Roy C. Lackey, on Dorcas:
<<She then recalled to Sev Dr. Talos's labeling him as Death, which
Sev said was a metaphor. She said it was a bad metaphor and, as they were walking back to the others, Sev wondered to himself if "Dr. Talos's calling Dorcas "Innocence" had not been a metaphor of the same kind.">>
Every time I read Shadow, I'm convinced that Dr. Talos meant the attribution the other way, that Severian was Innocence and Dorcas was Death. I know that a close reading of the immediately following text doesn't support that view, but it just feels right to me. As an exercise, tally up the occasions when Dorcas corrects an innocent or naive opinion expressed by Severian: there are quite a few.
Dave Lebling
(aka vizcacha)