(urth) 5HC

[Richard Simon]

Gerry: I'll reply your whole post a little later. For the moment, allow me simply to address this:

"no character - aside from those intended to take the role of complete lunatics, and rarely those - is completely delusional about concrete matters. And nor does it depend on information hidden by Wolfe in odd lines that are never reinforced with pointers."

Interviewer: In The Fifth Head of Cerberus, does John Marsch understand that he’s really V.R.T., a “shadow child,” one of the aboriginal inhabitants of the colony planet, who is aping a man?

Gene Wolfe: Yes, he does. He knows he’s not a real Earthman, but he’s trying to talk himself into believing that he is. That’s what he wants to be.

Gene Wolfe, http://www.technologyreview.com/news/529431/a-qa-with-gene-wolfe/

Victor is, as I said, a shadow child mimicking an Annese mimicking Marsch. Unlke my, Wolfe (who ought to know) suggests that he is on the fence, belief-wise, concerning this. Recall Marsch's mother-fantasies in jail. Also, note the 'not a real Earthman'; Marsch is a shadow-child, not an Annese. As for 'odd lines that are never reinforced with pointers', Wolfe has asserted in other interviews that he doesn't repeat clues because he 'doesn't want to insult the reader's intelligence.'

More later.

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