{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/3487",
    "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": 3487,
    "subject": "PEACE: Doris",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "2002-10-16T14:11:06+00:00",
    "last": "2002-10-16T14:11:06+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<urth-v0210-1869@digest.urth.net>",
      "from": {
        "name": "StoneOx17",
        "address": "stoneox17 at aol.com"
      },
      "date": "2002-10-16T14:11:06+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) PEACE: Doris",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I think I've figured out another piece of the Doris puzzle.  I was\ngoing to wait until I'd thought through its ramifications further\nbefore posting, but when I saw Roy's speculations about Julius, \nI decided I might as well post now, since it bears on to the \nquestion of, when Weer inherited the factory, whether Julius had\ndied or merely retired.\n\nI argued before that when Charles Turner visited Weer, he was \nactually trying to meet Julius Smart (the previous president), and \nthat he wanted to buy some of Mr. Tilly's carney medicines from \nJulius, who took over Mr. Tilly's practice.  But who was the \nmedicine for?  When Julius treated Charles as a baby, it appears\nthat one course of the hair medicine is good for life, so Charles\nshouldn't need any refills (and indeed, from his letter to Weer, he\ndoesn't seem to be losing any hair after he fails to procure the\nmedicine).  The only other person mentioned in the letter who might \nhave benefitted from one of the carney medicines is Tom Lavine, \nthe 7' 6\" Canadian giant, and he isn't going to start shrinking if he \nfails to get the medicine.  So who does Charles want the medicine \nfor?  My suggestion is that it's for Doris.\n\nHere's the story as I've reconstructed it.  Charles has gotten to know \nDoris and has fallen in love with her.  Their ages are inappropriate for a \nrelationship (he's over 40, and she can't be more than 16 -- shades of\nLolita), so he doesn't try to seduce her, but he does want to help her.\nHis first plan is to get some medicine from Julius Smart and turn her\ninto a circus freak.  However, this plan fails when he reaches \nCassionsville and learns that Julius is dead and has been succeeded\nby Weer, who, he ascertains without revealing much, doesn't know\nabout Julius' carney medicine practice.  He then goes to dinner with\nWeer, and pours his heart out about Doris' situation.  Together they \ncome up with an alternate plan: set Doris up with Tom Lavine. (He \napparently doesn't think of the more practical alternative of just giving \nDoris getaway money and letting her escape, possibly because he \ndoesn't want to lose her, or possibly because he can't imagine life\noutside the circus.)  This fails miserably, and Charles writes the letter \nto Weer.\n\nHow does this fit in with the rest of the novel?  For one thing, there's a\nvery interesting parallel of Doris and Charles with Sherry and Weer.  The\ngirls are both around 16, and the men are both a little over 40.  I don't\nknow what this parallel means, though.  Does Sherry commit suicide?\nIt doesn't seem likely.  Another thing it implies is that Julius is dead when\nCharles meets Weer, as otherwise he would have gone looking for \nJulius rather than adapting his alternative plan, so I think we can conclude\nthat Weer inherited from Julius after his death, either because Julius died\nintestate and Weer was his closest living relative or because Julius\nnamed Weer in his will.\n\nAny more thoughts on what this means?\n\n- Stone Ox"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}