(urth) Severa

[David Stockhoff]

On 12/3/2011 6:28 PM, Gerry Quinn wrote:
> *From:* Lee Berman <mailto:severiansola at hotmail.com>
>
>
> > >David stockhoff: Good eye. But a witch who recognizes a torturer 
> outside the Citadel might not say
> > >so;
>
> > We have some evidence regarding this- Upon their meeting, Merryn 
> comments on "this man in fuligin".
> > The Cumaean explains, "he is but a torturer". Is Merryn, a Citadel 
> resident, really so ignorant?
> > Perhaps. Severian remembers running an errand for the Torturers. 
> They apparently don't remember
> > him. And he is dressed as an apprentice then, not in fuligin, but 
> why does Merryn not know what
> > fuligin means?
> If she doesn’t (it’s not altogether clear – “this man in fuligin” can 
> be taken in a number of ways) it’s an argument against Merryn being 
> Severa (same applies to Jolenta) While not all witches might have 
> torturers uppermost on their mind, surely a witch named Severa – if 
> that is truly an indication of being born a twin – would take an 
> interest in their affairs. Again, of course that presupposes that 
> Merryn was originally called Severa, taking another name later as 
> members of religious orders often do. The books lack any Severa other 
> than the young girl in the mountains.


Let's step back a bit. "Severa" is merely the placeholder name of 
Severian's hypothetical twin sister taken by the witches. She need never 
have been named Severa; she need never have been named at all before the 
witches did. Catherine may not have named her children before they were 
taken from her. She need not know who she is. So none of this is truly 
valid.

Consider that most infants through most of history were named only after 
they lived several years; aristocratic infants might be named weeks 
after birth at a ceremony. Protestants tend to name all children, even 
those stillborn. What chance did a disgraced, imprisoned, condemned, 
noblewoman have of naming her bastard children together?

Antonio's question raises another point from that intended---who named 
Severian? If the Seekers, then the Witches named Severa by her real 
name. Thus, Severa was never Severa at all and had no name to change.
>
>
> > > Any idea what her coloring was before Talos transformed her?
>
> > She is a thin woman with straggling hair. The lack of information 
> regarding her hair color is
> > interesting, as Wolfe seems later to reveal it through the odd 
> revelation of her pubic hair
> > resembling a downy chick (i.e. golden).
> It seems cuffs and collar do not entirely match. But some of that 
> could be down to Dr. Talos’s silken threads.

Right. Jolenta's coloring is not necessarily the waitress's coloring.