Lord Dunsany Review: The Whirlpool

It’s easier to give the dictionary definition of a vignette than to explain why a specific piece of writing is a full fledged story or a simple vignette. Because of its single focus, I would describe “The Whirlpool” as a vignette but I understand why someone else might think differently.

In the vignette/story, the first-person narrator encountered the personification of a whirlpool. The whirlpool explained the gods set him there to prevent too many people from sailing to the Happy Isles. If humans reach the Happy Isles, they will be content, and, the whirlpool tells us, “the gods have not content.”

There’s no conflict, or a plot pyramid, or many of the other elements that we associate with stories. However, it still feels complete. Many works lack supposedly essential elements of fiction such as Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” but Le Guin presented both the city and the abused child, expanding “Omelas” beyond the scope of a vignette.

Dunsany remains fixed on whirlpool throughout the entire piece. For me, that tips the scale to categorize “The Whirlpool” as a vignette. I’m guessing approximately 99.84% of the world’s population aren’t concerned about classifying Lord Dunsany’s works but “The Whirlpool” is so short and straightforward that it doesn’t lend itself to the same degree of analysis as one of Dunsany’s longer works.

“The Whirlpool” could be a good introduction for a reader interested in Dunsany’s writings. As mentioned, it’s short but is a good representation of his style.