Subject: Re: (urth) Blue as Ushas - thematic consistency

From: Don Doggett <harlekin at earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 06:50:39 +0000

Roy wrote (leading to other interesting musings):

" Let us posit--strictly for the sake of argument--that Blue is Ushas. How
does that affect the overall picture Wolfe has drawn in the 12 SUN books?
That is, is it consonant with the religious underpinnings Wolfe has given
the extended series?"

I would give a firm yes to that question, considering that Wolfe is an
orthodox Catholic who (if I may presume) most certainly believes in original
sin and the concept of the fallen world.  It is not surprising that mankind
and it's derivatives would repeat the same mistakes over and over and over.
This is our doom until the second coming (for the record I'm agnostic) which
has not occured yet in these books.  There is no perfecting of the human
race, in spite of the machinations of Typhon, the neighbors, the Hierodules,
the Hierogrammates (whose motives are suspect), or the good intentions of
Silk or Severian.  Besides, it is not the Increate (Outsider?) who sends the
New Sun to Urth, it is the Hierogrammates.  And it is our own fault that we
even need a new sun.  If the Outsider has sent the Whorl back to Urth/Ushas
it is His first direct interference in the mess we've made (the
Hierogrammates are our creations, remember?) and in the form of Silk he
sends an emmissary of wisdom and goodness and peace, who is revered but
rarely heeded.
    That said,  I would like to add that I never thought to decisively
convince everyone that Blue is Ushas.  I think that Wolfe is far to clever
to allow that to happen (though the "longfather" bit seems almost a slip to
me).  What I hope I've done is help bring the Blue/Ushas theory to a level
of respectable plausibility where we can bring the discussion to thematic
differences such as these rather than arguing the theoretical distance of
Green from Blue in relation to Lune from Urth.  Though that can be fun too.

Don

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