(urth) "Myfather's mounted guard"

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

Ummmm ... the Autarch supposedly has no children.

On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 10:34 AM, Son of Witz <sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org>wrote:

> I just read Borski's solar labyrinth article on Thecla.
> My Father's Mounted Guard.
> Her Father is the Autarch.
> seems pretty viable to me, and a lot more interesting than the mundane
> answer.
>
> While I've got some serious qualms about the nature of Borski's
> investigations, they do make for some interesting ideas. Thecla and Masks of
> the Father stand out as very useful to unlocking the book.
>
> what are my qualms then?:
> just that most of the added details only add to the plowman's meaning and
> add very little to the soothsayers' or transcendental meanings.  This book
> is like what Dorcas says about the floating cathedral (It is the Catheral of
> the Claw that jumps into the air when it's set afire, right?) She says "It
> seems to me that what you call the third meaning is very clear. But the
> second
> meaning is harder to find, and the first, which ought to be the easiest, is
> impossible."  So, I guess since the first meaning is so difficult, Borski
> should be commended for connecting the breadcrumb trails with some neon
> paint.
>
> However I can't help but feel that what Wolfe wanted us to take away was
> the third and second meanings, and he used the ambiguity of the first to
> lead us further than plot.  I'm not sure where to credit it, but an esoteric
> teaching I've heard is "there is no escape through the horizontal"  and I
> would argue that most of these readings leave us wandering in the labyrinth.
>  I find the transcendental readings, the vertical dimension, lead us out of
> the labyrinth and into even MORE interesting territory than the labyrinth of
> incestuous time warped bloodlines and religio-political manipulation.
>
> Using time warped incestuous bloodlines as an example, what is more
> important – that Severian might be his wife's grandchild? (Valeria as mother
> of Catherine theory) – that he was potentially many Severian's resurrected?
> (the empty coffins) – OR – that his life is a loop?  I would argue that
> Wolfe is elusive on these details because what matters is that his life is a
> Loop, because it gets into the larger notion of Death and Resurrection and
> cyclical universes, the metaphor of the Amphisbaena.  The mechanics of how
> his life is a loop are just details that get us there.
>
> I do find the puzzles fascinating.  But as someone mentioned that in an
> interview, even Wolfe doesn't know who Severa is.  I would say it's not
> nailed down because it's not very important to the meaning of the story.
>
>
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-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
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and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and
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