(urth) Sev's family tree

[Mr Thalassocrat]

On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 5:23 AM, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org>wrote:


> I do think there is reason to see Casdoe's family as a symbolic family to
> Severian.
> When he meets them, Severian has put Torture behind him, and is about to go
> through the various battles in SWORD, which, as I've described eleswhere,
> seem to be based on a vertical heirachy of Foes of the Increate that result
> in him truly becoming the Conciliator.  He has just DECENDED across an
> enormous swath of geologic time when he scales the cliff and arrives at a
> symbol of the most basic form of human existence.
>
> This line is the kicker: "It seemed to me the archetype of those caves into
> which, as scholars teach, humanity has crept again at the lowest point of
> each cycle of civilization" and he goes on to say that it is the most
> romantic place he ever was, in retrospect.
>
> So, at the "lowest point" syncs up well with his climb and the symbolism of
> going back past all the grand ages of ruined civilizations symbolized by the
> wall.  So what does he find there?  Why, a boy named Severian!
>
> Why does this matter?  Considering that Severian brings the deluge and sets
> humanity back to the caves of civilazation's low point, it is very relevant.
>  THIS is the example of the humanity he wants to save, of a life he might
> like to have lead. The presence of a boy with his name makes him identify
> with it.  So when Typhon zaps the life out of Little Severian, it is a huge
> indicator to Sev as to what Typhon has to offer. Sev knows which side he is
> on; that of the humble human.  This is another reason that it is
> symbolically problematic to suggest Severian is part alien. He saves the
> world for humanity, and he sets things back to the simplicity of Casdoe's
> lifestyle.
>

Interesting!

On my reading - in which Sev is the dupe and Judas goat for a bunch of
inimical aliens intent on slaughtering most of Urthly humanity, depriving
the remnant of their history and establishing Sev as some kind of low-rent
demigod to guide their future in line with the aliens' plans - it takes a
different slant, of course.

Viz: Sev colludes with a repugnant alien beast to facilitate the death of
most of Cadoe's family, leaving Little Sev as the only survivor.

Morally, I think, Sev is a cripple. He waxes lyrical about these people and
their lives, yet constructively colludes in their horrible deaths. Later, he
does the same thing on a much larger scale.
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