(urth) Appearances of Inire

[Lee Berman]

>Well, obviously Inire's also Master Ultan.  Since he's clearly the
>Librarian.
 
Yes, Ultan is a curator. And like some other candidates, Ultan's eyes 
are obscured. I think the dark haired woman in the grave is some version
of Catherine. Why does Severian see her face in Ultan's? Could he be 
Catherine's father? If Inire is also Dorcas' husband, he would appear
as grandfather to Severian on both sides of the family. Why IS he called
"Father" Inire? I can't recall any religious association.
 

>Is Inire known to travel in time, himself? 
 
If he is Isangoma, who resembles the jungle shaman, then I'd say, yes.

 
>Why limit Inire to male characters? If he can be a fraking robot (Ossipago)
>and monkey his way up Agia's family tree (which, according to some, makes
>him related to Severian), and be both dead characters (Boatman, Maxellindis'
>uncle) and living ones, a change of gender is no obstacle.
 
In UotNS we are rather explicitly shown that Tzadkiel can change size, shape
gender and plurality, so I agree with Roy's statement. If there is a female 
version of Father Inire, the most likely candidate is Cumaean. One is Father,
the other is The Mother. We hear them paired as alike but they are never quite 
together. Inire has his monkey essence, the Cumaean has her snake essence. I
don't know if they are supposed to be borne of the same original entity or not
but they could be.
 
Given the Tzadkiel model, there is no reason there can't be multiple versions
of the same being running around manipulating Severian's life and travels. We
are told that not even Tzadkiel can resurrect a dead person. So, I suspect, 
neither can Father Inire (or the Cumaean, by herself). Perhaps it wasn't a
coincidence the boatman just happened to be there on the lake when Severian 
showed up. How else could he restore his long dead wife?
 
Tzadkiel is an angel (who never comes to Urth). What is Inire? 
 
Genesis 6:1-8 seems to suggest that the purpose of The Flood was to cleanse 
the earth and humanity of a corruption brought on by the mating of fallen 
angels and human women, producing giants, demons, etc. Severian's resistance to
the seduction of Juturna is significant. What is the purpose of the Flood
of Urth? The same as the Biblical Flood, I think.
 
I suspect that Wolfe is making the point that the fallen angels of 
Judeo-Christianity bear a striking resemblance to the gods and monsters
of pagan mythology and are, perhaps, one and the same. Incestuous, large sized, 
animal essenced, shape-changing, other "magic" abilities, mating with humans, the
pattern is fairly consistent. (Hephaestus is an artisan, bent and twisted, 
sometimes depicted with red hair).
 
One more candidate for Father Inire- Cyriaca's book-loving "uncle" who seems to 
know so much about the inner workings of the Autarchy and the history of humanity
and the universe. And Cyriaca does share some characteristics with Catherine.  
Cyriaca's dark hair paired with a red-headed father might produce the chestnut color
we find in Agia and Agilus. Thus the origin of the incestuous curse which seems to
plague Severian's family- the Father.
 
>Severian only screws his relatives, by logical extension "All You Zombies"
>is us and we are Inire, but we are not alone.

Yes. I once read a Gene Wolfe interview in which he said he was unhappy with his
status as an only child and spent much of his youth scouring the faces of strangers
for signs of hidden family and lost kinship. This is more explicitly themed in 
Fifth Head of Cerberus but I think it makes a significant appearance in New Sun also.
 
(p.s. the "battles" over these issues from a few years ago were invaluable to me in 
helping clarify my interpretations. I truly appreciate all those who participated and 
helped me)

  		 	   		  
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