Subject: (urth) Horn in Babbie

From: Stephen Case <scase at olivet.edu>
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 00:20:02 +0000

Some may not agree with the idea that Horn fled into Babbie, but if Marc is right and it did happen, it explains one question I had about the very end of the books: Why doesn't Babbie go with Silk, Seawrack, and the others when they leave Blue?  At first I didn't understand this omission, but if Babbie does indeed contain Horn, then conceivably he wanted to stay and watch over his children remaining on Blue.  That still leaves Nettle though.  Why in the whorl did she go along with Silk (who isn't her husband) and his girlfriend?  To find Horn, who she believes might still be wandering the Whorl or Green?  Kind of tragic . . .

-Steve

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From: Christopher Culver <christopher_culver at yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 11:26:34 +0000

Stephen Case <scase at olivet.edu> wrote:
> That still leaves Nettle =
> though.  Why in the whorl did she go along with Silk (who isn't her =
> husband) and his girlfriend?  To find Horn, who she believes might
> still = be wandering the Whorl or Green?  Kind of tragic . . .

I think Nettle is leaving for the opposite reason, that she knows that
Horn is dead, her children are now full grown, and she has no reason to
remain on an isolated island near crime-ridden New Viron. Thus she
returns to the Whorl, which apparently still seems her true home to her.

And of course the final scene of RttW could be scene as a representation
of the Harrowing of Hell, the medieval notion that in his three days of
death Christ entered Limbo and freed the Old Testament righteous.

For me, the most annoying issue concerning the group's departure for the
Whorl is the inclusion of Seawrack. While Silk had some of Horn's
memories and wanted to see her again enough to learn to call her from
Scylla, I don't understand while Seawrack wishes to depart for a strange
new place with a person she doesn't even know, and who possesses no
longer the personality she loved three years before.

Christopher Culver

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From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 14:24:23 +0000

On Thu, 4 Jul 2002, Stephen Case wrote:

> That still leaves Nettle though.  Why in the whorl did she go
> along with Silk (who isn't her husband) and his girlfriend?  

Nettle was as much a disciple of Silk as Horn was.  If Horn hadn't gone to
search for him, Nettle would have.  Now that Horn is dead, following Silk
is the natural thing to do.  Following Silk is the natural thing for
anybody to do, actually, which may explain why Seawrack went with him,
although I'm not sure why Silk wanted her to come.

Here's a theory.  Hearing Seawrack's song makes you fall in love with her.  
Silk heard her singing because Horn was already tuned in.  Just being next
to Horn and having him point out the song is enough for that military
officer to start hearing her.  Maybe her song is like one of those hidden
pictures, that once it is pointed out, you can't not see it anymore.  So,
even though Horn is gone, Silk still hears and is enthralled by Seawrack's
song.  Kinda creepy, especially given his continued devotion to Hyacinth.

-Rostrum

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