Original artwork, not a still
But the price of getting what you want, is getting what once you wanted.
— The Sandman • 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A fulfilled wish can outlast the person who made it. Dream's bargain preserves an old desire even as life changes around it, leaving success tinged with loss. That tension sits naturally beside a play which gives departing fairies a lasting place in human imagination.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The SandmanShow the scene
Dream says this in The Sandman #19, ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ (1990). Shakespeare's company has performed the play on the Sussex downs for the real fairy court, fulfilling part of his bargain with Dream. The conversation sets the playwright's wish to make enduring stories beside the price of having that wish granted. The unusual ‘what once you wanted’ wording belongs to the quotation.
Sources (2)
- The Sandman #19 — written source 1A Midsummer Night's Dream; quotation and sceneReference checked
- The Sandman #19 — written source 2A Midsummer Night's Dream; quotation and sceneReference checked
Context reviewed
