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James, as I understand your theory, Spring Wind is Typhon so Frog (and Severian) would be as sons of Typhon. I'm not sure how the Student and His Son legend relates to Typhon tho…
21 Dec 2010, 14:40
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There has been some recent debate on whether this mausoleum is Severian's or another. I'm not sure but I don't think it is out of the question that part of the hidden structure b…
21 Dec 2010, 13:22
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Gwern, I both agree and disagree. In the history of this List there have been hundreds of theories proposed. I don't agree that only a few can be right. What I think we have is …
21 Dec 2010, 12:41
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James, when I rejoined this List last year under this name, your cogent advice to the "new guy" was that when people present their deeply well-thought out theories here, they are…
20 Dec 2010, 20:46
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James you are often a step or two ahead of me in reasoning, so it can be hard to keep up. I don't see this conclusion within Marc's theory. How is the Outsider restricted to being…
20 Dec 2010, 18:33
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Yes, I think Marc and James share far more in their theories than they differ. Not only does Marc share the Horn-Neighbor idea but they share in seeing the significance of trees an…
20 Dec 2010, 17:47
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I personally agree about Silk. But I'm not sure Wolfe does. Or at least I suspect Wolfe has created Silk as a symbolic expression of why outward "goodness" (and even charisma) are …
20 Dec 2010, 04:47
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The best explanation I've seen is the suggestion that socialists might generally be against imperialism and colonization. The funny thing is, the deeper message in 5HoC is that …
20 Dec 2010, 04:09
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Just had to add something which occurred to me and may sound crazy or may have occurred to others. The means by which Wolfe suggests the motherhood of Catherine and Mamelta are si…
19 Dec 2010, 17:24
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I agree that it is subversive but I get the opposite impression of Marc's theory. If anything, The Outsider as the One True God is manipulating Typhon and Kypris. Quite a briliant…
19 Dec 2010, 17:11
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I used to think Yesod was the next universe in succession after Briah. And that they would eventually get an Earth and a Jesus there. In this scenario, the "creations" as galaxies …
19 Dec 2010, 04:15
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Christian missionaries who have been put on display at a zoo and rendered somewhat ridiculous in their speech and behavior. I think this is an example of starting with a conclusi…
18 Dec 2010, 21:44
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This sounds so much like description of manvantaras by Malrubius I feel one has to perform contortions to avoid the connection. I could accept this better if I thought Wolfe w…
18 Dec 2010, 16:16
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Shazam! This is part of the anthropological lesson being taught to David and #5 by Mr. Million in the first few pages of the first Wolfe story (novella) I ever read. That's when I…
17 Dec 2010, 21:42
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Heh, funny. Same here. If we envision the sequential universes as an ascending spiral, or maybe stacked toroids, as Son ofa Witz suggested, it would be easy to envision a portal…
17 Dec 2010, 20:51
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True, though I think it goes deeper than that, even. Consider Malrubius' words: The parenthetical part is as Severian describes it. The beginning is at the same point as the end…
17 Dec 2010, 18:20
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In my view, Severian is the Theoanthropos, given his mixed parentage, that which makes him the perfect Conciliator between humanity and the sky gods. Severian tells us early on t…
17 Dec 2010, 14:02
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Oh, you guys. Gerry and I have been having a lot of fun with this. But, once it expressly becomes an annoyance to others, well...that needs to be it. All fun things must come to …
16 Dec 2010, 20:24
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I don't know you personally, Gerry. Any criticism I have of you is based purely on your writing. By your definition, wouldn't calling someone else's expression of heartfelt feeli…
16 Dec 2010, 19:52
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It is Merryn. It is she who answers the door to the Witches Keep and guides Severian to the Cumaean sitting at her artificial landscape. There is the suggestion that maybe there ar…
16 Dec 2010, 18:40
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I don't interpret the teratoid symbol as Inire's maker mark. I only mentioned that possibility in response to somebody who was asserting their only possible meaning was as a factor…
16 Dec 2010, 18:32
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This is simplistic and biased. You clearly see yourself in the role of B. Only A is seen as capable of ego-related bias, never B. You just won't recognize that what seems "strong a…
16 Dec 2010, 18:08
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Like David, I'm not feeling fully keyed in to in depth discussions on the Trinity. But, SilkHorn, continuing his lesson to HOund, does remark on a confusing scenario in which The O…
16 Dec 2010, 15:27
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I think you are missing something important. The above about the God of Wine and Thyone takes place in a theological lesson SilkHorn is giving to Hound. Later, after Hound has had…
16 Dec 2010, 14:39
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At the risk of becoming a repetitive bore (whoops, too late!), this is a classic gnostic Apollonian-Dionysian dichotomy. Matachin is male, rigid, synthetic, solid, highly regimente…
16 Dec 2010, 14:28
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Ryan does say: "If you have more to add, by all means share." I'd be interested in more detail or text quotes for your contributions, Jeff. The jurupari hex sign is wreathed in le…
16 Dec 2010, 12:44
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In reading Long Sun, I also got the impression that The Outsider was to be considered the same as our God, creator of all universes. Even if this Briah universe never had a Jesus …
16 Dec 2010, 05:13
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Okay, but do they take weeks or months of walking to traverse? A bit unwieldy. We also see a portal in Tzadkiel's ship. Severian notes that it resembles those of Father Inire but…
15 Dec 2010, 19:58
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Sorry, I'm not knowledgable enough to discuss the Logos stuff. Maybe I can later. But in saying we must deny The Outsider as a real deity it would seem you are saying that we mus…
15 Dec 2010, 19:52
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Gerry I don't find your posts the best example of alpha dog snarling around here in the past 6 years but if the shoe fits.. You have strongly asserted that all ideas must be sub…
15 Dec 2010, 19:41
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Since this entire story is from Severian's point of view, we can only discern meaning based on what he understands and what we think he doesn't understand but we do. He wrote BotNS…
15 Dec 2010, 19:02
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Heh, good question! You made me think about it. I have to be cautious to not inject my own views into things, but rather focus on what I think are Gene Wolfe's (my own socio-anthro…
15 Dec 2010, 15:48
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Well, I have some thoughts but they are difficult to put into words. I have been trying with my Father Inire theory. For me, this is a gnostic, pre-Christian universe (some prefe…
14 Dec 2010, 20:15
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I'm okay with that. But here's the thing..the only thing we see coming out of those particular mirrors is the silver fish-thing in the Domnina story (though I think Inire says th…
14 Dec 2010, 18:03
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Ah! Yes, I've seen this interpretation of the teratoid sign before. Might be something to it. My gut feeling is that it is based on an error though. A "teratogen" is an agent which…
14 Dec 2010, 15:15
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Doesn't sound very Wolfean to me. It would be like Severian stops being Thecla (although that does seem to happen in UotNS for auctorial/authorial purposes (Antonio has taught me …
14 Dec 2010, 13:08
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We had descended perhaps a hundred steps when we reached a door painted with a crimson *teratoid* But if you > > prefer, here's another allusion to starflight. [See, I ca…
14 Dec 2010, 06:19
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Yes, that is what I am suggesting (or that Severian is lying to us about not knowing) Well, I do. But that's not much help to others, I know. Not sure we want to go with the tra…
14 Dec 2010, 00:29
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It does to me. You could guess that he is up in Ascia or something. But Ascia is not shown to us, thus it exists outside the Labyrinth. Not an option. In my view Father Inire can b…
13 Dec 2010, 21:22
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Thank you Craig. I think that was a very illustrative post. The reason you see a similarity in tone to the conversations on this Board to your lessons to your freshmen is that some…
13 Dec 2010, 20:52
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Sorry, bollixed the key question in my last post with an uncorrected typo. Please delete the bracketed above. I consider this an essential question that demands an answer. If Fat…
13 Dec 2010, 19:58
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Noooo way! Not obvious to me, anyway, though I can hardly claim to be the most steeped authority on Christian symbolism. James I think you are just going to have to face facts. I…
13 Dec 2010, 19:07
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Son o' Witz- I think you meant, "Just smokin' the stuff" :) Hah! :- P! Antechamber aside, I can't help but feel the discussion of Jonas's ship is missing a major thematic co…
13 Dec 2010, 18:56
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LMAO! I know, I know!…
13 Dec 2010, 18:00
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I always mirror my audiences in tone. Speaking in their language is the best, sometimes only way, to achieve communication. And all I am saying is that there is a good chance Gene…
13 Dec 2010, 17:57
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Careful in your assessment of what I do and do not know. Your co-workers know what the back of your head looks like better than you do ;- ). Mirrors can take various forms. Gerr…
13 Dec 2010, 17:21
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Just thinking about Gene Wolfe's advocation for the dead/admiration for old masters, I could imagine him bored in his engineering office in an historic old Chicago building and de…
13 Dec 2010, 15:40
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wow, that is good. Not sure if I encountered that Alice analogy in my perusal of the Archives before joining. Nick Chopper did become tin by losing body parts and replacing them wi…
13 Dec 2010, 15:17
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Heh. This resonates with me also. In writing BotNS I think Gene Wolfe was still working either as an engineer or as an engineering journal editor. This scene could partially be hi…
13 Dec 2010, 05:19
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For me, the Long Sun character of Mint seems loosely patterned on Joan of Arc. If the main text is weak or unclear on her motivations, perhaps a study of the Maid of Orleans could…
13 Dec 2010, 04:10
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