(urth) Father Inire Theory

[Ryan Dunn]

Another point. Yes, the hiero's state openly that Severian is chosen for his eidetic memory. But it has to be more than that. Surely in a Commonwealth where a pauper can leap from a bartizan each time we draw breath without affecting the populace in the slightest, there are numerous individuals with photographic memory.

I would have to re-read the books with this in mind, but Sire Inire may not be as implausible as it sounds.

...ryan



On Dec 4, 2010, at 2:40 PM, Son of Witz wrote:

> 
> On Dec 4, 2010, at 9:25 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>>> M. ben Witz: Wait a sec. I JUST finished NewSun again and I can not remember the 
>>> old boatman in any other scenes besides the near drowning at the beginning and when 
>>> we meet him on the Lake of Birds.
>> 
>> That's an interest post to me Witz. Most do not think the boatman at the drowning is
>> the Boatman at the Lake of Birds. I think Borski suggests that the "drowning" old boatman
>> is Maxellindis' "Uncle", who is also a boatman, because they both speak of undines. Actually
>> all three of these boatmen speak of undines. I wrote it as Maxellindis' "Uncle" because 
>> Severian suspects it isn't really her uncle. Thus we have at least two of the boatmen showing
>> a creepy fascination for pubescent young women (some calculate Dorcas' age at 13-14 for her
>> first birth). So maybe add "creepy poppet fascination" to "monkeys", "old and bent" and "obscured 
>> eyes" as marks of a shapeshifter.
>> 
>> 
>> Anyway, at the end of CotA, Severian gets off the Samru and takes a jaunt through the crumbled
>> ruins of old Nessus. He finds Dorcas, apparently in silent grief at the bier of the old boatman
>> from the Lake of Birds. So we don't actually see him die but he is, in appearance, dead.
> 
> 
> Thank you. I forgot this one line reappearance.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>> Ryan Dunn-He is Father Inire and yet not, to my knowledge, a priest. Anyone for Inire as Increate?
>> 
>> Heh! Actually my theory addresses the issue of "Father" Inire in two ways:
>> 
>> 1. Inire can be paired with The Cumaean in a number of diffent ways (her abode, their alien nature, etc)
>> She is also called The Mother. So perhaps the pairing is related to Inire's appelation of Father.
>> 
>> 2. I see flimsy evidence (which only makes sense added together) that Inire, using his longevity, has
>> managed to get busy with a number of women in Severian's family tree when they were young girls. This
>> included Dorcas (as Fechin), Cyriaca (as her cosmicly knowledgable "uncle"), and Agia (as Hethor). 
>> Perhaps Inire (which can be Latin for "sexual penetration") gets his title of Father by siring a 
>> few members of Severian's family.                         
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> 
> Far out man! Maybe too far for me, but it's interesting.
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