(urth) Father Inire as Dionysus

[David Stockhoff]

On 10/24/2011 11:20 AM, Lee Berman wrote:
> In parallel to the gnostic symbols marking the Witches Tower, I think, are the teratoid (monster)
> symbols marking Father Inire's mirror chamber. I think this mirror-monster association makes
> the connection to Hethor extra clear.


I agree, except that to me the connection is mostly related to to what 
all these people do (witches, sorcerers, etc.).

I think one can divide up characters' significance in only a few ways: 
who they are (which in Wolfe goes right down to the DNA), who they know, 
what they know, what they want, and what they are willing to do to get 
it. (Legal status does not usually come up as a central feature; rather, 
like a name, it can change.)

Hethor is a sorcerer and a sailor. It is no surprise that he has picked 
up some knowledge of the kind Inire is master of. This comparison is 
something Wolfe uses to impart a sense of scale and depth: the sticks 
that children play with are like the swords knights wield, and so on. 
The Heirodules are to the Increate as we are to the gods, etc.

In Briah, the stars and planets themselves---and travel between 
them---are realms of gnostic knowledge and as such a key to wisdom (the 
truth about creation and about ourselves). Outer space is akin to 
Faerie. Hethor has been to Elfland and stolen a few scraps; Inire is the 
Elfking. Something like that. Inire doesn't need to fake a stutter and 
follow Sev around to keep track of him. Rather, he is the super-Hethor. 
In this way we receive a hint of his powers.

Recall however that is it Appian who reveals the mirrors to Severian. 
Inire uses him so he can hide in the background.