Subject: (urth) pseudonyms Jonas and Jolenta

From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at siriusfiction.com>
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 21:13:12 +0000

Jerry Friedman wrote:
>I suspect the same things as you about why Jonas is attracted to Jolenta,
>but I still want to know why you say "Jonas" and "Jolenta" are pseudonyms.

The text has it that Jonas was the name given to the crippled sailor after
he was fitted with prosthetics, to soften his reception among the humans --
and this works on at least two counts: first, because "Jonas" is "Jonah,"
the one thrown overboard; second, because the naming convention implied by
"Sidero" ("iron") establishes that Jonas is a human name, not a robotic
name.

As for Jolenta, true, we have no place in the text where somebody says that
it is a pseudonym, but we do see the drab waitress before, and Talos's
creation "Jolenta" after, and it seems highly likely (to me at least) that
Talos gave her a new name (meaning "Hellen" from "Hellen of Poland," fwiw)
along with all the rest, to further bind her to him (and to guard against
someone calling her real name and awakening her from her spell).

So Jonas is a given and imho Jolenta is a strong implication.

=mantis=

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