(urth) Catherine

[Gerry Quinn]

From: Lee Berman 
> Gerry Quinn:
> > Lee Berman:
> > > 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).      

> >They’re not so fussy.  It looks like they’ll eat anyone, at a pinch, 
> even if some of them have preferences:

> >A voice I recognized as belonging to the armiger asked, "Have  
> > any of you seen her yet?" The others had sounded merely boastful, 
> > but there was hunger of a kind I had never heard before behind 
> > his simple words. He might have been some lost traveler asking
> > about his home.  "No, Waldgrave." (Another voice.) "Alcmund says 
> > a good one, not old or too young." "Not another tribade, I hope."

> Your supposition is not supported by the text Gerry. If Vodalus 
> and his followers were happy to eat anyone, why did they fly all the 
> way down to Nessus and the Necropolis and risk their lives
> getting that particular body? Surely there are plenty of dead 
> people around Saltus and other surrounding towns they could eat, eh?
When Severian comes to Saltus (though of course it is much later) it is on high alert against the Vodalarii.  Maybe it’s easier get corpses from the big city.  It could be that in the countryside the graves are close in to town, and better guarded.  Or it could be that they eat in part for knowledge, and you can only consume so many yokels without developing an urge for richer fare.
The text does clearly indicate, however, that they are not excessively fussy.

> Moreover, I've suggested that Vodalus is operating on the commands 
> of someone superior to him. If he doesn't know the significance of their 
> feast choice I see no reason for Waldgrave and Alcmund to know them. 
> I find the mention of a tribade (lesbian) to be of significance when it comes to
> Severian's family.      
Vodalus does, of course, know who Thecla is, because Thea does.  Given that Thea wants to be there, it seems likely that they do think of it as a sort of communion, and not altogether evil in their eyes.  Of course one of the Autarch’s courtesans would be a great prize in terms of knowledge too (later, it helps Severian find his way out of the Antechamber).  Is there another reason too?  I don’t know, but these seem reasons enough.  [Of course, ultimately it may be assumed that Gene Wolfe has ordained that Severian must eat Thecla, whatever the detailed circumstances.]
As for the tribade comment, it only made mewonder whether it was a female Vodalarian who brought up the issue.  What you think tribades in general, or the particular tribade who was apparently on last week’s menu, have to do with Severian’s family, I have no idea.
- Gerry Quinn
 
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