Subject: (urth) Severian the Memorious

From: Dan Parmenter <dan at lec.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 12:44:26 +0000

>Another one.  After describing his near drowning on the day he rescued
>Vodalus, he says "I never went back" to the river.  Yet a few chapters
>later, ("The Last Year", I think) he describes taking the apprentices down
>to swim in the river, "though I could never dive in deep water without
>fear."

Hmmm, perhaps a better list would be "Severian inconsistencies" since
it's conceivable that they are not lies.  I for one have always
championed the example of the old Autarch's robe, described as yellow
many times, but later described as saffron "as I had always seen him"
(sorry I don't have the exact quotation, but its from CITADEL).  Now
admittedly saffron is a shade of yellow, so perhaps it's forgiveable,
but given his constant reminders about his perfect memory, it
certainly gives one pause.  

Of course the saffron robes themselves are significant, evoking
buddha, etc.

D

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

---

From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 17:11:33 +0000

On Thu, 17 Dec 1998, Dan Parmenter wrote:

> From: David_Lebling at avid.com
> 
> it's conceivable that they are not lies.  

That's the thing.  If he didn't go on about his perfect memory so much, we
might cut him some slack.  But as it is, if Severian is so perfect, what
alternative do we have but to call him a liar?

However, I rather like the idea of a narrator who tells us he's got a
perfect memory, but who really doesn't.  

I remember on my first read thinking Severian's memory was just a cheap
trick to justify a memoir having such great detail.  Now I wonder if maybe
his constantly going on about it might be an attempt to convince himself
of his own perfection.

And was his cloak *really* that dark?

-Rostrum