{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/2549", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 2549, "subject": "Thy Fearful Symmetry", "messages": 2, "voices": 2, "first": "2001-01-21T00:27:14+00:00", "last": "2001-02-06T14:54:35+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Talarican", "address": "exultnttalarican at mindspring.com" }, "date": "2001-01-21T00:27:14+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Thy Fearful Symmetry", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Mantis' letter of Dec 21 re twins caused me to dig the following out of my\n\"drafts\" folder in which it had been languishing while I either awaited the\nproper time for it, inspiration to add to it, or simply forgot it:\n\nThere is one Wolfeanism which runs within most of his work and even across\nworks; this evident fascination with twins and symmetries and mirror images\nand counterparts. I have never seen anyone take notice of or comment upon\nthis phenomenon directly. Has anyone ever analyzed _that_ motif [until\nMantis' letter] and come to any conclusions about it?\n\nConsider: there is the Island of Doctor Death and the Death of Doctor Island\nand the Death of the Island Doctor, and so on. There is the Dead Man, and\nthe Other Dead Man also.\n\nThere is Severian, the adventurer of the far future who remembers\neverything. He finds his counterpart in Latro, the adventurer of the distant\npast who forgets everything.\n\nSeverian's world, as presented to us, is full of obscure Greek\nwords. Place names in Latro's world are translated for us\nliterally from the Greek.\n\n5HC and Short Sun both feature twin planets. There are the twin brothers of\n\"A Story\", the clone-family of Cave Canem, and the murderous incestuous\ntwins of \"Shadow of the Torturer\". Oh yes, and don't forget the twins of\n\"Cherry Jubilee\".\n\nThere is of course the peculiar Father Inire and his fastination with\nmirrors and symmetry. We are told he claimed the Hypogeum Apotropaic because\nits bilateral symmetry appealed to him.\n\nWe can almost picture Lastvoice teaching his new acolyte Eastwind, only\nlately recovered from his alteration to a starwalker: \"All things have their\ncounterpart. There is the Eye, thus there must be the Other Eye also.\"\n\nTalarican" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Urash, Tom", "address": "turash at firstam.com" }, "date": "2001-02-06T14:54:35+00:00", "subject": "RE: (urth) Thy Fearful Symmetry", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "And let's not forget \"little Severian\", struck down whilst trying to reach\nthe golden ring upon the hand of Typhon's monument/mountain.\n\n... tom\n\n-----Original Message-----\nFrom: Talarican [mailto:exultnttalarican at mindspring.com]\nSent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 11:27 PM\nTo: urth at lists1.ba.best.com\nSubject: (urth) Thy Fearful Symmetry\n\n\nMantis' letter of Dec 21 re twins caused me to dig the following out of my\n\"drafts\" folder in which it had been languishing while I either awaited the\nproper time for it, inspiration to add to it, or simply forgot it:\n\nThere is one Wolfeanism which runs within most of his work and even across\nworks; this evident fascination with twins and symmetries and mirror images\nand counterparts. I have never seen anyone take notice of or comment upon\nthis phenomenon directly. Has anyone ever analyzed _that_ motif [until\nMantis' letter] and come to any conclusions about it?\n\nConsider: there is the Island of Doctor Death and the Death of Doctor Island\nand the Death of the Island Doctor, and so on. There is the Dead Man, and\nthe Other Dead Man also.\n\nThere is Severian, the adventurer of the far future who remembers\neverything. He finds his counterpart in Latro, the adventurer of the distant\npast who forgets everything.\n\nSeverian's world, as presented to us, is full of obscure Greek\nwords. Place names in Latro's world are translated for us\nliterally from the Greek.\n\n5HC and Short Sun both feature twin planets. There are the twin brothers of\n\"A Story\", the clone-family of Cave Canem, and the murderous incestuous\ntwins of \"Shadow of the Torturer\". Oh yes, and don't forget the twins of\n\"Cherry Jubilee\".\n\nThere is of course the peculiar Father Inire and his fastination with\nmirrors and symmetry. We are told he claimed the Hypogeum Apotropaic because\nits bilateral symmetry appealed to him.\n\nWe can almost picture Lastvoice teaching his new acolyte Eastwind, only\nlately recovered from his alteration to a starwalker: \"All things have their\ncounterpart. There is the Eye, thus there must be the Other Eye also.\"\n\nTalarican\n\n\n\nworks" } ] } ] }