Susannah Dean
Encyclopedia
Susannah Odetta Holmes Dean (also referred to as Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker) is a fictional character from Stephen King
's The Dark Tower
series. She is introduced in The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three and continues as a main character for the remainder of the story.
couple, living in New York City
.
At the age of five, Odetta falls into a coma when a sociopath
named Jack Mort dropped a brick onto her head from the top of a building. Out of this traumatizing incident, Odetta's damaged mind creates a completely separate personality named Detta Walker.
The disparity between Odetta's two personalities
approaches the level of polar opposites. Odetta is a refined, morally righteous intellectual who participates in civil rights protests, while Detta is a violent, base individual ruled by sexual desire and fueled by hatred towards the white people Odetta passively resists. The two personalities are completely unaware of each other's existence.
In an ironic twist of fate, Jack Mort (presumably, though never explicitly stated, unaware of the coincidence) attempts to kill Odetta again 20 years later by pushing her in front of the A-train at Christopher Street station. At the last second a man pulls her out of the way, though her legs are severed by the train, restricting her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
It is at this point that the Detta Walker personality begins to assert more control over their shared mind. For the three years following the loss of her legs, Odetta experiences blackouts which her intellect fills in with fictional events. Detta, too, suffers the same effects when not in control and realizes periods of time are missing, though she chooses to ignore this. This behavior persists until Roland Deschain
"draws" Odetta/Detta into Mid-World from New York City
in 1964.
Detta takes over and escapes when Roland travels through the third door into the mind of Jack Mort. Eddie is left alone in the darkness with Detta, who intends to murder him and Roland. She eventually holds Eddie up with Roland's gun and ties him up in ropes. She leaves him on the beach to get eaten by 'lobstrosities', a deadly lobster
-like species.
Roland (in Mort's body in Detta's world) realizes a way to save Odetta's life, and brings Mort down to a subway station. He then calls for both Odetta and Detta to look into the doorway out of Mort's eyes. When Detta and Odetta both look out the doorway, they see each other for the first time and both have combined memories of Mort dropping the brick on their head and then being pushed in front of the train. This has the effect of blending the personalities together, creating Susannah Dean (Susannah because it was the middle name of both Detta and Odetta, and Dean because she is married to Eddie by ka
).
Throughout the rest of the series, Susannah remains Eddie's lifelong love and one of Roland's faithful companions. Being a merging of the "good" Odetta and the "bad" Detta, Susannah seems closer to Odetta, and this "part" of her former personalities never reappears in the novel; on the other hand, Detta is often called to the rescue when Susannah needs to be a little tougher to deal with evil powers such as the demon
of the speaking ring in The Waste Lands
or Mia in Song of Susannah
.
draws Susannah a door to "happiness" and she travels through it. She ends up in a version of New York, meeting what appears to be Eddie Dean and Jake Chambers (now as brothers and with the last name of "Toren"). Eddie confides in her that he and Jake had each dreamed of her, and that he believes he is falling in love with her.
She is the only member of Roland's ka-tet not to have died at some point throughout the series.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series. She is introduced in The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three and continues as a main character for the remainder of the story.
In New York
Odetta Holmes is the only child of Dan and Alice Holmes, a wealthy blackAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
couple, living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
At the age of five, Odetta falls into a coma when a sociopath
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
named Jack Mort dropped a brick onto her head from the top of a building. Out of this traumatizing incident, Odetta's damaged mind creates a completely separate personality named Detta Walker.
The disparity between Odetta's two personalities
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
approaches the level of polar opposites. Odetta is a refined, morally righteous intellectual who participates in civil rights protests, while Detta is a violent, base individual ruled by sexual desire and fueled by hatred towards the white people Odetta passively resists. The two personalities are completely unaware of each other's existence.
In an ironic twist of fate, Jack Mort (presumably, though never explicitly stated, unaware of the coincidence) attempts to kill Odetta again 20 years later by pushing her in front of the A-train at Christopher Street station. At the last second a man pulls her out of the way, though her legs are severed by the train, restricting her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
It is at this point that the Detta Walker personality begins to assert more control over their shared mind. For the three years following the loss of her legs, Odetta experiences blackouts which her intellect fills in with fictional events. Detta, too, suffers the same effects when not in control and realizes periods of time are missing, though she chooses to ignore this. This behavior persists until Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
"draws" Odetta/Detta into Mid-World from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1964.
In Mid-World
When Roland Deschain enters the door to 1964 and drags her into Mid-World, Detta Walker is in control and responds in a hostile manner, calling him a "honky mahfah". Eventually, Odetta Holmes's personality wakes up and tries to dismiss the whole incident as a dream, but eventually realizes the reality of the situation and becomes depressed and hysterical. She eventually finds friendship and love in Eddie Dean, another person drawn from her world; however, the relationship is restricted by Detta's personality.Detta takes over and escapes when Roland travels through the third door into the mind of Jack Mort. Eddie is left alone in the darkness with Detta, who intends to murder him and Roland. She eventually holds Eddie up with Roland's gun and ties him up in ropes. She leaves him on the beach to get eaten by 'lobstrosities', a deadly lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
-like species.
Roland (in Mort's body in Detta's world) realizes a way to save Odetta's life, and brings Mort down to a subway station. He then calls for both Odetta and Detta to look into the doorway out of Mort's eyes. When Detta and Odetta both look out the doorway, they see each other for the first time and both have combined memories of Mort dropping the brick on their head and then being pushed in front of the train. This has the effect of blending the personalities together, creating Susannah Dean (Susannah because it was the middle name of both Detta and Odetta, and Dean because she is married to Eddie by ka
Ka (Dark Tower)
Ka is a plot element in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It is a word of the fictional language High Speech.-Overview:In the books, it is a mysterious force that leads all living creatures. It is the will of Gan, the approximate equivalent of destiny or fate, in King's fictional language of High...
).
Throughout the rest of the series, Susannah remains Eddie's lifelong love and one of Roland's faithful companions. Being a merging of the "good" Odetta and the "bad" Detta, Susannah seems closer to Odetta, and this "part" of her former personalities never reappears in the novel; on the other hand, Detta is often called to the rescue when Susannah needs to be a little tougher to deal with evil powers such as the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
of the speaking ring in The Waste Lands
The Waste Lands
The Waste Lands is the third book of the The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The original limited edition hardcover featuring full-color illustrations by Ned Dameron was published in 1991 by Grant...
or Mia in Song of Susannah
Song of Susannah
Song of Susannah is the sixth novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The novel was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2005.-Plot summary:...
.
In New York again
At the end of the last novel, The Dark Tower, Patrick DanvillePatrick Danville
Patrick Danville is a fictional character created by Stephen King, featured in the novels Insomnia and The Dark Tower.-Insomnia:Patrick was introduced as a child in Insomnia, a budding artist who was destined to die saving the lives of two men, one of whom must not die...
draws Susannah a door to "happiness" and she travels through it. She ends up in a version of New York, meeting what appears to be Eddie Dean and Jake Chambers (now as brothers and with the last name of "Toren"). Eddie confides in her that he and Jake had each dreamed of her, and that he believes he is falling in love with her.
She is the only member of Roland's ka-tet not to have died at some point throughout the series.