Nine Princes in Amber, chapter 9

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read Nine Princes in Amber now. I promise I won't be offended.

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Corwin, Prince of Amber, has failed in his attempt to take the throne of Amber from his evil brother, Eric. He was captured, forced to offer Eric the crown at his coronation, then blinded and imprisoned.

Three years later, Corwin is still in his cell in the dungeon. But he realizes that thanks to his unusual ability to recover quickly from injury, his eyes are growing back. The next time Eric trots him out for a celebratory banquet, his recovered sight will be discovered. So Corwin starts planning his escape.

He starts using a sharpened spoon to carve away the cell door around the lock, a months-long process. One day, he realizes he is not alone in his cell. The intruder is Dworkin, the hunchbacked magician who created the Trumps. Dworkin had been imprisoned by Corwin's father, Oberon, but he designed a new Trump that enabled him to teleport through the wall into of Corwin's cell (being curious what was on the other side).

However, Dworkin left his Trump behind and cannot return to his own apartment. Corwin allows him to carve a sketch in his wall with his sharpened spoon, and to use his small supply of matches for light. In return, he requests that Dworkin "decorate" the opposite wall with a picture of the Lighthouse of Cabra. After Dworkin has gone, Corwin uses his last match to set his bedding on fire, and by that light he teleports to the Lighthouse, thus escaping from Eric.

This is the penultimate chapter of Nine Princes in Amber. I expected Corwin to escape Eric's dungeon, but I suppose I was expecting a breakout that was a little less … subtle. His original plan, before Dworkin arrived, was to weaken the door, kick it open, then fight his way to the Pattern and teleport away.

Corwin's accelerated healing ability was mentioned in chapter 1 where, after breaking both legs in a car accident, he had completely healed in two weeks. (No wonder Flora wanted him kept under sedation.) This healing ability is what enabled him to survive the plague in the 16th century, as well as recovering from paraplegia during World War II. Turns out it was a bit of a Chekhov's gun.

As Corwin carves away at his cell door, he contemplate whether technically he is the rightful liege of Amber: after all, at Eric's coronation, Corwin first crowned himself, though he was beaten for it. It was just one of several pranks he pulled at Eric's expense—or so I assumed. Suppose this joke becomes a significant plot point later in the series?

Dworkin Barimen was first mentioned in chapter 6 as the creator of the Trumps and the Pattern: "He was the ancient artist to whom space and perspective meant nothing"—which is presumably related to his ability to make magic pictures. He's also a bit mad. The Trumps were commissioned by Oberon, who discovered Dworkin in Shadows. Until Corwin met him in his cell, his whereabouts were unknown. He had been imprisoned by Oberon after describing a way to destroy Amber. I suspect we'll be seeing Dworkin again. However, his appearance at this point in the novel feels just a little bit like a deus ex machina.

Dworkin, incidentally, is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname, ultimately derived from "Deborah," the prophetess and fourth (and only female) judge/ruler of pre-monarchial Israel in the Bible (see Judges 4–5). Are we meant to imagine Dworkin as a little, hunchbacked magical Jewish madman? Oberon supposedly rescued him from Shadow, and not necessarily from our Earth, so I'm somewhat intrigued by the concept of "extradimensional Jews," much as I am with "space Asians" whenever the topic of representation in Star Wars movies is raised.

Corwin has escaped from Eric's dungeon. How long will it be before his disappearance is discovered? It could be a while. Will Eric see the sketch of the Lighthouse and put the pieces together? With one chapter left, how will Nine Princes in Amber pan out? Stay tuned for the (hopefully) resounding conclusion this Sunday!