(urth) The Wizard

[Craig Brewer]

It does seem, though, that some of the argument about what's in the story is based on the assumption that the world of Urth must be consistent with Wolfe's view of the world in some literal details. Let's say that he does believe that pagan gods were (or are) real. That doesn't mean, of course, that every pagan god in his (speculative) fiction must line up with his ideas of what they really are. The same with his Christian beliefs. I mean, I get Antonio's sense of the tragedy of a world that loses Christ...but maybe that's better to tell Severian's story. It certainly seems that it makes Severian's successes all the more impressive and full of grace if he can try to act like Christ in a world that can't tell him Christ's story. In some ways it's more hopeful.

But there is one other point: in New Sun, all history is misremembered history. Everything has changed 
from its source. The Conciliator is of course a nod to a Christian 
story, and we're supposed to recognize it as such. Every other story 
that's alluded to in the Brown Book or in any other story works the same way: we're supposed to go, "Hey! That sounds like Frankenstein!" or 
whatever, and then to see how it goes in weird directions that retain 
parts of the story and adopt aspects that are fundamentally different. 
So part of the challenge of the story is figuring out what to do with 
tales that are always told indirectly. After all, knowing Christ's story doesn't necessarily make it easy for a vast swath of humanity to avoid 
sin, right? So make that central story even murkier, and Severian's 
challenge becomes all the more difficult.

But that's all speculation. A lot of what-if's and could-be's, not something in the text. And that'swhy I wrote the last email: I'm muddy first just on where in the stories (and not the interviews) we actually know that this isn't our future.







________________________________
 From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>
To: urth at urth.net 
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 11:11 PM
Subject: (urth) The Wizard
 

>Marc Aramini: I don't want to go around and around, but, unlike many mystical 

>religious writers, Wolfe is a keen observer of the world.  He has lived through 

>a war personally, has seen men killed, has passed through DETROIT and Chicago.  

>He knows that there is hell on earth and on urth, in this day and age, and still 

>believes in Christ.


I think this misses Antonio's point and does miss mine (and I think the point 

Wolfe is trying to make). Of course there are spritually bad things in our world.

There always will be. But since the arrival of Jesus Christ, we've had a choice; an 

an option for salvation that was not available before Christ.



There is no Christian salvation available anywhere in the Sun Series. Not on Urth, 

not on Ushas, not on the Whorl or Blue or Green, not even in Yesod. I can't buy

the Quinnian speculation that "maybe there is a secret enclave of Christians that

Wolfe never mentions...". How could Wolfe fail to mention something so critical and

important?





It disturbs Antonio to think Wolfe wanted to create a world where Christ's "once for

all" sacrifice has been relegated to the dung heap and I understand that. Urth, Ushas

The Whorl, Green and Blue all resemble portions of pre-Christian earth. Even Yesod is 

a gnostic paradise, not Christian. At the end of UotNS, Ushas worships Pega, Odilo, 

Thais and Severian. At the end of RttW there are vampires swarming and monsters in the

sea and godlings running around The whorl.



Gene Wolfe says he believes in the reality of pagan gods and monsters. I have not seen

any of those who find Christ on Urth willing to tackle this elephant in the living room.



Does WOlfe think we have pagan gods and sea monsters ruling earth now? I don't think so. 

These were part of a pre-Christian world. So I think when he creates an allegorical

universe ruled by pagan gods and monsters in the sea, it is his way of creating a

*pre*-Christian universe.



I suppose you could argue that Briah is a Christian universe and he just included the sea

monsters and vampires and gnostic angels to add some cool, science fictiony elements. I

find the opposing scenario to be more plausible, interesting and literarily significant.                           
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