(urth) Father Inire Theory cont.

[David Stockhoff]

On 12/11/2010 8:19 AM, Lee Berman wrote:
>
> I'll wrap up discussion of my Father Inire theory (which goes beyond just that character of course)
> by re-mentioning that its purpose for me is as a way of broadly reversing the total perception of
> what is going on and to explain little weird thing that happen in the story.
>
> Most of the little weird things are sexual in nature. I consider that Severian is serving as an avatar
> for Gene WOlfe himself. In initial readings I got the impression that Severian is a pretty "normal"
> young man when it comes to 20th century American sexual standards. Heterosexual, gentlemanly but a bit
> opportunistic. Perhaps going a little too far when under the influence, as with Jolenta. But I think
> a lot of more alternative sexual experiences occur which can be understood viewing them from the
> perspective of ancient Greeks, their gods and other people not subject to Christian sexual mores.
>
> Severian seems pretty open about his sexual exploits but he is inexplicably coy about his sexual
> encounters with Thecla. We know something is going on in the beginning because she tells him to
> put his shirt back on, at one point. But Severian won't openly admit what happened. In fact we get
> our best information about the situation from Thecla herself as she takes over Severian's writing
> here and there. I think Thecla is implied to be a family member of Severian's, perhaps a cousin,
> and incest (even mild) is not something Severian will openly discuss.
>
> This is the reason Severian won't openly reveal that he knows Dorcas is his grandmother. He can't because
> he's already admitted sexual contact. Hardly revelatory that this relationship has Oedipal connotaions
> but I interpret them less in a psychological way and more mythological. It reveals a modeling of the story
> on Greek heroes and Greek family curses. Agilus quite strongly suggests, without being accused, that he
> and his twin Agia are lovers. What purpose does this serve the story? For me it marks the twins as secret
> members of Severian's incest-cursed family.
I'm with you up until the last sentence.
>
> Severian's physical description of Agilus is rather homoerotic in nature. In Severian's descriptions of his
> life in the Torturer's Guild, there is no mention of the pederasty, buggery and sexual dominance games which
> would be expected in such a cloistered, all-male society. We are expected to believe Severian's first sexual
> experience was at age 20 with a prostitute. He is awkward with the prostitute, as surely it is his first time
> with a woman. But the suggestion that Severian used bondage and submission in that encounter hints that he
> associates sex with these things. (later, from Thecla he learned gentle side of sex, as she describes)
The Commonwealth is a place where all sorts of sex are common, where 
there may no actual slaves but people are in fact enslaved and 
dominated, and you are correct to point out the sexual dimension. Some 
things might not be spoken of lightly and openly, but they are done all 
the time.

Severian grew up in an environment that was part boy's school (oh, the 
tales British schoolboys can tell) and part prison. This is important, 
because although Severian de-emphasizes this aspect of being a torturer, 
Wolfe does not.
>
> One thing that always used to befuddle me was why WOlfe has Typhon "nursing an erection" during his encounter
> with Severian (the scene is emphasized in Long Sun where a painting of Pas has him nursing two erections; two
> heads? heh). If we see Typhon as modeled after bisexual Alexander (and/or the bisexual Greek gods) it starts to
> make sense. We today sometimes think of homosexuality as an effeminate expression. But in ancient days there was
> an open Apollonian expression of it which was pure alpha male dominating a submissive partner. Typhon has his
> erection as he is about to pummel Severian into submission as his "Second", just as Severian did to Eata
> previously.
That's a surprising scene at first. It's not strictly necessary that 
Typhon be focusing his ravenous, egocentric desire on Severian (he has 
after all just been rehydrated and must have a terrible morning boner), 
but he is indeed focused on him. It need not be homosexual, but Typhon 
plainly gets off on dominance.
>
> Perhaps the crowning example of this sort of Wolfean sexual disguise is found in one key sentence- (gr, can't
> find it right now but it is something like:)
>
>> "There had been no sexual play between me and the boy [Little Severian] as there had been, I believe between
>> Dorcas and Jolenta".
>
> That is quite a bombshell statement. And by hitting us with an unsuspected lesbian relationship, Wolfe misdirects
> us from the fact that Severian has just denied pedophilic tendencies when previously few readers would have thought
> him capable of them. Severian makes another unsolicited denial of pederasty to a Pelerine, later.
The quote is

After such thoughts, the memory of his death would come to my mind as 
night had come to the mountain, a wave of blackness and despair. I knew 
then how Dorcas had felt when Jolenta died. There had been no sexual 
play between the boy and me, as I believe there had at some time been 
between Dorcas and Jolenta; but then it had never been their fleshly 
love that had aroused my jealousy. The depth of my feeling for the boy 
had beenas great as Dorcas's for Jolenta, surely (and surely greater far 
than Jolenta's for Dorcas).

Severian's world does not have our concepts of human rights.

The comparison is to a close and partially sexual relationship. There is 
nothing "lesbian" about Dorcas and Jolenta---it is a pure physical 
attraction they have that transcends gender. I read this the opposite 
way---Severian denies using the boy because plenty of men in his world 
would. He's more comfortable denying child rape than denying incest. 
It's like an inmate of a prison saying of his cellmate, "We didn't have 
sex but we were like a couple for 10 years together in that cell." For 
Severian, this is something like, "She was my slave, yes, but I loved her."

"He was just a boy I picked up in my journeys, but I loved him."

>
> Why does Wolfe make Dorcas and Jolenta lesbians? What does that contribute to the story? We already know Jolenta is
> irresistable to men and many women. But Jolenta herself shows no sexual interest in anyone, (aside from ,perhaps Dr.
> Talos)  Now we have her having sex not only with Severian but also Dorcas. I take this, among other bits of evidence,
> to mean that Jolenta is the stage name of Severian's missing witch sister. The love triange of Severian, Dorcas and
> Jolenta is the fullest expression of their family's incest curse.
>
>
>
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