(urth) Agilus and Agia

[aaron]

Yo mention Fechin at the end of your post.  Another character who is named
too many times to be of so little apparent importance.  Anyone have any
good theories about Fechin?


On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 1:27 PM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

> >aaron: Never considered that Hethor and Father Inire might in some way be
> related.
>
> I appreciate that you put it that way. Just saying "Hethor is Father
> Inire" is a
> shorthand but misleading way of saying it. Like Shadow Children and The
> Neighbors,
> I think we are dealing with plural beings, a difficult concept for we
> humans to
> grasp. But likely drawn from Biblical angel descriptions and the
> multi-persona
> abilities of ancient mythological gods.
>
> The best illustration we get of it in BotNS is with Tzadkiel and his
> multi-size,
> multi-species, multi-gender incarnations. We are shown that he can be at
> least
> two characters at once when she pinches off one of her fingers which
> reforms to a
> human size and shape (and the fairy sized Tzadkiel we see soon after).
>
> I think we are given every reason to believe the same thing is happening
> on Urth
> with Abaia, undines etc. Tzadkiel is an angel analog and undines are
> specifically
> identified as demons/fallen angel analogs at the end of UotNS. I think
> certain
> (roughly) human shaped and sized characters such as Typhon and Father
> Inire also
> fall into the same category.
>
> >David Stockhoff: Wolfe's answer is accurate, then---Inire's appearances
> ARE like the
> >cat in the box: he's both there and not there. It's interesting that he
> >doesn't seem to do anything at these suspected appearances; for the most
> >part, he's just "there." (Or not.) They're nonessential clues. We can
> >take them or leave them.
>
> Hm. Brings up the interesting point for me of what Father Inire is
> actually doing
> at each of his (ostensible) anonymous appearances. I think it is
> structured like
> The House Absolute/Secret House (and BotNS itself). There is an open and
> rather
> banal purpose to each appearance and a hidden purpose which can be
> revealed by
> knowing who and what Father Inire is.
>
> The bent, little cowled servitor is merely an assistant who takes Severian
> to
> where he wishes to go, a festival called the "thiasus". This word most
> specifically
> refers to a festival devoted to the god Dionysus.  I didn't catch the
> significance of
> that until I had read RttW and was told by Wolfe about the significance of
> Dionysus, Pan and the connection with The Outsider, to this universe.
> (could there
> be a connection to Master Ash's otherwise unexplained longing for "Vine"?)
>
> The bent, little old boatman is supposedly looking for the body of his
> long dead
> wife, whom we don't learn is Dorcas until the end of CotA. This surprise
> is enough
> to divert us from remembering what a ridiculous coincidence it is for
> Severian to
> find that exact body for resurrection, not to mention that it happens to
> be his
> grandmother. If we recognize the bent, little guy as Father Inire, the
> concidence
> is revealed not to be one at all. Severian was guided to that body and was
> having
> his power of resurrection tested on a woman who was very important to both
> of them.
>
> The baboon who checked on Severian could be just a bizarre delusion. But
> if it was
> Father Inire, again, Severian's power of resurrection was being
> investigated. Likewise
> with Hethor's multiple attempts to kill Severian. Nothing mystical about
> his escapes
> from Hethor's creatures except that they keep happening. Is it a higher
> power
> intervening?
>
> The Old Leech in the ziggurat tells Severian he is there to learn secret
> knowledge which
> cannot be obtained even by the eating of the dead. We are led to believe
> this
> explains his experiments on the boy Mamas, but then left unexplained is
> why he is
> tending to near-death Severian. Again I think the learning the secret of
> resurrection is
> the key to understanding the purpose of the character's appearance.
>
> Then there are the necromancers Ceryx and The Cumaean. They can raise the
> dead but not
> in the wholesome manner that Severian is able to accomplish. I think both
> deliberately
> positioned themselves in Severian's path to learn his secrets. That The
> Cumaean is female
> should not be a troublesome fact in understanding beings who are fallen
> versions of
> Tzadkiel.
>
> Isangoma and the jungle shaman don't seem to be involved in resurrection
> but if they are
> considered versions of Father Inire, some interesting conclusions can be
> drawn. Same for Fechin.
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-- 
Aaron Singleton
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