Rostrum,
Re: pushing Bobby Black as the major fork in Weer's life-path, again this reminds me so strongly of the killing of the frog in "The Changeling." In the case of "The Changeling," we know (?) that the hero has been erased from the town's memory, but is he an innocent victim of capricious fairies or a criminal being punished by fairies for trespass? On previous examinations it seemed like the cruel killing of the frog was the turning point.
Re: the sense that PEACE is all a dream. It might be. It is certainly a valid and supported viewpoint. But there also might be a sense of impending reincarnation--so Weer can make good in this life, the shadow of which has been revealed to him, or in the next incarnation, learning from the mistakes he made. Or maybe I'm just confusing that with the "whole life lived over again" which is what PEACE is all about.
But notice how the same is dealt with in "The Changeling": the hero has been erased from the town, and perhaps replaced by an optimized version of what he might have been; the hero's retreat into a cave is very much like a return to the womb; again the sense of reincarnation and a life-path made better.
(And of course, "the killing of the frog" and "death of Bobby Black" both link directly to "The Tale of the Boy Called Frog" and the battle between the Twins.)
=mantis=