(urth) Severian's Journey: Happenstance or Masterplan?

[Ryan Dunn]

Over the past couple of months, I have been bringing certain details to light regarding perceived ulterior motives of various characters and actions within the Book of the New Sun, in an attempt to expose what I suspected to be a bigger, broader context wherein Severian's journey exists. I have accused certain characters of being shape-shifters set to keep a watchful eye on Severian; I have condemned others to be robots programmed to instill/test Severian's character traits; I have even gone so far as to expose twin paradoxes and benign grandfather paradoxes for the sake of what I perceive to be journey manipulation.

In my (less than academic) study of the tetralogy which has confounded, inspired, and enlightened many, I now ask the question in a different way. When analyzing Severian's journey as a whole, and knowing where his journey ends, have the path he has taken -- the events he experiences, the people he encounters, and so forth -- been the product of one large design? Or were loose parameters were set forth for Severian in order to create an environment conducive to his inescapable ascension to Autarch and (later) New Sun?

To further this question, I am asking -- if you subscribe, as I presently do, to the master plan theory -- that you can only accept this theory holistically, and not just a series of convenient pieces to support any and every flimsy bit of speculation (of which there is plenty abound). What I mean is, if Severian, the hero of our story, was always meant to become the New Sun, then we as readers ought to trust the text as a recount of one large piece of choreography, a construct that may or may not be known to the narrator. Yes, there are side stories, secondary actions, unexpected moments, and so on. But in truth, if the narrative arc is a controlled thing, then the only way to control something is to tie strings to it and make it perform as you wish.

It is worth noting that we do have a reoccurrence of "performance" during Severian's quest, from his dreams of puppet shows to Dr. Talos's play, to stories from the Brown Book (Keys to the Universe). Might we take those to reenactments to be metaphors for Severian's journey at large, as a suggestion of somebody above the narration itself, tugging Severian along? One could postulate that Severian has been the one recruited to pull the strings of his own life, having admitted to walking the corridors of time. Once we realize Severian is a time traveler, then the entire context of our story must shift. No longer is this a simple hero quest, it is now a character experiment, where unseen hands shape and mold our hero character into the one who ultimately restores life to Urth.

Some might be nodding their heads by now, others scratching theirs, and yet others attempting to take mine own off at the shoulders. But now that I/we have established what might be going on over these four volumes, some questions have to be answered. First, if there is a puppet master (I will accuse only Severian, for now), then all of the things that happen must be foreordained. The love story with Thecla, his exile, his destination, the mishap in Thrax, his fleeing North, his encountering the Autarch, his becoming the new Autarch, his introduction to the corridors of Time (courtesy, I assume, Father Inire), his becoming the New Sun.

I am reminded of the film "Truman Show", where an unassuming hero lives his life to adulthood, all the while unaware that everyone and everything a round him is a farce, and that he is the subject of a grand experiment, the victim of a reality television show of the realest kind. As he discovers the fallacy surrounding him, he takes an active role in escaping the fate others have chosen for him. It ends with a character discovery, but what if the Severian who narrates to us simply hasn't had this epiphany, or (worse/better) he has come to terms with the reality that his life was being controlled and has chosen to accept his role as New Sun, for the good of his planet. Remember, Severian is nothing if not patriotic in the end.

With all of the beats of his journey now under the umbrella of outside control, a new perspective must be established. On repeat reading, understanding the events have less to do with the "how" and "why" of the story, but more to do with the "what". What is going on here? Is Agia planted a part of this journey as a planted nemesis for a specific reason? What is the reason? Is it important we view Severian's acts of mercy at Matachin Tower and in Thrax as some test of compassion for when he has to essentially annihilate his entire planet later on? What are the motives behind the players in this journey?

And how far down this rabbit hole do we go before the entire construct reveals itself? Will it ever? Can it? Is it supposed to? Or have I simply created my own sandbox where I muse about how serendipity has no place in this novel, and that happenstance ought to be a curse word banished to the Sea of Time?

I am looking for answers. Perhaps you have them.

...ryan
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.urth.net/pipermail/urth-urth.net/attachments/20100819/9bd56c8b/attachment-0002.htm>