(urth) Questions about BNS
David Duffy
David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au
Wed Nov 14 20:13:09 PST 2007
On Wed, 14 Nov 2007, Gwern Branwen wrote:
> On 2007.11.14 13:26:21 -0600, Eric Ortlund <eortlund at briercrest.ca> scribbled 0 lines:
>>
>> 2) When Severian and Agia are in the Jungle Garden, the apparently travel
>> in time and space (the story about Father Inire's mirrors apparently
>> prepares the reader for this) to a missionary couple in the jungle. Can
>> someone please explain to me what on earth the native is talking about on
>> pg. 131? The woman in the couple reads from Deuteronomy 34 - about Moses
>> looking into the promised land but not being able to enter it - and then
>> the native tells a story about a fish who apparently is a woman. I'm
>> totally at a loss here; what is the connection? What is the naked man
>> talking about? How does this contribute to the story?
>
> I've thought that they didn't really travel. The naked native is named
> Isangoma, which seems to be an African title for some sort of shaman or
> diviner, and he refers to Agia and Severian constantly as spirits.
>
> Actually, turns out I'm not the first to think this...
>
> Yeah, so my theory is that they are there as specula themselves, which
> is how they can 'travel' such distances of time and space, and why the
> Preceptress Marie and Robert cannot see them (well). But Isangoma and
>
...
> Understanding what's going on would be a lot easier if we knew who
> Marie and Robert are. Why is she a Preceptress? Who is Robert and why
> And if it's the deep past from Severian and
> Agia's point of view, why is the mail plane a 'thopter and not a
> fixed-wing?
> --
> gwern
As Agila says, I think they are reenactors. They are not in our Africa:
Isangoma uses an Australian aboriginal word for fishing spear, as well
as Zulu terms, and mentions several our-now-extinct birds and animals.
Rereading the mail plane description, it is a fixed wing propeller
driven aircraft. I don't know who Robert and Marie are, but it seems
like we *should* know them. I think they are Preceptor and -tress
just because they are both missionaries.
Cheers, David Duffy
PS About 1/3 through _Pirate Freedom_!
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