(urth) the prime calcula/his citadel and other quotes

[Lee Berman]

>Antonio Pedro Marques:  I think it's a common idiom. 'I feel (...) that you're really my older
>sister' doesn't mean Mint thinks Chenille is her sister, but simply that
>Chenille evokes in Mint the same feelings an older sister would. People do
>speak that way.

They do. But my continued point is that these are not people. They are creations with a purpose
in everything they say and do.
 
With all the praise that has been heaped upon Gene Wolfe's writing I think the most frequent 
criticism I've seen is in regard to  his character development. Not that he is terrible at this, 
but I will agree with those who say it isn't his strength (in comparison to other great authors).
 
Nobody can be good at everything and I think Wolfe is willing to sacrifice character development
because it isn't really his goal to create memorable characters. In fact I think too richly 
developed characters would distract from his ultimate goals. He uses his characters to obliquely 
address important (to him) ideas and to force his readers into a certain mode of thought process 
which relate to those ideas. (God, religion, death, identity, politics, to name a few).
 
So if Mint says such a thing to Chenille, I don't think it is just pointless chatter to illustrate
female bonding; to show these two women share emotional...whatever. There is some deeper meaning 
to it, and "identity" is a pretty good starting point when it comes to most Wolfe mysteries.