Subject: (urth) Fechin's cohort

From: m.driussi <m.driussi at genie.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 17:57:00 +0000

Robert Borski,

Right, it is young (twenty-something) journeyman Severian who dubs
the Old Man in the hut as contemporary to Rudesind.

And Rudesind talks of when he was a boy seventy years ago, making him
what, seventy-five or so.

So if Fechin was a Mozart of the canvas, he could have been a famous
teenager painting a five-year-old Rudesind (or Fechin at twenty and
Rudesind at ten), and seventy years later they would be considered
members of the same cohort.

Re: the Old Man as Casdoe's father or father-in-law.  I don't think
it is you who screwed up, I think the text is very ambiguous on this
relatively simple identity.  Yes, Severian seems to think that Old
Man is Casdoe's father--first when Old Man says, "Becan, come over
here!" in ch. 15, and later at the top of ch. 17.  But the way that
Casdoe talks of her mother in Thrax makes it seem like the Old Man is
Becan's father (Why would the one nearly infirm parent be so far away
from the spouse and the comforts of civilization in Thrax?  And if
Old Man were her dad, she might mention something to that effect
while asking if Severian had seen her mother, Herais ("Hera is . . .
what?" <g>), something like, "Poopsie and I miss her something
awful!" or "I fancy she is painting the old town red now that the
divorce has come through" or "Pa would of been back there afore now
ifen the road had not been awashed out three years agone" or who
knows what.

As usual, we can believe Severian, or we can doubt Severian.  And in
this odd little case, if we doubt him we wonder, "Why does he want
Old Man to be her father?  Is he avoiding falling into thinking Old
Man as his own father, since he has taken Becan's place at the table,
and later as father to little Severian?"

Old Man is talking about Fechin, with all that emphasis on how the
sun was brighter that day, and how Fechin went to do the nasty with
that beautiful girl, then Fechin drew Old Man on one side of the page
and beautiful girl on the other . . . and suddenly Agia (he-llo,
pretty lady!) comes down the stairs.  Spooky.  Severian even =says=
that her face might be a Fechin creation in wax which then melts in
the fire of her rage.

Rudesind (widower) looking for a Fechin portrait of his younger face
(Narcissis); Old Boatman (widower) looking in a mirror-like lake for
the face of his young wife (Orpheus) . . .

And Rudesind says that Inire told him to tell Severian about his
childhood . . . about Fechin.  Pretty important guy, that Fechin, for
whatever reason a person's application requires!

=mantis=

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