The World of Shadow introduces The Doll Funeral and delves further into one of the characters in the book â Shadow. Shadow flits through The Doll Funeral, he has a close but often tempestuous relationship with the hero, Ruby. In the short story we rewind back and see a snapshot of his life, find out more about his connection with Ruby and experience the life, pain and love of this boy who has such a profound influence on the course of the book.