Subject: Wolfe's "New Sun": Severian Unmasked!

From: Charles Dye <raster at terra.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 02:02:42 +0000

SEVERIAN UNMASKED:

Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" epic is one of the most complex,
ambitious masterworks in the field of science fiction.  Wolfe draws upon
dozens of literary sources to enrich his world; I will cover a few here.
My intentions in posting this explication are twofold: first, to enrich the
Severian experience for those who have missed some of Wolfe's references;
second, I'd like to hear from others who have insights I don't.

I, SEVERIAN:

The work most frequently referenced in "The Book of the New Sun" is Robert
Graves's "Claudius" cycle.  I have a horrible suspicion that the grave
robbers in Chapter I of "Shadow" are there partly as a punning homage to
Graves.  Certainly there are too many similarities between the two works to
be explained by coincidence.

"I, Claudius" is the autobiography of the Roman Emperor, Claudius,
"translated" by Robert Graves.  Claudius stresses the point that he is
writing the story himself: "I am my own mere secretary...."  He intends his
manuscript for an audience in the distant future, and at one point
considers the idea of sealing it in a lead casket for safekeeping.

"The Book of the New Sun" is the autobiography of the Autarch Severian,
"translated" by Gene Wolfe.  Severian also does his own writing,
"... sitting up writing all night here in the clerestory."  He decides to
send his story to a distant time, possibly even a different universe, by
sealing it "in a coffer of lead" and launching it from Tzadkiel's starship.

Both Claudius and Severian have a tendency to write long, complicated
sentences.  Claudius's writing style mimics his stumbling tongue, too slow
to keep up with his darting thoughts; Severian's perfect memory allows him
to match subject to verb despite any numbers of intervening clauses.

Claudius and Severian are both lame (Claudius has a withered leg, Severian
a battle wound.)  Both become Emperor through unlikely twists of Fate.
Both lead armies into battle, and successfully prosecute a war.  Both are
deified after their deaths.  Severian's gentle brutality reflects
Claudius's patrician tyranny.

Claudius' wife, during the early part of his reign, is the lady Valeria
Messalina.  Severian, shortly after assuming the throne, marries a lady
named Valeria.  Since Valeria is a heliotropic (sun-seeking) plant, this is
a case of Wolfe bettering Graves!

"The Book of the New Sun" is littered with dozens, if not hundreds, of
similar references.  If you have not read "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the
God", you are missing much of "The Book of the New Sun", as well as a work
of literature which is great in its own right.

SEVERIAN AS CHRIST:

Most of the references to Jesus Christ in the "Book of the New Sun" are too
obvious to give special mention to: Severian heals the sick, brings the
dead to life (and vice versa, of course), changes water into wine, et
cetera.  More subtle, I think, is Severian's encounter with Typhon in
Chapter XXVI of "The Sword of the Lictor".  Typhon's offers correspond
exactly with Satan's temptations of Christ in Matthew, chapter 4: bread
from stones, flight, power over the world.  This chapter (in "Sword") also
hints darkly at "The Inferno".  Severian's confusion at "descending" from
the mountain's lap to its summit recalls Dante's puzzlement at Virgil's
descent/ascent from Hell.  Oddly enough, Typhon only gets two heads and one
sinner to chew on.

SEVERIAN, THE MEMORIOUS:

The character of Severian benefits somewhat from "Funes, the Memorious" in
the short story of the same name by Jorge Luis Borges (about whom more
later).  Funes has a mind crippled by a perfect memory.  He is incapable of
any level of abstraction; since dog-1 (asleep, at 10:20 am) is so obviously
different from dog-2 (playing outdoors at 10:25), Funes is unable to
consider them aspects of the same dog, or even to put the same name to
them.

Severian, on the other hand, seems an absolute philosopher of abstraction.
However, he does hint that his gift may be linked to "poor judgement" and
at one point even states baldly that he is insane.  Certainly he does
display a certain messianic madness at times.

TERMINUS EST:

A "terminus" is the end of the line, of course.  Severian does not know,
but Wolfe certainly does, that the "terminator" is the division between
night and day on a planet's surface.  The sword's name could be translated
"Edge of Day".

MASTER ULTAN:

His character is drawn partly from Claudius' history tutors, Athenodorus
and Sulpicius.  (Ultan at one point mentions a reading room reserved for
the use of "the Autarch Sulpicius".)  Athenodorus is described as
possessing a large, perfectly white beard stretching to his waist, and a
gentle wisdom.  Sulpicius is the human Dewey-decimal catalog, who will
always "know what authority had treated of these points, in which book, and
from which shelf of which case in which room of which library they were to
be obtained."

However, the character of Master Ultan derives mostly from a real man,
Jorge Luis Borges.  Borges is considered the greatest Argentine writer.
When he realized that his vision was failing, Borges set to work memorizing
great quantities of literature.  After becoming completely blind, Borges
was named director of the Argentine National Library in Buenos Aries.

Borges's "Fictions" deliberately muddy the distinction between truth and
fiction, giving them a slippery, eerily vague air.  Borges himself would be
delighted to know that he has taken on new life as a fictional character.

(And how would Gene Wolfe feel about similar treatment?  Little Severian,
demanding a bedtime story, states: "It should have wolfs in it.")

ONWARD, UPWARD

Severianology is a new science.  When, one fine day, the critical world
outside of "science fiction" discovers "New Sun", we can expect to see many
scholarly dissections and annotations of Wolfe's work.  Until that day
dawns, however, information is scarce and hard to come by.  If you have
insights that you'd like to share, post them here, or email me.

---

From: raibeck <raibeck at tiac.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 21:01:53 +0000

Unfortunately I can not add anything to your discourse since I have not yet
read the series. However maybe you (or someone else) can give me some
advice.

I have been trying to get started with this series for quite some
time. It's supposed to be one of the masterworks of the field. Yet, no
matter how hard I've tried, I just can't get past the first 30 pages or so
of the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer). Obviously this is not
light reading.

I like to think I'm at least half-bright, but this book has me stumped. How
can I best approach this series? Is there a particular background I need?
(Wolfe's extensive vocabulary doesn't make things any easier; even my
Random House College Dictionary doesn't have a lot of the words.)

Thanks in advance.

Andy

---

From: The Cutest Man on The Net <eaobrien at ebi.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 16:03:28 +0000

>of the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer). Obviously this is not
	
   Very true. One of the things that has cropped up in a couple of email
discussions about this book I've had recently, is that it takes a long time
for things to fit together. For example, the scene in the start of _Shadow_
where Severian is saved from drowning isn't really explained until quite
late in _The Claw of the Conciliator_, so on the first read through at
least, things can seem quite disjoint..

   So what I'm saying is 'it reads best when you have already read it'
which isn't much help.. hmm.. it's certainly the only series that makes me
want to reread it immediately I finish it every time - six so far.

>I like to think I'm at least half-bright, but this book has me
>stumped. How can I best approach this series? Is there a particular
>background I need?  (Wolfe's extensive vocabulary doesn't make things any
>easier; even my Random House College Dictionary doesn't have a lot of the
>words.)
	
  The vocabulary is one of the many things I like about the series, in that
every obscure word is both real and used appropriately.. some of the beast
names are prehistoric species names, for example. There is a piece in
_Castle of Days_ where Wolfe goes through the obscure vocabulary in
_Shadow_, I think someone has done a _Lexicon Urthus_ but I'm not sure
exactly what it entails - and it is rather expensive. I don't think there's
any specific background you need to appreciate it, but I certainly have
taken more out of it as I brought more to it, there are many levels in
there.

  It's quite a contrast with the Long Sun books, where things seem to
develop in a much more linear fashion.. is that just me, or does anyone
else have the same reaction — I think the Long Sun books would certainly be
more accessible to a first-time Wolfe reader.

Emmet

---

From: Andy Raibeck <raibeck at tiac.net>
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 03:07:15 +0000

BTW, any opinion on "The Urth of the New Sun" and "The Book of the Long
Sun"?  How do you rank these with "The Book of the New Sun"?

Thanks again.

Andy

---

From: Mark Andersen <manderse at nmsu.edu>
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 08:53:50 +0000

Who do you believe was Severian's mother? I read a good argument once
(can't remember where offhand) to the effect that his mother was the
Autarch. (The Autarch Severian succeeded on the throne is the only Autarch
mentioned in the story with neither name nor epithet. The Autarch refers to
Severian as "My son". One could argue that the Autarch androgyny may just
as well have come about through being deprived of femininity, as through
being deprived of masculinity.)

Dr. Mark Andersen		
Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences
New Mexico State University

---

From: Ethan A Merritt <merritt at u.washington.edu>
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 16:37:23 +0000

manderse at nmsu.edu (Mark Andersen) writes:
>mentioned in the story with neither name nor epithet. The Autarch refers
>to Severian as "My son". One could argue that the Autarch androgyny may
>just as well have come about through being deprived of femininity, as
>through being deprived of masculinity.)

I'll keep that in mind next time I read the New Sun and see if I come
across any evidence one way or the other.  The only thing that comes to
mind is the resulting irony.  Remember that Severian is told in _Urth_ that
the reason the autarch's are neutered is to prevent the establishment of a
dynasty, so if Severian is nevertheless the offspring of the previous
autarch...

Ethan A Merritt

---

From: Pat McMurray <pat at cooky.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 17:55:42 +0000

manderse at nmsu.edu (Mark Andersen) wrote:
>Autarch.

Aha! That was John Clute writing in his book "Strokes" published by
Serconia Press in 1988. This is a closely reasoned, very convincing
argument - however I have heard the theory's been repudiated by Gene Wolfe.
This is third hand news at best, from sources I'd believe reliable, so take
it as you will.

Pat

---

From: The Cutest Man on The Net <eaobrien at ebi.ac.uk>
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 1995 15:45:19 +0000

>Sun"?  How do you rank these with "The Book of the New Sun"?
	
  _Urth_ I liked, but not as much as the Book.. it comes a long time after
_Book of the New Sun_, and.. how to put this without spoilers.. made some
of the ambiguities I really liked about the Book less so.

  _Book of the Long Sun_ I am really enjoying, it doesn't seem to have
quite the depth and number of levels to it that _The Book of the New Sun_
did but that's after reading only the first three. It's a great deal more
accessible, things are much more gradually linear rather than fitting
together suddenly at odd moments.

Emmet

---

From: Charles Dye <raster at terra.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 00:35:23 +0000

>of the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer). Obviously this is not

"New Sun" is one of those novels that you either love or despise; I guess
you've figured out which camp I'm in.  And there's no reason to force
yourself to read something you can't stand.  (Unless you're still in school
...)

Why do I love this book?  First, I'm a logophile.  And Gene Wolfe is a
stark, raving logomaniac.  I think it's great trying to figure out where he
got all his words.  (Latin _fuligo_, "soot" -> English _fuliginous_,
"sooty, dark"; if this word were in common use it probably would drop the
adjectival ending and become _fuligin_.)  A "lictor" carries a "fasces", a
Roman symbol from which we get "Fascist"; Severian is to uphold Abdiesus's
rather fascist government with punishment and death.  If you enjoy these
games, then "New Sun" is Disneyworld.  If not, well, no shame to you
but, Wolfe is going to be a long haul.

Second, the sheer enormous SCOPE of the thing.  Wolfe has a genius for
hugeness.  Did you get a kick out of the sense of Deep Time in, say, "The
City and the Stars?"  Wolfe can convey that ancientness a lot better than
Clarke ever could.  For instance, there's a scene in "Sword" in which
Severian descends a sheer cliff more than a mile high.  As he climbs, he
studies the fossils embedded in the rock.  The fossils at the top are from
far in our future.  And so are the fossils at the bottom.  Likewise,
Severian's "Commonwealth" better illustrates a large, varied culture than,
say, Asimov's "Galactic Empire."  Wolfe's partial continent is bigger than
Asimov's galaxy.

Third, it's great fun picking out Wolfe's literary allusions.  I said that
Graves's "I, Claudius" cycle was the major source.  There are dozens, if
not hundreds, of others.  The bedtime story Severian reads to little
Severian is an ingenious blend of "Romulus and Remus" and Kipling, among
others; Doctor Talos's play borrows from Shakespeare.  Mythology is also
heavily represented; we get myths prehistoric, classical, medieval, and
modern, as well as Bible references.  Again, the sort of puzzle you either
enjoy, or not.

Finally, the biggest enigma of all, the character of Severian himself.
Gentle, brutal, chivalrous, murderous.  "I know how to treat an edge, and I
sharpened it carefully."  Many of the other characters are also puzzles -
Dorcas, Jolenta, Jonas, Talos and Baldanders but, they serve primarily to
distract your attention from the central puzzle to the "Book."  Who and
what is Severian?

Someone gave the advice that "you have to read it twice".  Absolutely true.
Despite the apparent symmetries that Wolfe gives the novel, the pivotal
episode in Severian's story doesn't come until about 4/5ths of the way
through the fourth volume.

In my opinion, "The Book of the New Sun" is the greatest SF ever written.
It has revolutionized the field.  (And no other author seems willing to
pick up the gauntlet, with the happy exception of Dan Simmons.)  I feel
lucky to have discovered it.  Those awful titles - I would never have
bought anything titled "The Shadow of the Torturer", except that I found
it, used, for 50 cents.

Tastes vary, however, and "New Sun" is not everyone's cup of tea.  I hope
you do continue with it, and find it as rewarding as I have.  If not, well,
that's okay too.

---

From: Charles Dye <raster at terra.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 00:43:22 +0000

That "I, Claudius" post was no joke.  "Claudius" and "New Sun" are
complementary series that illuminate each other.  And if "I, Claudius"
makes you contemplate suicide, well, you may never enjoy "New Sun" either.

---

From: Charles Dye <raster at terra.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 03:33:48 +0000

>through being deprived of masculinity.)

Wheeeee...

We do get a fairly detailed picture of her in "Citadel."  Ouen describes a
woman who was dark-haired, religious (perhaps a renegade Pelerine,
therefore possibly highborn), was captured by the authorities and,
suckerpunch, named Catherine.  (Only Gene Wolfe can suckerpunch with a
name!)  Since all torturers are born to torturees, Catherine seems to me a
much better bet than the head of state.

Also, recall that Severian inherits his predecessor's memories ... he
remembers being "unmanned" in Briah, not giving birth to <gulp> himself.

How about Severian's sister?  Wolfe makes it clear that "Severian" is a
twin-name.  Might "Severa" have been given to the witches?  And might they
have changed her name to, say, "Merryn?"

---

From: **/** <oberon at uwyo.edu>
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 21:09:03 +0000

I'm not sure, but isn't there a section in the third or fourth book
relating a wolf-boy fable clearly drawn from Kiplings' _Jungle Book_? Or
did I dream it? Ah, to have the memory of Severian...
   On a side note, I'm currently reading Clive Barkers' Imajica for the
first time (and enjoying it). The Dominions thus far portrayed seem much
like Urth, and the Autarchs spoken of in both series share a similar
messianic, mystical, distant "weirdness" (as you can see I'm having trouble
nailing down what I mean. Oh well, as Wolfe demonstrates, obscurity can be
compelling.) any opinions?

---

From: Arthur Morgan <arthur at elfarran.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 30 Sep 1995 19:15:20 +0000

raster at terra.com "Charles Dye" writes:
About the identity of Severian's mother
> remembers being "unmanned" in Briah, not giving birth to <gulp> himself.

Agreed.  There's no reason to link her with the Autarch.  Severian's father
is Ouen, of the Inn of Lost Loves, and his mother was probably high-born
(which explains his height).  Dorcas was his grandmother.  Incidentally,
Catherine comes from a Greek word meaning `pure' in Greek, and seems a
punning reference to the Virgin birth of another, better-known Conciliator.

> twin-name.  Might "Severa" have been given to the witches?  And might
> they have changed her name to, say, "Merryn?"

I once wote to Wolfe about Merryn (and some other things), and he said she
was probably Severian's sister.

Arthur Morgan
arthur at elfarran.demon.co.uk