Whether or not Hyacinth is intended to be transgendered, there is clearly something "seriously wrong with" her.<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 4:32 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:brunians@brunians.org">brunians@brunians.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Gene Wolfe is not exactly homophobic; as far as I know, he loves the<br>sinner and thinks that the sin is no worse than a lot of things hetro<br>
people get up to. There are many gay characters in his works, and they are<br>often presented sympathetically. I do not, however, believe that Hyacinth<br>is or was intended to be transgendered. I note that all of his gay<br>
characters (at least the ones I call to mind right now) have something<br>seriously wrong with them, even if some of them are not actively evile.<br><br>I certainly intend to clarify this if I should meet him again.<br><br>
<br>.<br>
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<div class="h5"><br>> Not to bring up the old "authorial fallacy" here, but if he wrote the<br>> books in such a way that they support the "male chem/once male"<br>> possibility in a way that doesn't contradict it and in fact makes it a<br>
> compelling possibility, it doesn't matter what he said after the fact.<br>> Granted, we're talking about a potential plot point which is different<br>> than a reader's interpretation. But with a writing style that often works<br>
> by indirection and suggestion, he runs the risk of this kind of thing<br>> getting out of his control. He may know how it all adds up in his head,<br>> but, as the rest of us know, there are *vastly* different readings of his<br>
> books that are out there and that all claim to have "solved" various<br>> puzzles in jaw-droppingly idiosyncratic ways. If his books lend themselves<br>> to this kind of reaction, then I wonder if Wolfe is really always the best<br>
> reader of Wolfe, if that means we have to divine exactly what he thought<br>> in order to "get" the books. I mean,<br>> any book that requires the author to explain it or to verify things<br>> beyond the covers of the book seems like a failed book. I'd rather deal<br>
> with the text than with what Wolfe thought it meant before (or even<br>> after) he published it. Once it's out there (barring a revision), the<br>> text is definitive, not Wolfe.<br>><br>> (And with that, I step down from an<br>
> undergraduate-styled-podium-of-Foucault-ness...heh...)<br>><br>><br>><br>> ----- Original Message ----<br>> From: "<a href="mailto:brunians@brunians.org">brunians@brunians.org</a>" <<a href="mailto:brunians@brunians.org">brunians@brunians.org</a>><br>
> To: The Urth Mailing List <<a href="mailto:urth@lists.urth.net">urth@lists.urth.net</a>><br>> Sent: Sat, January 16, 2010 2:13:18 PM<br>> Subject: Re: (urth) Severians Later Appearance (Spoilers)<br>><br>
> Maybe for you, who was not there, it doesn't.<br>><br>><br>> .<br>><br>><br>>> brunians wrote:<br>>><br>>>> In 2002, when I met Gene Wolfe, I mentioned the theory that was<br>>>> bouncing<br>
>>> around the list at the time, that Hyacinth was a male chem.<br>>>><br>>>> He remarked that it was a good thing that he wasn't on the list.<br>>>><br>>> Of course, since "male chem" and "once male" are two entirely<br>
>> different things, this doesn't help prove or disprove the theory at<br>>> all.<br>>> _______________________________________________<br>>> Urth Mailing List<br>>> To post, write <a href="mailto:urth@urth.net">urth@urth.net</a><br>
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