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In the Shadow of the Dragons
The Dragon Lords
Psychological profile of Dagnan Te Daelan
Warning: potential spoiler information on this page.
The author is hardly a psychological expert, but, since I made this guy up, it seems I'm uniquely qualified to analyze his psyche. There could be very real spoiler information on this page though, so I issue this one last warning.
In The Dragons' Gift, Dagnan is in a unique position of being the main character, but not the hero of the novel. Several people I know have commented on this fact. Some favourably, some less so, probably because it is a scenario that they are unfamiliar with.
In the early pages of The Dragons' Lord, Dagnan is young and earnest. He is perhaps a bit too serious, a little bookish, and occasionally overcome with a sense of responsibility. He knows what is expected of him now and in the future and takes his role very seriously. But he is also capable of joy. And more importantly, of hope.
As this book wears on, however, his capacity for joy, and particularly for hope, are sorely tested. Without going into the details, a seemingly unending series of personal tragedies befall him. He can point the blame in most cases squarely on the shoulders of someone he finds that he cannot bring to justice, not without violating his sense of personal honor, and that thorny sense of responsibility to a greater good.
All of his life he had grown up knowing he was destined to be the best and the strongest, and when it seems he has finally fulfilled his destiny, he finds that he is powerless, and with each event that passes, more and more alone in facing his growing personal demons, but also genuine evil.
By the time of The Dragons' Gift, Dagnan is psychologically quite fragile. He is feeling quite powerless, and is struggling to reconcile his failures with his responsibilities, but also to find a way, as he must, to turn his failures into strengths--psychological strengths, if nothing else. In truth, his sense of fragility at this time certainly mirrors the way the author was feeling at the time in her life that these pages were being written initially. (Hey, they say you should write what you know.) Dagnan is experiencing not just black moods, a sense of personal failure, and isolation, but also chronic depression and paranoia.
As the series continues, the focus will shift from Dagnan, and he will latch onto the 'gift' the Dragons have given him for a source of hope, and will, finally pull himself back together again, even if he can't fully rid himself of his demons.
My sense of Dagnan is that in other circumstances, he would have made a great hero. He has a real sense of duty and responsibility, and willingness to sacrifice that great heroes require, but his circumstances have put him really on the losing end against an intractable and far better prepared adversary. I see him as a really tragic character in a way. Dagnan is a man struggling against his own destiny. He is a sharp contrast to another character in the series who embraces her destiny and is far better off for it, despite her own measure of tragedy.
Although, in truth, no one can really get through this particular series of books without coming out looking like a tragic figure. It's just not a happy period in these people's lives. At best, expect bittersweet endings the whole way.
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Last updated: 2005 August 23