(urth) (no subject)

[Gerry Quinn]

From: "Andrew Mason" <andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com>

> I suspect that Severian's lovers represent the different classes of
> the Commonwealth, linking him to all of them.
>
> Thecla - exultant.
> Valeria - armiger.
> Dorcas - optimate.
> Jolenta - commonalty.
> Cyriaca - (former) religious.
> Daria - servant of the throne.
> Apheta - cacogen. (She would certainly be called that if she came to 
> Urth.)
>
> (The first four are explicitly listed as examples of those classes in
> the appendix to COTC. The others have not yet been introduced.)
>
> Thecla's khaibit represents an anomalous group who don't really fit
> into the classification. Pia represents autochthons, a group which
> hasn't been highlighted when the classification is given.
> Gunnie/Burgunadofara can be seen as representing off-Urth humans, and
> the tall woman was born millions of years before the Commonwealth
> existed.

That seems reasonable, though it could simply be an artefact of Severian's 
rather extensive... coverage.

- Gerry Quinn