(urth) Spiritual and Ecological Sucession

[Son of Witz]

On Jan 11, 2011, at 1:48 PM, Jordon Flato <jordonflatourth at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 1:13 PM, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote:
> 
> People keep getting it wrong.
> Wolfe wrote to Marc, "No, No, No, Green is Urth"
> NOT "Urth is Green"
> 
> But Wolfe DIDN'T say "Green is Ushas", which to me would have made it harder to discount it as anything other than a nod toward a literal solution.  He said Green is Urth.  This sets up in my brain in a purely symbolic/metaphoric resonance.
> 
> If Green is Urth (and hey, we're being literal here, so let's not get cheeky with this Urth/Ushas are the same thing crap) then Green would have to been in Severian's past, pre Ushas conversion.  And that, to me, seems completely impossible, unsupported, and just doesn't make sense.
> 
> Urth becomes Ushas.  It does not remain Urth.
> 
> So if Green is Urth, to me this sets up a clear metaphor that Green is a symbol of what Urth would have become without a flood.  A world ruled by monsters, taken over by survival of the fittest, and left to rot and decay in it's own filth.  Sure it's lush, but it's a lushness of hell.  So, yes, clearing the sewers is a highly resonant act to Severian bringing the flood.
> 
> And Blue has a number of thematic resonances with Ushas.  So Wolfe has set up a great system for us where he can play with the symbolic consequences of a Urth without Flood (Green) and an Urth with flood (Blue).  
> 
> At least that's what strikes me in the moment.
> 

But UR wrong! And stupidly inferior!

Just kidding.
I like this. The idea of twin planets, with and without deluge is very interesting.  

It is possible that Green is some wild future of Urth where the pondscum in the Green Men took them over, brought their consciousness into the plant consciousness and made canibalistic flora. And It is possible that planets could be moved around, for whatever reason, swapping Blue for Lune, and it's possible that the Whorl was gone for waaaaaay long and is essentially a new ark.  But the book gives us NONE of that.  
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