(urth) Mystery of Agia

[Son of Witz]

>> Jeff Wilson: And if she really is part of Hethor's sekrit mishun to provoke Severian 
>> into revealing his true nature, once it is revealed he has become the 
>> new Autarch that's also run its useful course and again it would be an 
>> obvious time for them to cease tracking him.

On Jan 20, 2011, at 8:04 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I would say no. Because even at the end of CotA, we know Severian's true fulfillment is not
> as autarch but as something higher. As we see in UotNS that fulfillment is found on the Ship
> and in Yesod. I don't think Agia is able to follow Severian on the space travel path but 
> Hethor is and I think Hethor does (in one guise or another). But I'll focus on Agia for now.
> 
> Agia's role remains on Urth as leader of the anti-Autarch group. And I think she fulfills
> this role toward the end of UotNS. Son O' Witz asked about my assertion that Severian DOES
> actually meet Agia again, in UotNS (as I think Wolfe storytelling requires he must, given 
> her promise). 
> 
> I now realize one of my previoius posts disappeared into the internet answering Witz, so I'll 
> try to rewrite my ideas on that here:
> 
> I think Agia appears in UotNS but it requires that we again recognize Severian as an unreliable
> narrator who repeatedly misidentifies people on various mistakes; one that is repeated a couple
> time is mistaken gender. This becomes plausible especially with older characters. 
> 
> IIRC, of the many characters and the many weapons mentioned in BotNS, only two use a poisoned
> blade, Agia and the assassin. Because I find mystery solution clues in all Agia's weapons 
> (misericorde, athame, crooked dagger and lucivee) it is not a stretch for me to think that this 
> weapon similarity suggests a shared identity.
> 
> After Severian resurrects the assassin in the catacombs, he(she) seems confused and Severian
> just walks on to the throne room. The assassin apparently gains enough sense of purpose to 
> follow Severian, find the throne room and stab Valeria through the heart, nicking Severian in
> the chest in the process. I find all of this reinforces the idea that the assassin is Agia.
> The assassin follows Severian as Agia always did. The assassin kills the Autarch as was Agia's
> assigned role. Agia was always the jealous type in regard to Dorcas and Thecla, so killing 
> Valeria would make sense.
> 
> Perhaps most important is the fact that the poisoned blade piercing Severian's chest explicitly
> mirrors his avern wound. The wound he had long ago received from the actions of Agia and Agilus.
> 
> Some might ask, "Well, couldn't the assassin just be male and following orders from some unknown 
> boss"? The answer is, yes. For me the problem with that becomes auctorial purpose. Valeria was
> about to die of drowning within minutes anyway. Why did Wolfe find the assassin necessary? Why 
> would he introduce a mystery character, with hidden purpose, who doesn't speak, carrying a poisoned 
> blade, to follow Severian, to unecessarily kill Valeria, and to re-open the avern wound. Why throw
> 7-8 loose ends at us at the very end of this five book story?
> 
> In the closed labyrinth which is BotNS, I think it makes better sense if all those loose ends 
> are tied up with one age/gender misidentification by Severian. Agia.
> 
> 
>                           
> __________________________________


It's a very compelling idea if it holds water. It would tie that up quite nicely.

Personally, I don't mis-trust Severian enough to credit him with recognizing her but hiding that.
Frankly, I have yet to see compelling evidence that he lies to any real significance anywhere. He surely leaves things unsaid, as he is writing with hindsight. Sev calls the assasin He or Him about 20 times in that passage. I think it's clear that he's not mistaking him. He was very attracted to Agia, so of course he would recognize her. He also didn't call him an old man, but Valeria is clearly a crone, yet he recognizes his old lover. So that leaves, IMO,  deliberate lying on Severian's part. I'm happy to discuss my take that Sev is mostly earnest and honest, but we should branch that to a new thread.

That the Avern wound is repeated at the end by the assasin is not a loose end to me.  Severian's life is so mirrored and turned on itself in time. There is something about these wounds that are just part of him, so they reassert themselves by various hands.  Agia's claw attack wound is recreated by another's hand, also a random nobody.  I think the point is at these are scars on Severian's spirit on Urth, or such, that keep coming up again in temporality, just like he does.

Sorry if I credited your idea to Aramini.
~witz