question about Soldier of Arete

I've just received a review copy of Sidon, and in preparation for it gone back over Mist and Arete. I remain baffled by what exactly transpires at the end of Arete to throw Latro into his depression. I feel sure this has been hashed out on the list in the past but was hoping someone could give me an idea of what happens at that crucial juncture. It's clearly a betrayal of some kind, one that touches Latro at a level deeper than mere memory; or touches a deeper kind of memory. http://www.sff.net/people/stilskin

Stilskin asked:

http://mysite.verizon.net/~vze2tmhh/gwjbj3.html Jim Jordan's interview with Wolfe (at the above link) answers your question. Search for "Sparta." -- Dave Lebling, aka Vizcacha

Very helpful, Dave -- many thanks! That's what I thought happened, actually, but I couldn't square it with the depth of Latro's subsequent depression based on his reaction to similar and indeed even worse, in a more personal sense, tragedies and crimes that he witnesses and is involved in prior to that event. That disparity of affect made me suspect that I was missing a deeper and more personal betrayal, perhaps something related to the circumstances under which Latro lost his memory in the first place. It also seemed to be accompanied by, or succeeded by, a definite shift in his feelings for Io, one, again, that made me suspect there was more going on than just her having finally finagled her way into his bed. Paul

Well regardless of what Wolfe himself says there about the Spartan ceremony being the main antecedent, in real life there is rarely a single cause of depression, and the text certainly doesn't require Latro to be different. There are a number of events that despite his weakened memory cannot have failed to have a cumulative effect. The loss of Phareta, parting from various friends, the futile purposelessness with which he is tossed about by the winds of fate, ... It is a tribute to his strength of spirit (and of the human spirit) that he carried on as long as he did.

dead link From: "Dave Lebling" <dlebling at hyraxes.com> Reply-To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net> To: <stilskin at sff.net>,"'The Urth Mailing List'" <urth at lists.urth.net> Subject: (urth) Soldier of Arete Answer Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:28:17 -0400 Stilskin asked:

http://mysite.verizon.net/~vze2tmhh/gwjbj3.html Jim Jordan's interview with Wolfe (at the above link) answers your question. Search for "Sparta." -- Dave Lebling, aka Vizcacha

Works fine from here. Maybe if you gave up the evils of top-posting, the hierogrammates would allow you access.

The Spartans, under pretense of manumitting helots who had aided the recent military victory, massacred them. Latro was a witness. . ___