Subject: (urth) PEACE, interviews and That Chart

From: Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <ddanehy at siebel.com>
Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2000 08:57:06 +0000

While I generally agree that Wolfe shares a certain evasiveness
with his brother Coyote, I will grumblingly point out that in
the THRUST and James's interviews are consistent at least in
clarifying that Weer is dead. No, Wolfe's random comments are
not authoritative over the text -- if only because the text is
what it is and not what he intended, a statement anyone who has
ever worked seriously at any art will understand -- but I suggest
that a reasonably consistent point of view, not inconsistent
with the text, has a certain degree of cachet.

In the meanwhile I'm still trying to put together a more detailed
tabulation on the five parts. Perhaps someone can help with two 
points?

1. The titles. I note this trend: 
	"Alden Dennis Weer" -- very specific
	"Olivia" -- still pretty specific but having a sort
		of vagueness, in that (a) the first name is
		constant while she will later change her last
		name to "Smart; and (b) it also seems, as
		several folks have pointed out, to refer to the
		olive branch of peace.
	"The Alchemist" -- definitely ambiguous; Smart or
		Tilly? (And why "Alchemist" rather than 
		"Chemist?")
	"Gold" -- very ambiguous; refers to a whole family
		_and_ to the "gold hunt" _and_ to the product
		of the alchemical process above.
Then we come to "The President," which _seems_ to jump
back to specificity. Is there something I'm missing here?

2. Since we're talking geography, does anyone want to make
any suggestions about a geographical pattern for the five
parts?

--Dan'l
who envies Gilbert his access to the source

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