(urth) Agilus and Agia

[aaron]

Ah, Encyclopedia Brown!  I loved those growing up.  I think Rudesind is the
most blatant Inire-like character.  It is from his mouth we first hear the
name Fechin, if I'm not mistaken.  It is also Rudesind who knows the true
context of the Astronaut picture . Rudesind is next seen in the House
Absolute, seemingly unsurprised at Severian's presence there--as if he
expected Sev.  It always seemed to me as if Rudesind implies that the House
Absolute and The Citadel are connected.  There are probably other instances
of his Inire-y behavior, but I am too lazy at the moment to think of them.


On Fri, May 3, 2013 at 8:01 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

> >aaron: Anyone have any good theories about Fechin?
>
> Good theories? I don't know about that. But I think it is a
> reasonable guess to think that Wolfe based part of
> the character on Russian artist Nicolai Fechin. It took some
> digging but I think I have determined, from younger self-portraits,
> that both Fechins have red hair.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolai_Fechin
>
> http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2142/5732351770_766b0948aa_z.jpg
>
>
> http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2142/5732351770_766b0948aa_z.jpghttp://farm3.staticflickr.com/2142/5732351770_766b0948aa_z.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F8zrQ1ChEuE/USAfEKlT9YI/AAAAAAAAOzs/bzABfvMstzg/s1600/fechin+self+portrait1.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F8zrQ1ChEuE/USAfEKlT9YI/AAAAAAAAOzs/bzABfvMstzg/s1600/fechin+self+portrait1.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F8zrQ1ChEuE/USAfEKlT9YI/AAAAAAAAOzs/bzABfvMstzg/s1600/fechin+self+portrait1.jpg
> My not-so-good theory is that Fechin is another incarnation of
> Father Inire. Like Borski, I think that Inire's absence is an
> invitation for the reader to find him, wherever he might appear,
> though I do think I have a better explanation for why Inire would appear
> so many times.
>
> The tools we are given to conduct the search are the constellation
> of things we know about Inire: appearing small, bent, old, monkey-like,
> an association with art and museums, a lech for young human women, and
> perhaps a few others. Each appearance of Inire will demonstrate some
> of the characteristics, but none will display all of them. That's the
> puzzle I think we are presented.
>
> With Fechin we have the characteristics of art, old, monkey-like and
> the lech. Moreover we have Rudesind as a bridging character between
> Fechin and Father Inire, speaking of both as though they were his master.
>
> (not to ignore that Rudesind himself is small, old, bent, monkey-like and
> associated with art and museums. Rudesind describes a painting that Fechin
> made of him when he was a boy. The painting has paintbrushes shown next to
> him. It is an old mystery-solving trope, e.g. Encyclopedia Brown or
> Hardy Boys, where the mystery is solved when it is recognized that a
> painting
> of someone with paintbrushes is a self-portrait)
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-- 
Aaron Singleton
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