Susan’s Fear of the Doctor’s Withdrawal
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Barbara attempts to reassure Susan that they will retrieve the TARDIS, but Susan expresses doubt due to their current predicament.
Susan worries about the Doctor's withdrawn state, prompting Barbara to suggest he's feeling defenseless without his TARDIS.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm and reassuring on the surface, but with an undercurrent of bittersweet acceptance. She masks her own concerns about the group’s future while providing emotional support to Susan.
Barbara stands outside the tent, engaging in a heartfelt but pragmatic conversation with Susan. She attempts to reassure Susan about the Doctor’s ability to retrieve the TARDIS, framing his withdrawal as a reaction to losing his ‘wonderful machine’ rather than sulking. Her dialogue is calm and measured, reflecting her role as the group’s emotional anchor. She acknowledges Susan’s longing for stability but also subtly reinforces the transient nature of their existence. Her presence is both reassuring and bittersweet, as she foreshadows the eventual goodbye between her and Susan.
- • To reassure Susan and maintain group morale
- • To encourage Susan to trust the Doctor’s resilience and leadership
- • The Doctor will recover and find a way to retrieve the TARDIS
- • Their transient existence is a temporary phase, but stability is not guaranteed
Anxious and frustrated, masking a deep longing for stability and fear of abandonment. Her emotional state is a mix of irritation at the Doctor’s perceived sulking and despair over their transient existence.
Susan stands outside the tent, her posture tense and her voice laced with frustration as she vents her anxiety about the Doctor’s withdrawal. She expresses longing for a permanent home and stability, contrasting with Barbara’s pragmatic reassurances. Her dialogue reveals her deep emotional investment in the group’s survival and her fear of the Doctor’s emotional detachment, which she interprets as sulking rather than vulnerability. She is physically present but emotionally distant, her focus inward as she grapples with the uncertainty of their situation.
- • To understand the Doctor’s emotional state and reconnect with him
- • To find a way to retrieve the TARDIS and secure a permanent home for the group
- • The Doctor is sulking and refusing to engage, which is a sign of weakness
- • Their current situation is temporary, and they will eventually find stability
Withdrawn and vulnerable, possibly helpless. His emotional state is inferred through Susan and Barbara’s dialogue, revealing his struggle with the loss of his ‘wonderful machine’ and the security it provides.
The Doctor is not physically present in this scene but is the central subject of the conversation between Barbara and Susan. His emotional withdrawal—refusing to eat or speak—is interpreted by Susan as sulking, while Barbara frames it as a reaction to losing the TARDIS. His absence underscores the group’s growing dependence on him and their fear of his inability to guide them through the escalating peril of the caravan’s journey. The Doctor’s vulnerability without his tools is a key theme, highlighting the TARDIS as his source of security and identity.
- • To regain control and retrieve the TARDIS
- • To reconnect with Susan and the group emotionally
- • The TARDIS is essential to his identity and the group’s survival
- • His withdrawal is a temporary reaction to the loss of his tools
Neutral but authoritative; his absence from the emotional confrontation suggests he is focused on practical matters rather than the group’s internal conflicts.
Marco Polo is mentioned in passing as playing chess with Ian inside the tent, serving as a background figure to the emotional confrontation between Barbara and Susan. His presence underscores the broader context of the caravan’s survival challenges and the group’s fractured dynamics. Though not physically present in this exchange, his role as the caravan’s leader looms over the scene, highlighting the tension between his leadership and the group’s internal struggles.
- • To maintain the caravan’s progress and survival amid dwindling resources
- • To keep the group united despite internal tensions
- • The group’s emotional struggles are secondary to the immediate survival challenges of the caravan
- • His leadership must remain steady, even if the group is fracturing
Kublai Khan is referenced indirectly by Susan as the potential location where the TARDIS might be retrieved. His mention serves …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The TARDIS is the central symbolic and functional object in this event, serving as the group’s lost home and source of security. Barbara frames its loss as the root of the Doctor’s emotional withdrawal, emphasizing its role as the ‘only home we have at the moment.’ Susan’s longing for stability is tied to the TARDIS’s retrieval, as she envisions it as the key to ending their wandering. The object’s absence looms over the conversation, driving the group’s anxiety and shaping their immediate goals. Its retrieval at Kublai Khan’s court is framed as both a hope and a distant, uncertain possibility.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The space outside the Mongol tent serves as a neutral ground for the emotional confrontation between Barbara and Susan. It is a liminal area—neither fully private nor public—where raw emotions can surface without the constraints of the tent’s shared space. The open expanse amplifies the group’s vulnerability, as the vastness of the Gobi Desert looms in the background, symbolizing their isolation and the perils of their journey. The location’s mood is tense and introspective, reflecting the group’s internal fractures and their longing for stability.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Kublai Khan’s court is referenced indirectly as the potential destination for the TARDIS, framing it as both a goal and a looming obstacle for the group. The organization’s influence is felt through the group’s discussion of their future and the TARDIS’s whereabouts, underscoring the broader political and survival stakes of the caravan’s journey. The court represents imperial power and control, looming over the group’s immediate struggles and shaping their sense of urgency and desperation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Susan's longing for a permanent home parallels the Doctor's need for the TARDIS, highlighting their shared sense of displacement and wish for stability."
Susan’s longing for permanence"Susan's longing for a permanent home parallels the Doctor's need for the TARDIS, highlighting their shared sense of displacement and wish for stability."
Susan’s longing for permanenceThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"SUSAN: We'll get the Tardis back, Susan. BARBARA: Yes, at Kublai Khan's court when it's too late. We should be up there. Another time, another galaxy."
"SUSAN: How? Ian's playing chess with Marco. Grandfather's being rude and sulking by himself. BARBARA: Oh, I don't think he's sulking, is he? SUSAN: Well, he won't eat. He won't even talk to me. BARBARA: Well, you know him better than I do, but I'd have said he was just feeling defenceless. He has a wonderful machine, capable of all sorts of miracles, and it's taken away from him by a man he calls a primitive."
"SUSAN: Will he talk to me? Confide in me? BARBARA: Oh, he's like a rubber ball. He'll come bouncing out of there soon full of ideas. SUSAN: One day we'll know all the mysteries of the skies, and we'll stop our wandering. BARBARA: Then you and I will say goodbye."