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First of all please forgive if I seem to change the message header for
no reason; I already mentioned somewhere on list that my ISP's mail
server simply <i>will not</i> (no matter how I fiddle with the
settings) return my list mails to me unless I start a new thread. This
is very annoying, obviously! Please Nicholas take this as a direct
response to your post of 22:28 tonight.<br>
<br>
On 30/06/10 22:28, Nicholas Jost wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:999655.47117.qm@web37906.mail.mud.yahoo.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Since Gene Wolfe was mentioned in an article appearing in First Things recently
and was recommended through a friend I decided to pick up some of his books. I
read "An Evil Guest" first, and once I realized I had missed pretty much the
whole book, I picked up the New Sun series (including the fifth book) and
promised I would pay more attention. I have read some of the archive and the
notes on the Gene Wolfe Wiki (which I _think_ is maintained by one of you
folks?).
I am now going to add my entirely wild musings to the mix.
1.) Is Severian Albion? He becomes the "Storm God" in the end and the servitors
of Albion also "serve" him especially when he is saved.
</pre>
</blockquote>
It's stated somewhere I think in the 5th book (can't be more specific
right now, don't have the time frankly) that what is done on Urth at
Severian's time (whether that is during his apprenticeship, wanderings,
Autarchy, return out of time as the Conciliator, or indeed as the
Sleeper Awakened upon Ushas) may 'echo' somehow back down the ages.
Also, the deeds of those around him may do much the same thing. <br>
<br>
In this context we find Urth/Ushas echoes/prefigurings (from the
Hierodules' point of view, their time-sense runs backward vs. ours) of
such popular and legendary myth-tropes as Dracula, Frankenstein (kind
of backwards here, with the 'Monster' ie Baldanders as the master),
Robin Hood (Vodalus is a somewhat perverted version of the 'good
bandit'), Storm-gods (Severian seems to be in the role of Thor and
similar deities, as well as that of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee, when
he quietens the storm on Gyoll - though the idea that this storm is
based within his out of control anger is more Thor-like than
Christ-like by a very long way ... and possibly even more Marvel-Thor
than Norse-Deity-Thor, for that matter), Sun-gods (Apu-Punchau is a
name for the Inca solar deity Inti) and Fish-gods such as Oannes (or
even Jesus again, though I do realise that the 'fish' thing has more to
do with early Christian need for concealment (the ICHTHOS glyph) than
with any real connection with the man Jesus. <br>
<blockquote cite="mid:999655.47117.qm@web37906.mail.mud.yahoo.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">3.) Has anyone else had difficulty explaining the plot to his aged grandmother
and consciously skipped over the Dorcas character?
</pre>
</blockquote>
Duh. No actually :) Why did you need to explain the plot to your
Grannie?<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:999655.47117.qm@web37906.mail.mud.yahoo.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">4.) Is Severian a proto(/post)-Christian (not -like) figure in a Mormon
universe? That is it seems to have an endless hierarchy of gods. The concept
of an "uncreate" blows this theory but the robots seem to have an endless
hierarchy topped (roughly) by a race. Am I missing something?
</pre>
</blockquote>
That's 'increate'. And as for Mormons, you tell us? I doubt there are
many Mormon experts on this list.<br>
<br>
cheers<br>
<br>
JD<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:999655.47117.qm@web37906.mail.mud.yahoo.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
Nicholas Jost
</pre>
<pre wrap="">
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