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The Autarch is played by Dr. Talos as is the Archangel Gabriel. I find this to be especially significant given Talos' name as a mythological monster. Talos' character has preterna…
19 Sep 2014, 02:53
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Well there are also the "Hierarchs", the apparent designation for Apheta and her ilk. These serve as the "larvae" for Hierogrammates. So are these humaniform Hierarchs the lost "…
17 Sep 2014, 18:36
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I thought it might be worth a mention to any who may not be so familiar with Kipling that the "red flower" is used in the Jungle Book, with Mowgli-Frog, Shere Khan, etc. to refer…
17 Sep 2014, 18:21
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Yep, good detective work all around! Given the character "Hyacinth" in Long Sun, I think the theme deserves all the attention is has gotten on this board and more. The tale of t…
17 Sep 2014, 13:48
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Given Hethor's mastery of mirrors and monsters, I don't find it a stretch that he is associated with the fallen angels/demons who reside on Urth. My guess is that, in parallel t…
17 Sep 2014, 13:24
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I disagree on two counts. First, Hethor makes a great urthly version of Tzadkiel if the purpose of the form is disguise. Naturally if it really is a literary disguise we, the re…
17 Sep 2014, 13:02
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Hethor is first introduced, (though not by name) at Agilus' execution. At first he seems just one of several sadists who deeply enjoy watching executions. Later, in the antechamb…
16 Sep 2014, 12:01
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I think we are on the same page. Jahi is a demon and Wolfe specifically refers to Juturna as a demon in UotNS so I assume that (and the female gender and temptress role) is your …
15 Sep 2014, 18:13
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I> don’t really see any connection to Wolfe’s story, but is the gaining of wealth by dubious Balzac claimed that behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Perhaps the same i…
15 Sep 2014, 17:40
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I'm not fully understanding you Marc. After the scene where Severian is rescued by an undine, a "statue of Night atop the khan (inn) on the opposite bank (of Gyoll)" is mentioned.…
15 Sep 2014, 14:02
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Thanks, DOJP. Ship's sails as angel wings does work rather poetically. Credit to Wolfe for that. I am wondering if this theme of large beings being mistaken (or conflated) with…
12 Sep 2014, 13:08
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Could be. But is there a mention that the red sun of Urth can be seen in the night sky of Blue? Conversely, I think "Fomalhaut" mentioned in BotNS foreshadows the sun of Blue, th…
11 Sep 2014, 05:15
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I agree. Though not ever having been Christian myself, I can only guess at what most Christians would consider more or less heretical. I tend to agree on a personal level about t…
10 Sep 2014, 19:35
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It was meant more rhetorically to address the thread topic, but okay. Agreed, in similar fashion to the other recent topic, Dr. Marsch being replaced by an abo. As discussed, tha…
10 Sep 2014, 18:35
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Well, my first thought is that it is instead "no Christ in a previous iteration, yet". On the other hand, Severian does travel to the end of Briah and Tzadkiels' Ship remains de…
10 Sep 2014, 18:12
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This is tautology. You are saying beings from another universe were mentioned when beings from another universe were mentioned. It is a diversion from the topic of the this thre…
10 Sep 2014, 16:04
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As mentioned to Gerry, there doesn't seem to be any reason in Citadel for any of the characters to be from Yesod. But the sequential universes are in the narrative of Citadel for…
10 Sep 2014, 14:58
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I don't see any purpose in Wolfe introducing the sequential universe model in Citadel of the Autarch. Why bring up other universes if we aren't ever going to see them and every…
10 Sep 2014, 14:28
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Yes, he tells Severian he is there to clean Father Inire's painting but then he remembers that he was supposed to tell Severian about his own childhood and how there is a paintin…
10 Sep 2014, 14:12
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Tzadkiel and Inire being at the opposite extremes is actually at the heart of my view. The religious/mythological model is that of angels and demons. These are both the same sor…
10 Sep 2014, 13:01
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I don't think that is clear. A Jesus-like figure is crucified but so were many others crucified, even on Good Friday. Crucifixtion is not prima facie evidence that a person is …
10 Sep 2014, 12:09
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Good example. Thea explains that Urth was "renamed" that during the period when men "sailed between the stars, leaping from galaxy to galaxy" which, given Tzadkiel's ship, (which…
09 Sep 2014, 19:52
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Yes, most emphatically. I'll address that specific issue below, but generally I find that Dr. Talos' words apply to artifacts and stories from Earth being found on Urth. I don't …
08 Sep 2014, 18:08
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I agree. I find much in the text of BotNS to support the idea that Urth/ Briah was originally intended as a previous iteration of our Earth. The very name "Urth" implies the past…
08 Sep 2014, 12:22
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Heh. Insightful and funny. Funny, since we don't have any real socialists in the USA. But as a non-American, perhaps you were not kidding about that? The "social contract" is…
05 Sep 2014, 17:24
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I am not understanding. If a person reads a work of fiction and comes to what they feel is a "logical" interpretation and someone else feels that interpretation contains "logical…
05 Sep 2014, 13:49
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Interesting. Didn't know that. Thanks! When engaging in a discussion of ideas with others, having the final word on issues of "logic" and "truth" seems too onerous a burden for …
05 Sep 2014, 11:18
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Well, I'm not a political expert. But didn't Senator Ted Cruz from the great state of Texas do a 21 hour filibuster last year, including readings from Dr. Seuss and citing Star w…
04 Sep 2014, 19:42
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There are various tactics and strategies to win a debate. One is to wear down your opponent with stubbornness and win by attrition. Last word wins? Here in America, such a pri…
04 Sep 2014, 14:46
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Yes, I very much think a scenario like this is hinted at. Partly because we see a similar scenario described in BotNS with human (instead of Shadows) spreading out across the gal…
04 Sep 2014, 14:39
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There might be something to this. There are hints at the preferability of a pure human race, uncontaminated by alien interbreeding to be found in BotNS. The inspiration might w…
03 Sep 2014, 13:15
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Yes. Be it City of God or some other source, I think it is no accident that Wolfe combined these concepts. Over and over in his work, he reveals that he is familiar with much m…
03 Sep 2014, 13:03
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Actually I still think you were on the right track. In "Gondwanaland", "Atlantis" and "Mu" I find hints that some version of Shadow Children were on Earth even before the evoluti…
03 Sep 2014, 12:48
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Excellent analysis Richard. This had been hovering at the edge of my awareness for a while but you brought it to focus and nailed it perfectly. Perfect word choice. Much of the…
03 Sep 2014, 12:10
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"Trip" and "trap" are rather loaded words regarding the intentions of the author. Instead of saying it that way, I find it clear that Wolfe sometimes expects more from his read…
03 Sep 2014, 12:01
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After being tossed in, is this cat alive or dead? I can't help but think some of this story is a veiled nod to Schroedinger. Father Inire is an alien, but we are never told (open…
27 Aug 2014, 06:29
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Marc Aramini: No lee, I think he was a shadow child, which is very different Thanks Marc. I had forgotten that aspect of your view and I appreciate the reminder. Apparently some…
26 Aug 2014, 17:31
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You and Gerry are in agreement on that. The rarity of this is almost enough by itself to convince me. Moreover, I've never been good at fictional timelines. It still seems odd …
26 Aug 2014, 11:19
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Since I consider Number Five to be a much more reliable narrator than VRT, I tend to base my understanding of what happens more on the first section of the novel than the final …
25 Aug 2014, 12:30
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I can see that interpretation coming from Number Five's observation that a ship from Ste. Anne had landed on St. Croix the day before Marsch's first visit to 666 Satimbanque St.…
25 Aug 2014, 03:13
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You are looking for simplistic one to one correspondence. Mythology (and Wolfe being highly influenced by mythology) do not work in such an orderly and direct manner. Pagan god…
24 Aug 2014, 14:09
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I do think there is validity to this aspect of the story Marc. Still the Abos are able to perform such diverse human activities as making egg rolls, having sex, driving a horse …
22 Aug 2014, 18:12
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I think Severian's flooding of the Vincula and Silkhorn's cleansing of the sewer on Green serve a similar connective function. Moreover the mythological cleansing of the Augean …
22 Aug 2014, 18:04
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I am guessing Marc gets the "diabolical" adjective for this eucharist from the James Jordan interview with Gene Wolfe back from 1992. An excerpt and a link to that interview will…
22 Aug 2014, 15:17
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the Cumaean>> is the leader of the Witches in BotNS. Jeffrey Wilson: Is she? She's considered a witch, and Merryn is at her disposal in the Stone Town, but that's not the same.…
22 Aug 2014, 14:55
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I feel Antonio has the answer. One can take a minimalist approach to interpreting the novel and assume it is just one person who is killed and replaced. (keeping in mind that bef…
22 Aug 2014, 13:59
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This is my view also. One shape-shifting species is present in various stages of imitative, Lamarckian evolution. Self-deception at each stage of their evolution toward perfect h…
21 Aug 2014, 16:54
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I find them to be sufficiently linked. It is to be remembered that the Cumaean is the leader of the Witches in BotNS. There is a constellation of traits including snakes, witchcr…
21 Aug 2014, 16:20
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Hopefully this is related. For a long time I was mystified by the dream appearance of a giant, bull-headed father for Severian (as Thecla) as he lay dying on the battlefield. …
20 Aug 2014, 14:02
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On first reading, the dream influence of Severian's past as a torturer would seem to be the likely inspiration for Baldanders' dream. But given the futuristic nature of Severia…
20 Aug 2014, 12:47
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