(urth) Wolfean epiphany

[David Stockhoff]

On 12/2/2011 9:13 PM, Jeff Wilson wrote:
> On 12/2/2011 4:31 PM, David Stockhoff wrote:
>> On 12/2/2011 5:10 PM, Jeff Wilson wrote:
>>> On Fri, December 2, 2011 15:59, David Stockhoff wrote:
>>>> Why is this a clue to a strange and climactic scene of UNS? Because 
>>>> the
>>>> unmanning was not a random punishment. There were surely practical
>>>> reasons for it, but I think Wolfean logic demanded it. It's 
>>>> ridiculously
>>>> simple. Positive is balanced with negative, presence with absence.
>>>> Either you pass and your genitals contribute to a mythic 
>>>> regeneration or
>>>> you fail and they no longer exist.
>>> This seems culturally relative, and not particularly of a BotNS-wide
>>> culture; in Norse myth, which is very much a part of the mix, missing
>>> body
>>> parts indicate the opposite outcome of a fruitful sacrifice: Heads for
>>> wisdom, eyes for knowledge, hands for justice.
>>
>> Ah, so there is precedent for it. Yes, it seems to have a mythical
>> force, so I'm not surprised.
>>
>> But my point has nothing to do with any BNS culture and everything to do
>> with the kind of logical path Wolfe expects us to know how to follow. If
>> there are such rules in myth, then so much the better.
>
> By opposite outcome, I mean the opposite of what you propose. Mimir 
> loses his head, but the head endures and becomes guardian of the well. 
> Odin is missing an eye because he successfully traded it for drinking 
> at the well. Tyr loses his hand when he successfully tricks Fenris 
> into captivity. Loki fails to win his challenge but keeps his head. 
> Sif falls for Loki's tricks or just falls for Loki romantically but 
> ends with more exotic and alluring hair than before instead of losing 
> her charms for good.
>
>
I see. That is indeed the opposite of losing your manhood in failing to 
procreate.