Subject: (urth) Earth to Urth Pt 3: Addenda

From: Nigel Price <nigelprice1 at compuserve.com>
Date: Thu, 06 May 1999 20:35:33 +0000

#Addendum 1

Meant to mention, in connection with Wolfe's use of Dickens and his
imitation of Dickens' realism, the interesting story "Our Neighbour by
David Copperfield", which is included in "Endangered Species".

First published in 1978, the story is an example of Wolfe explicitly
practising a Dickensian pastiche.  I wonder whether we should regard this
short piece as a sketch for certain aspects of the larger canvas on which
Wolfe was beginning to paint in the late Seventies, namely The Book of the
New Sun?

#Addendum 2

Also meant to mention the thematic connection between the free board and
lodging provided for the young couple in "Kevin Malone" with the titular
free board and lodging provided in "Free Live Free".  Any one else agree
that the latter is also, in some perverse and deeply fascinating Lupine
way, an allegory of Grace?

#Addendum 3

Who was it who wrote that brilliant essay on the list recently in which
they explained Wolfe's use of masks, and how, as a Catholic, Wolfe would
regard God as able to use all sorts of imperfect images and agents as
symbols of his power and love?  It was very good, and I must lok it up
again...  

(After a brief search: my poor memory - more Latro than Severian - tends to
conflate and distort list messages and essays over time, but I think that I
was recalling excellent postings from Nicholas Gevers and Alex Groce. 
Thank you, gentleman - and everyone else who joined in - a fascinating
discussion.  Well, I liked it, anyway!)

My suspicion is that that is what is probably happening in "The Eye Flash
Miracles", as so well detailed in William H. Ansley's recent posts.  The
references to "The Wizard of Oz" seem to act as an imperfect symbollic
vocabulary through which Little Tib perceives something of the divine and
the "spiritual" battle taking place around him.  Presumably the images come
from "The Wizard of Oz" books either because Little Tib had read the books
or had them read to him, so that the images were latent in his memory, or
because the images partake of some sort of archetypal symbolic system
universally accessible to children.

It's late, what am I talking about?

Nigel Price
Minety, Wiltshire

"Carry On Torturer": Barbara Windsor IS Thecla!

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

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From: Peter Stephenson <pws at ibmth.df.unipi.it>
Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 07:48:39 +0000

> way, an allegory of Grace?

Actually, maybe that's the only way to understand it... the characters
blunder around senselessly for most of the novel so that even Free himself
gets infuriated, and at the end are given a second chance anyway.  But it's
a pretty iffy notion of salvation... a second chance to the same things all
over again, or maybe not.  It's as if grace should lead one into doing
works... isn't that almost what you were saying before?

> "Carry On Torturer": Barbara Windsor IS Thecla!

No, I'm sorry, that's going too far.  That leaves Joan Sims for Dorcas and
Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques to play Dr Talos and Jolenta ("Ohhhh,
maaytron!")

corncrake

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From: Peter Westlake <peter at harlequin.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 09:25:38 +0000

>Nigel Price wrote:
..
>No, I'm sorry, that's going too far.  That leaves Joan Sims for Dorcas and

Joan Sims couldn't be Dorcas, she's old enough to be his
 - oh, right.

>Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques to play Dr Talos and Jolenta ("Ohhhh,

No, Barbara Windsor would have to be Jolenta. Hattie Jacques would be
the leader of the Pelerines, and Kenneth Williams the Autarch.

I guessed who Severian would be straight away (which raises very
interesting questions about social environment and analogical
reasoning :-) but I didn't think this would fly without a role
for Sid James. Unfortunately for my mental health, I have just
worked it out ... "*magic* mirrors, that's right - this way ..."

SBear.

- Carry On Torturer: Kenneth Connor IS Jonas!

Stop!

- Charles Hawtrey IS Hethor!

Stop, stop! Aaagh!