(urth) Questions . . .

[Jeff Wilson]

Eric Ortlund wrote:
> Dear Friends,
> 
> Forgive me again if I'm repeating old questions, but perhaps some of you
> can help with the following . . .
> 
> 1) What is the larger significance of the story Sev reads to Jonas about
> the man fleshed from dreams?  I get that it's a re-working of the
> Theseus and Minotaur story, but is it anything more than an entertaining
> interlude?  Is it some kind of commentary on the surrounding narrative -
> or Jonas' story?  Severian finishes the story with a dismissive comment
> about it being an idle tale, but I'm suspicious something more is going
> on here.

I believe this is foreshadowing of the whole hting about aquastors, 
eidolons, and other projected people.


> 2) When Severian meets Rudesind the second time before meeting the
> Autarch, is Rudesind's confusion about where they are - he keeps talking
> about being back in the Citadel, and how they can check the map in
> Ultan's library - intentional?  Is he hinting something to Severian?

I've always taken this to be a sign that the Citadel and the House 
Absolute share underground infrastructure.


> 3) Is there a deeper significance to the code phrases Vodalus gives
> Severian?  There's so much about ships elsewhere in the book (the
> pelagic argosy) - the ship on the tomb Sev rests in as a boy, the ship
> he sails to Yesod in - and the Autarch drops the phrase to Sev. as he's
> talking about the higher world Severian will eventually travel to.  Or
> is it "just" a phrase?

"pelagic" makes it a specific sort of ship, one that sails the high 
seas. This distinguishes it from the Tzadkiel, or the riverine vessel 
Severian nearly sinks in Urth. Also, argosy can be multiple ships. Hmm, 
perhaps "pelagic" is the only sort of vessel *not* encountered in 
Severian's chronicle, though the crypt would seem to depict one.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
< http://www.io.com/~jwilson >