(urth) Thea's Identity
Sergei SOLOVIEV
soloviev at irit.fr
Fri Apr 12 08:32:19 PDT 2013
It may be useful to compare it with the Rajan seraglio in other series -
I don't have answers to your questions, David, but they are really,
really interesting -
Sergei
DAVID STOCKHOFF wrote:
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Sergei SOLOVIEV <soloviev at irit.fr>
> *To:* The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net>
> *Sent:* Friday, April 12, 2013 10:07 AM
> *Subject:* Re: (urth) Thea's Identity
>
> But in Ottoman empire the harems (seraglios) had reproductive
> purpose as a central one.
> Moreover, since it was difficult to apply the principle of
> "primogeniture" with the great
> number of babies, when the time to designate a heir arrived, it
> was desperate for women
> to fight for their sons to be chosen (by intrigue etc.) because
> usually all other male descendants
> after the heir was chosen risked elimination. It is quite
> different with autarchs because
> the successor is defined differently.
>
>
>
> Exactly---an excellent summary, much better than mine. This is why
> the autarchs' seraglio cannot function exactly as did the
> sultans'. So we have two interpretive choices:
>
> (1) The seraglio is only for holding hostages. It may also be a
> leftover from an era when it did have a reproductive/imperial
> function. The current Autarch's inability to impregnate ironically
> highlights this and may symbolize Urthly infertility as well, but
> doesn't by itself make a harem irrelevant to the succession,
> because it's already been irrelevant for a chiliad.
>
> (2) It is a fully functional harem, but in parallel to the usual
> operation. That is, there's no sex---especially since Severian's
> predecessor on the throne came back unmanned from Yesod---but lots
> of intrigue, because everything else is in play---except,
> presumably, the succession itself. This is perhaps why the
> concubines like to pass as khaibits---because otherwise they ain't
> gettin' any action.
>
> As for that succession---as far as I can recall there is no
> evidence anyone knows about the central gimmick of the Autarchy
> except the Autarch himself and Father Inire, and I suppose Vodalus
> and whatsername. So the entire seraglio may be under the
> impression that their kids have a shot at the throne. Keeps 'em
> focused. And if they think they have a shot, then they have a
> shot. (I grant that under this logic, you'd think the Autarch
> would disband the harem system to protect his throne. But he
> didn't. Why?)
>
> Finally, I think the key phrase in your description is "the great
> number of babies." Think about it.
>
> Finally finally, there is the male question. Males were killed at
> a new heir's ascension, females discarded or sent somewhere, or
> killed at birth. Does Urth have a surplus of female clones? It
> would seem so.
>
> If one is to propose routine use of cloning at any level,
> especially within the House Absolute, one must account for it
> impact on all this.
>
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