(urth) Father Inire as Dionysus

[Lee Berman]

>David Stockhoff:>> Does anyone think it unlikely that Ultan lends Talos 

>books by the hundreds? Talos could be a voracious if infrequent patron 

>perhaps


>Exactly. He and Baldanders did not always travel.

 

Borski suggests Ultan is a version of Father Inire because of the obscured

eyes. I find more significance in the fact that Severian sees the face of

the dead woman in the necropolis in Ultan's face.

 

Anyway, if this were correct (and I think we can all agree the whole curator

guild is associated with Father Inire, be it art, botanic gardens or books),

we wouldn't need to invent non-textual familiarity between Ultan and Dr. Talos

and Cyriaca's uncle. Not if they all ARE Father Inire. ;- )

 

In the past I've likened BotNS as a labyrinth. And Severian keeps meeting new

and old acquaintances with each corner he turns. I'm only suggesting that in a

labyrinth you are more likely to meet an old character again than in an open

system. I think nobody doubts Wolfe has disguised characters in many of his

works, not just this one. Why be parsimonious with the idea?

 

 

p.s. Oh this reminds me of another unanswered question from David. "So, Catherine

is alive?", or something like that.

 

That is a pretty damn difficult question. I think Dr. Talos' play suggests that 

Catherine is a khaibit for the Contessa Carina. I think it would be easy to 

guess that is a job one might run away from. (I do have a theory on why Severian

sees her being escorted by soldiers on the Path of Air on the day of the Flood. 

But it is pretty fantastical).

 

Anyway, if we take the clues regarding Carina's maids rather literally, perhaps

there were three of these khaibits made. But maybe it was more. What their real 

names are I don't know but there is more than one and more than two bits of 

evidence that khaibits take their name as variations on the name of their 

mistress/DNA source.

 

Anyway, there seems to be a live Catherine maid available every year for the

beheading ceremony. Dave Tallman thinks Severian really beheads his own mother,

based on the heaviness of the "balsa wood" sword Severian wields. Could this be

an earlier test of Severian's power?

 

On the other hand, I am quite sure that the dead woman dug up by Vodalus is also

a version of Catherine. It combination of clues, the dark hair, the pale gown,

the livid face and an overly detailed description of Allowin's necklace. Also,

Catherine was unfaithful to SOMEBODY with her sexual encounter with Ouen. And

what was dark-haired, oval faced, failed Pelerine Cyriaca's sentence for

adultery? Strangulation.

 

Other clues are the aforementioned image of her face in that of Ultan's. Also,

it would seem that Vodalus and his crew are not risking their lives and wasting

precious alzabo to have their ceremony for eating just anyone.  Thecla was important. 

But perhaps not as important as eating the mother of the Conciliator/New Sun (which 

Vodalus may or may not know about. But  SOMEBODY in power knows about it).