Subject: (whorl) Twist ending?

From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 21:11:02 +0000

Several people have mentioned the "surprise" twist at the end of RTTW,
some even disparaging it as Hollywoodesque.  But why is this a surprise?  
In every other case of a spirit inhabiting someone else's body, all the
characters regard the persona original to that body as the "real" person
and the other spirit as a (usually transient) intruder.  Horn wouldn't
start calling Oreb "Scylla" and decide that Oreb was no longer present, or
think that Marble was really Maytera Rose now, or say that because of Silk
Inside[TM], Pig no longer exists.  

All through RTTW, people are treating Silk exactly the same way, refusing
to stop seeing him as Silk just because he may have a little bit of Horn
in there.  So why should we be surprised that Silk turns out to be Silk?
(Yes I know why, yes I was surprised, I'm just marvelling at how obvious
it all is and how cleverly Wolfe waved it right in front of my face the
whole time.)

Horn is dead, but he doesn't know it (even though he does).  Gee, Wolfe's
never done *that* before.  Doh!

-Rostrum

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