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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=severiansola@hotmail.com
href="mailto:severiansola@hotmail.com">Lee Berman</A> </DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV><BR><BR>> > Gerry Quinn: The Cumaean does a little necromancy, but
the artificial beautification <BR>> > was the work of the Hierodules’ pal
Talos.<BR><BR> <BR><BR>> Merryn twice makes claims that The Cumaean is
superior to Dr. Talos, both as a <BR>> physician and a beautificator. </DIV>
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<DIV>And we have no reason to doubt it. But of beautification or the like,
she says: “it is not a task of the kind the Cumaean undertakes, save in great
need”.</DIV>
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<DIV>> Merryn herself appears to be a subject of The Cumaean's<BR>> work
as she appears to be the same age as she was when Severian saw her some 15
years<BR>> previously. At that time, when Severian was a kid, Merryn's face
was:<BR>> "at once suggestive of beauty and disease. The witch to whom
it beloned seemed old to<BR>> me and must actually have been about twenty or
a little less..."She was not tall and <BR>> she carried herself in the
bent-backed posture of extreme age. Her face was so lovely <BR>> and
bloodless that it might have been a mask carved in ivory by some master
sculptor".</DIV>
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<DIV>It is certainly plausible that Merryn is the same witch Severian met when
younger, in which case she is not his sister. But she lacks the wires etc.
Severian sees in Jolenta. I don’t really see her as being artificially
beautified by the Cumaean, but I think it is possible that her life was
artificially extended. However, the contrast between her and Jolenta is
great. You are suggesting that artificial beautification is evil [if so,
then every woman is evil], but even if Merryn has been artificially beautified,
one actually sees a contrast between good and evil uses of such
technology. We have no reason to believe the Cumaean would do what Talos
did.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>> Severian had it backwards in their first meeting, Merryn is
really old but has been<BR>> made to appear young. This jibes with The
Cumaean's decribed role as a beautifier and<BR>> her detailed knowledge of
those arts including how Jolenta had been beautified.<BR><BR>She has a detailed
knowledge of just about everything.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>> FWIW, I think Merryn's age, name and lack of height disqualify
her as a candidate for being <BR>> Severian's twin. I think Jolenta's height,
name and the incest factor make her a better <BR>> candidate. Was she a witch
before waitress? </DIV>
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<DIV>If she’s old, she can’t be Severian’s twin, certainly. Maybe she
isn’t really old and her witchy experiments/knowledge age her. Then she
would look similar to the Cumaean’s previous acolyte whom Severian met.</DIV>
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<DIV>I don’t think there’s any sensible reason to think Jolenta is Severian’s
sister. We don’t know her name, and your “incest factor” is
meaningless. Severian sleeps with countless women of wildly differering
backgrounbd and descriptions, so his sleeping with a woman cannot be an
indicator of a genetic relationship (why would it be anyway?) I can’t
remember her height but it hardly means much.</DIV>
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<DIV>- Gerry Quinn</DIV>
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