-
Is enslaving Urth a definition of evil? Isn't flooding the place and killing everybody a much worse evil? By human morality maybe. But Gene Wolfe has read the Bible and has had …
21 Dec 2011, 19:21
-
I understand that. I think Jeff Wilson once said something similar, like "it's too big and all-encompassing". It is quite a horse pill to swallow when a piece of literature you lov…
21 Dec 2011, 19:00
-
I think the text duplicates this discussion: My statement about cultural prescribed cannibalism not being for the purpose of nutrition stands. Famine and starvation cannibalism …
21 Dec 2011, 18:08
-
I respect your opinion Dan'l. As with David, I'll defend my position though not with the intent of changing yours. The grand finale of UotNS gives us a Flood. Are you thinking Wo…
21 Dec 2011, 17:05
-
David Stockhoff: Could pedo/hebephilia not be a clue to a deeper evil rather than a sign of identity? In BotNS, I think it serves both purposes. Incest also. Remember how Dorca…
21 Dec 2011, 16:52
-
I respect that opinion and will only comment further to explain my view, not to change yours (unless you are making a request for your resistance to be broken down, heh). Yes. And…
21 Dec 2011, 16:36
-
I think those are sufficient for him. There are certain weirdnesses in all those encounters. My approach to Wolfe is different than Wright so I don't study him too intensely. As an…
21 Dec 2011, 15:35
-
An excellent point. Along with all the other persistent faerie/magic elements from human mythology, cannibalism belongs in this book along with vampires, giants, shapeshifting, et…
21 Dec 2011, 14:33
-
Yes, I don't know if Cyriaca is meant to be sister or clone to Catherine but I think there is a definite connection (as does Andre-Driussi) from the physical resemblance to the Pel…
21 Dec 2011, 14:01
-
Yes, thanks for that Jerry. And the ivy-wreathed Dionysus can be traced in a direct line to the Green Man who is not so subtlely referenced in BotNS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G…
20 Dec 2011, 20:50
-
My timeline would be more like this: young Cyriaca is a Pelerine. She is expelled because she gets pregnant with twins whom she raises in Nessus, supporting herself with a used c…
20 Dec 2011, 20:32
-
I think the alzabo stuff is explainable by time period. There was a very real and serious camp in the 1970's which thought memory might be carried by RNA. Wolfe wouldn't be the onl…
20 Dec 2011, 19:53
-
IIRC, it was bequeathed to A & A by their mother. This tends to implies she is dead. But if Cyriaca is their mother and just living far away, there is a second meaning to "bequeath…
20 Dec 2011, 16:31
-
I agree completely. From Wolfe interviews, I get the impression his personal philosophy is based on the following logic: "the ancients were as intelligent as we are. They were not…
20 Dec 2011, 13:26
-
Heh, yep. Who knows! People are different online than in the real world but one way I am similar is that I tend to mirror the speech patterns of the person I am talking to. It …
20 Dec 2011, 03:23
-
Daniel Petersen: http://silkandhornheresy.blogspot.com/2010/06/reading-wolfe-is-dream-like-another.html Nice essay, Daniel! I found the graphic intriguing as well. The dagger p…
19 Dec 2011, 19:33
-
Heh! Clever segue from the fairy tale theme David. Amusingly, when I first started hearing the term "troll" on internet, in addition to the fairy tale reference, I thought of …
19 Dec 2011, 00:36
-
Heh. Tired of arguing with David and hoping to draw me in? Sorry, not interested. A good admonition. Consider taking it. :- )…
18 Dec 2011, 16:32
-
Heh, yep. The threat of an insult is about the same as an insult. But don't worry Jerry. No need to mince words with me. It should be clear by now that I invest no pride in my co…
17 Dec 2011, 21:03
-
Gene Wolfe: Pas is certainly not Zeus. (No doubt he would like to be.) The classical gods are, in general, not as people today imagine them. Ares is the *soldier god*, not the …
17 Dec 2011, 15:46
-
You have not mentioned the fairy tale of Rip Van Winkle (or is that too American to be known around the world?). Anyway, we are not discussing a hypothesis here. Many have just r…
17 Dec 2011, 15:40
-
Yeah, I am eternally jealous of you Dan'l, that you were participating in those Golden Days, though I did get some discourse with Mantis a couple years ago in an online- one year …
16 Dec 2011, 21:22
-
Heh, funny. I am always described as the fair and unflappable peacemaker. Oh it IS weird and creepy. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. "Let's just talk about Wolfe" s…
16 Dec 2011, 20:56
-
Is it the accusation or the actual fact of not reading the text which scandalizes you? I'm thinking it is the latter as Gerry's frequent accusations of others not reading the text …
16 Dec 2011, 19:48
-
Excellent post and analogy, Gerry. I had actually thought it was a frog carrying the scorpion but an internet search shows both animals are used. I understand your choice. The fox …
16 Dec 2011, 19:21
-
You seem like a gentle, considerate soul Daniel, which I think is great. But do you believe in the adage, "it takes one to know one"? Gerry and I understand each other very well. …
16 Dec 2011, 18:30
-
I really think you are missing something Daniel, though you would not be alone in it. Isn't it possible to use the nuanced perception through which we understand Gene Wolfe's work …
16 Dec 2011, 13:50
-
Ah, well, not really. I understood but I'll confess that I just wanted an excuse to further discuss Tolkien with someone who knows more than I do about the subject. :- ) Scener…
16 Dec 2011, 13:30
-
Gerry you are inventing straw men to knock down again. Nobody has said Doras is "about" Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty. The suggestion was simply and broadly that BotNS has i…
16 Dec 2011, 04:06
-
Wow, Dan'l. Outstanding post, both for content and eloquence. Also, I agree with all you say about Tolkien and Lewis and Wolfe in your earlier post. I might only debate one is…
16 Dec 2011, 03:21
-
Heh. Well, I give you points for consistency, Gerry. As always, you see the young beauty in the optical illusion and ignore and/or dismiss the old crone. http://www.illusionspoint.…
15 Dec 2011, 19:03
-
I tend to agree. Especially on tFHoC. Of course my first few readings of that were the novella only. Mr. Million and cloning aside, it felt like 19th Century France had been tran…
15 Dec 2011, 13:48
-
I agree. Judging from interviews, this may be one of the major points Wolfe hopes to convey with his work- that ancient peoples were just as intelligent and capable of understandin…
07 Dec 2011, 13:09
-
Thanks Daniel and Harry. That was a great article. The Wizard of Oz is an appropriate basis of comparison for Gene Wolfe. It is a complex movie with a depth that is belied by…
06 Dec 2011, 21:27
-
I agree. For me, 5HoC represents the roots and the Sun Series the trunk of the tree of Wolfe's writing. But the Soldier series and Wizard Knight are major branches. The good thi…
06 Dec 2011, 17:19
-
I think so. I guess the idea was that if particle polarity is reversed (antimatter electrons are positively charged) then all physical properties might be. There is probably some …
06 Dec 2011, 13:32
-
I remember wondering something like that. But I find the end of the Long Sun saga to be a slog to get through and haven't re-read it much. It will be more interesting when you move…
06 Dec 2011, 13:26
-
Where is this quote from? I think I remember something like that. Anyway, that sentiment is quite misanthropic. It may be that Wolfe thinks that lowly of the human race in gener…
05 Dec 2011, 03:26
-
There is nothing circular about it. It is a straight comparison. Both Rudesind and Father Inire are old, bent and monkey-like. I think it likely they are also both short. You s…
04 Dec 2011, 18:11
-
You are not thinking correctly. The "torturers" did not take the slightest bit of trouble to select a name for Severian. Gene Wolfe did. The torturers did not put Severian in a c…
04 Dec 2011, 17:57
-
It does! Our discussions provide opportunities for us to better understand the possible ways of interpreting Gene Wolfe and provide Gerry Quinn with something to whine about. A wi…
04 Dec 2011, 04:32
-
I don't think he does. He says he "first thought" someone was sitting, implying this was later proved incorrect. So Rudesind was standing but from a distance his shortness made…
04 Dec 2011, 04:20
-
You are right. The Cumaean even calls her "big red-gold". She says Jolenta's hair was dyed and thickened with colored silk threads. Gold may be a connection to Dorcas and Severia…
04 Dec 2011, 00:57
-
It wouldn't be evidence for you, Gerry. You have spent 2 or 3 years here demonstrating that your definition of that word is "supports my own beliefs". Your demonstration of this …
03 Dec 2011, 22:18
-
My own thought is that if Wolfe is playing ironic Oedipal games, Severian might have sex with every female relative he encounters except his mother. Could the Holy Katharine ritu…
03 Dec 2011, 14:00
-
Great research and insight David! The "Three Maids" remind me of the three maids in Dr. Talos' play. Aside from beheading, I wonder if there is further connection to Lybe, Solang…
03 Dec 2011, 13:11
-
Agreed. If there was a witch character of the right age named Severa, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Even if we ignore the theme of incest (which we should not do, imho)…
02 Dec 2011, 20:04
-
I agree. The whole conversation is fishy. Is Father Inire senile or is it Rudesind who just forgot his lines? Let's remember that Rudesind is small, old and bent and looks like …
02 Dec 2011, 13:15
-
The statement about Father Inire's term comes from Rudesind in the meeting at the House Absolute. Rudesind forgets the lines he was supposed to say, and Severian asks him who ha…
02 Dec 2011, 06:02
-
Well, a decent conversation :- ) I'm not so sure. But either way, my judgement of the tone of their conversation suggests that they really like Severian. Baldanders...not so m…
02 Dec 2011, 03:59
Urth Net