Not to be confused with the Hanged Man
The number seventeen card in the deck.
A dashing young man stands proudly in full military regalia, his hand clutched his weapon in a symbolic pose.
Authors note:This card cannot be interpreted without first noting the difference between The Hanged Man of the standard deck and The Drowned Man. Obviously the Dishonored creative team had reason to name this card such, I would suspect that the character is drowned at some point (but as I noted earlier, I have not played the game as I do not want to base these interpretations on the game board but rather the images depicted on the card). The Hanged Man is a card of personal , physical or mental suffering to attain a higher goal. Students in their intense final years of study often see The Hanged Man show up on a spread. The imagery of The Drowned Man suggest no such suffering but has obviously achieved at least a modicum of success.
The card has it's most valuable interpretation when inverted. The Drowned Man inverted indicates a man (or woman) of some stature in business or other social construct who has for whatever reasons been subjected to intense work or personal overload. This person is drowning in sorrow, drowning in debt, drowning in loss ... The Drowned Man is a symbol of suffocation. Yet for whatever reasons The Drowned Man struggles to maintain the outward appearance of success and dashing. The serious implication of this, is this:
The need to keep up appearances is causing much of the struggle. In a past and present position The Drowned Man is trying hard to maintain an image but in failing to do so, causes failure which causes more stress...the vicious circle continues ad infinitum. Depending on it's position in a past or present mode the indications are so severe that immediate action is probably justified.
In an upright position The Drowned Man is a null card. The only such card in any deck. Upright the person or situation has achieved what they wish in life, maintain their appearances and are probably quite happy with where they are at or a situation is functioning normally with no problems nor grand flourishes . Upright , The Drowned Man is a card of grand banality .
