Nix X

I want to object to a creeping assumption in the last few posts, that Severian is Christian. Wolfe may be [is] Christian, it's possible that the Short Sun books may move in a Christian direction, like a good deal of the Cordwainer Smith or C.S. Lewis work, and Severian himself may be "a form of the Outsider," but that doesn't make him a Christian as I understand it. An avatar of Christ, maybe, which is a little different. -alga-

Dear Alga, I don't want to get into an Alga-Nutria war, but once again I need to bring in Gene's own statement, to me, that Severian is not a Christ figure but a Christian figure. That's from the horse's (pardon, wolf's) mouth. Now, the difference I see between the Severian and Silk novels is that we see Silk's religious trauma directly, while very rarely do we see Severian's faith in action. I don't recall any point of conversion for Severian, and he certainly is not a "good" Christian. (Recall how he can't wait to commit adultery once he gets on The Ship!) Gene's explanation to me when I asked him about this is that Severian comes from a horrible background and is trying to overcome it, and at some points either doesn't know better, or backslides easily. That was the gist of his reply. I have not re-read the Severian series since my interview with Wolfe (which is available at Paul Duggan's site, though I don't think those questions are in the interview), and so I cannot point to specific passages that hint in this direction. Frankly, when I first read the four original Severians, I decided that this was a closed gnostic universe, and that Severian was an antichrist (like the clones in Fifth Head). Wolfe was not happy with that at all when I wrote him about it. That's how the discussion got going. So, Alga, I guess you and I both need to re-read and try to see what we missed the first time(s). Nutria