(urth) Father Inire

[Jerry Friedman]

>From: Gerry Quinn <gerry at bindweed.com>
>From: Lee Berman 
...
 
>> FWIW, I think Merryn's age, name and lack of height disqualify her as a candidate for being 
>> Severian's twin. I think Jolenta's height, name and the incest factor make her a better 
>> candidate. Was she a witch before waitress?      
>
>If she’s old, she can’t be Severian’s twin, certainly.
 
There's always time travel.  Is it odd that Severian doesn't consider the possibility?
 
By the way, is there any reason to connect the speculation that there's only one Ship with Severian's speculation that there are only two witches?
 
> Maybe she isn’t really old and her witchy experiments/knowledge age her.  Then she would look similar to the Cumaean’s previous acolyte whom Severian met.
>
>I don’t think there’s any sensible reason to think Jolenta is Severian’s sister.  We don’t know her name,
 
Let me see if I have this right.  For some readers, our not knowing her original name would suggest that she's Severian's sister, because if we knew it, that would give the game away.  Can anyone confirm this?
 
> and your “incest factor” is meaningless.
 
I'm inclined to agree there.
 
> Severian sleeps with countless women of wildly differering backgrounbd and descriptions, so his sleeping with a woman cannot be an indicator of a genetic relationship (why would it be anyway?)
 
Can we count them?  Thecla, her khaibit, Dorcas, Jolenta, Daria, Pia, Valeria, and whatever women and others I've forgotten about in UotNS.  Who am I missing?
 
> I can’t remember her height but it hardly means much.
 
Jerry Friedman