(urth) The Katharine maid
Dan Rabin
wolfe-lists at danrabin.com
Wed Oct 25 22:46:58 PDT 2006
>Jeff Wilson: Does this imply Brother Cook and Brother Porter are
>likewise eidolons?
>
>Roy Lackey: Huh? They weren't eidolons. I don't understand.
>
>Jeff Wilson: They seem to be menial functionaries, and they don't
>have saints' names,
>suggesting they are not like other residents of the Commonwealth.
Hmm. I always assumed that these two were perfectly ordinary guild
members whose names happened not to be used in these references
because Severian was talking about their roles, not their identities.
This would be something like referring (in contemporary America) to
"Dean of Sciences" or "Attending Physician".
I also assume, though I can't put my finger on any evidence, that
guild brothers in such roles are not on track to becoming masters.
It's just barely possible that there is a status of non-guild-member
in service of the guild (something like a lay brother at a
monastery?), but this doesn't seem likely considering that members of
the Order are clearly pariahs and that the Order turns away adult
applicants.
-- Dan Rabin
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