I think someone has already mentioned that the gashing of the flesh is a typical pass time for mourners (see Orpine's funeral at the beginning of Lake), so I read Silk's mutilation as excessive grieving rather than an intentional suicide attempt. Silk seems competent enough to me to pull off a sincere suicide. However, his "psychological" retreat may indicate that his awareness seeks to flee the "house" of his body, and that may be why he refuses to admit who he really is. Also,
"Crateowl" said:
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Now a small question. In LS, the span of Quetzal's time as Prolocuter (note Jahlee's comment that inhumi catch their prey with their tongues as someone pointed out on this list)is something like 30 years. The first meeting of Vatican II was in 1962, thirty years before the publication of NStLS. There are clearly parallels with the Prolocutor and the Pope. Quetzal's prothonotary is named Bull, for one. One of the decisions made at Vatican II was to allow the Mass to be said in the common tongue (if you will). When exactly did Viron lose it's high speech? Did any of you read recently about the exhumation of Pope JohnXXIII recently? His face was said to be remarkably composed for a man long dead. I could'nt help putting this together with Whorlly things. (Is World the past tense of Whorl?)
Before I finish, one more thing,
Was Uncle Gene referring to this list when he wrote of Pig's name choice?(pg. 45 RttW).
I'll take the name Crateowl.
Hey, anyone notice all the changes to the roman catholic mass this past year? Our Father is back in Latin, women can't touch certain things during communion, all the servers have to wear robes, less kneeling, etc. I wonder what Wolfe thinks about that? Just an observation. Marc Aramini
*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.