2012-05-16
Explanation
This comic depicts a man waking up from a recurring nightmare that he describes to his partner. In the dream, a giant werewolf chases him through the forest, catches him, and then delivers an existential truth: "Even close loved ones will never understand your inner life in a way you would find meaningful." The werewolf then refuses to eat him and simply walks away.
The humor and pathos of the comic come from the unexpected twist on the nightmare format. Instead of the monster physically harming him, it delivers a devastating philosophical truth about the fundamental loneliness of human consciousness. When the man's partner dismisses his dream as nonsensical -- "Why would a monster say that? Your dreams don't make any sense" -- she inadvertently proves the werewolf's point. Her inability to understand why this would be frightening demonstrates exactly the kind of failure of intimate understanding the werewolf described. The final panels, where he sheepishly agrees his dream is "pretty stupid," only to later tell the werewolf "You were right," complete the cycle of existential isolation.