(urth) Silk or Horn?

[Lee Berman]

>Marc Aramini: To be honest not much except the didactic message has been bashed 
>over the head in Short Sun, in my opinion. Everything else is sometimes frustratingly 
>ephemeral.

Well for me, that's it. With a gradual but never full shift from Horn to Silk, I find
Wolfe making didactic points regarding aging, family continuity and catholocism.

If Horn is completely exorcised from SilkHorn, what higher level theme is addressed? It
seems like a simple ghost story then. Does a man ever completely lose his "inner child"?
Does an old man ever fully escape being middle aged? Can we ever be fully divorced from our
family and upbringing? Can the Trinity stand with one of its components removed?

But I recognize that I could be missing a different didactic message that you are picking
up on. If so, I'd be interested.