(urth) Marble on Urth

[Mo Holkar]

At 22:56 01/06/2011, James wrote:

>>     "Enormous darkness high overhead, blotting the sun-drenched field,
>>the straggling line of servants in which she had stood, and the soldiers'
>>precise column. She had seen it descend from the sky, at first a fleck of
>>black that had seemed no bigger than a flake of soot; [...](CALDE, 285)
>
>
>
>What is "coming down" here is the line of servants and soldiers.
>Because they are on the Whorl, she can see the very long line descend
>from the skylands.



No, I don't think that can be right -- the "it" that descends from 
the sky is the "enormous darkness", the subject of the previous 
sentence (ie. a ship above them, which first appeared high up as a 
fleck of black but is now enormous), not the line.

A line of which she was herself an element couldn't appear to her 
like a fleck. Also, if talking of a line of chems of which she and 
the soldier are elements, they wouldn't say "it" was dirty.

best,

Mo


# ~ # ~ #

WolfeWiki -- a wiki about Gene Wolfe
http://www.wolfewiki.com/pmwiki/