The Dishonored Series as Environmental and Social Commentary
and enemies . Such an intimate exploration of space and place underscores the root of the name Dunwall�dun , meaning gray or dark . The city is not only plague-ridden but also filthy , with only the wealthiest district located in the north offering anything approaching decent living conditions . These conditions further reinforce the idea that Dunwall ’ s citizens� especially those on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale�have paid a high price for the city ’ s relative technological advance . To this end , the game explores an aspect of ecocriticism along the lines of what Greg Garrard describes . He asserts of the exploration of environmental issues , “ Environmental problems require analysis in cultural as well as scientific terms , because they are the outcome of an interaction between ecological knowledge of nature and its cultural inflection ” ( 14 ). With a digital narrative like Dishonored , such conversations occur along two interrelated fronts�the fictional and the real .
The plague ravaging Dunwall provides a critical narrative backdrop to the game ’ s explorations of revenge and ecological disaster . The plague is called “ The Doom of Pandyssia ” 7 – an often-referenced continent rumored to be uninhabited by humans�by the player ’ s Heart , an item granted to Corvo by The Outsider that provides somber , even bitter , commentary about the state of Dunwall and its citizens . Through The Outsider ’ s power , a mechanism of magic otherwise unexplained , Empress Jessamine ’ s spirit�speaking always with sadness and regret�embodies the Heart . The Heart itself is no longer strictly organic but riddled with wire and metal , indicative of the manner in which Dunwall has lost its con-
7 The Heart will also state that “ the Doom of Pandyssia has come to this city ,” implying that Pandyssia serves as a mirror for the dark path Dunwall walks and that the continent lies abandoned due to the actions of its former inhabitants .
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