(urth) Valeria

[John Watkins]

Could it just be Wolfe saying that if you're married to someone for
long enough, their personality imprints onto your mind?



On 7/17/08, b sharp <bsharporflat at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> As with the end of CotA, the end of UotNS is rather densely packed with
> explanations.
> I just noticed a passage I hadn't ever noticed before (perhaps Roy will know
> if it was
> discussed before):
>
> Severian has discovered he is an eidolon and says:
>>"I felt as real as I ever have; and when I searched among my memories, I
>> found
>>Valeria there still, and Thecla and old Autarch, and the boy Severian (who
>> had been
>>Severian only).
>
> Valeria, with her home in the tower near the Atrium of Time is a pretty
> mysterious
> character. Some have guessed she is Severian's mother, daughter, sister. But
> why is
> she included in the select company of those who have been grafted onto
> Severian's
> memory, chemically?
>
> Racking my brain for the past day or two produced only two weak answers:
>
> 1. The assassin's blade had an alzabo extract on it and when it pierced
> Valeria, then
> Severian's chest, her memories were implanted.
>
> 2. Valeria symbolizes Wolfe's wife and he wanted to honor her and their long
> marriage
> (though his avatar Severian) by including her, in literary form, as a
> permanent part of
> Severian's memory. (I suspect Thecla and old Autarch also represent
> important people
> in Gene Wolfe's life).
>
> But I'm hoping someone can come up with explanations better than these :-).
>
>
> -bsharp
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Time for vacation? WIN what you need- enter now!
> http://www.gowindowslive.com/summergiveaway/?ocid=tag_jlyhm
> _______________________________________________
> Urth Mailing List
> To post, write urth at urth.net
> Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net
>

-- 
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com