. Dazed, Rose recalls the incident as a dream...but it is revealed to be no dream, as Paul finds, on the floor, her heart, left by Desire in the form of a silver 'art deco' cigarette lighter.
Rose's story is a kind of rite-of-passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
tale. Rose learns to open herself up, leaving her vulnerable to getting hurt, but also giving her the capacity to truly love and be loved.
The Wake
Rose appears briefly in The WakeThe Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
, in which she meets and talks with her brother Jed
Jed Walker
Jed Walker is a DC Comics character. He appeared in Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's short-lived series The Sandman, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a...
in the Dreaming, and makes amends of a sort with Lyta Hall. She also tells her brother that she thinks she's pregnant, and it is assumed that the child is Jack Holdaway's.