# Suicide *The Whorl list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 10 Aug 2000* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Jim Jordan *10 Aug 2000, 10:02* > I also don't see the evidence that Silk had committed suicide. Perhaps he > was just at the end of his life span. Many times when two people are joined > in spirit and body for many years as he and Hyacinth (sp?) were when one > dies the other doesn't live much longer. Perhaps he was just dying from > sadness/grief. > > What in the text leads the suicide believers to believe so? > > Dennis/Endy At the moment I'm on your side here. The fact that Silk is bleeding might mean that he had cut himself, but it might also mean he's been defending the house. Not only is Silk bleeding, but the house is completely torn up. My first guess would be the Silk is dying from wounds he has received in some conflict, and that Hyacinth is already dead from the same. Dire interpretations of Wolfe events are tempting, but recall how often they have been wrong. Weer in *Peace* was supposed to be a multiple murderer, according to some, until Wolfe said that was nonsense. I assumed Severian was a much worse character than Wolfe intended him to be. So, as regards Silk's death, well, with GW you never know! But I would not jump to the more dire reading, without good evidence. Pat. Nut. *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun. ---