Agilus' mask
The Urth list — 3 messages, 3 voices, 01 Jul 1997
https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/78

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Ranjit Bhatnagar — 01 Jul 1997, 13:23

Apropos of nothing, how come the ribbon still showed after
Agilus took off his mask?

	-r.
	strange thoughts that occur on the bus to work

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Joshua A. Solomon — 02 Jul 1997, 10:38
  follows, by subject match Ranjit Bhatnagar

> Ranjit Bhatnagar wrote:
> 
> Apropos of nothing, how come the ribbon still showed after
> Agilus took off his mask?

I always assumed it's because he had another mask on underneath.

bee

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m.driussi — 02 Jul 1997, 14:00
  follows, by subject match Joshua A. Solomon

Reply:  Item #1388846 from URTH at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET#

bee and r.,

The line in question: "The ribbons that held your mask," I said.
"They're still there."

We are taking this as literal.  But it can also be Severian's laconic
way of saying, "Look, you are still play-acting as though I were not
the simple torturer that I am."  (Agilus is acting, but he doesn't
really grasp that Severian is a genuine torturer--Agilus assumes
Severian to be an armiger or armiger-wannabe in costume for a party.)

And it can be metaphorical, saying that Agilus's real face is as much
another mask as Doctor Talos's face is that of a stuffed fox.

But it cannot be literally true that Agilus is wearing a second
mask--since the face Severian sees looks like Agia and the face he
will later see when Agilus is a prisoner in the cell.  Or if Agilus is
wearing a second mask, it is unusual in that it looks exactly like his
face, which leads back into the laconic and metaphorical readings.

=mantis=

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