Gene Wolfe

millerl · 06 Apr 1992, 21:42 · from sf-lovers.1992.mbox

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From: millerl at wilma.wharton.upenn.edu
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe
Date: 6 Apr 92 21:42:01 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v17-160-11 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V17 #160
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-17a

BECKS at TAUNIVM.TAU.AC.IL (Sara Beck) writes:
> Anyway, I think that Wolfe's (or his characters) consistently have a
> weird attitude towards women.  Women in Wolfe's books seem to be a
> somewhat alien species.  They are assumed to have their own agenda which
> is completely hidden from men, and to be more or less dangerous to men.
> "There are Doors" is exhibit A, of course.  Also check out the references
> to sexual activity in the Torturer books (honesty compells me to admit I
> only read the first 2); the atmosphere is like a soldier reporting on an
> encounter with the enemy.  Yes he

I think that Severian's misogyny (if indeed he was misogynous; he did give
up his guild for a woman whom he didn't really know, and he risked his life
to save a stranger woman from a stranger man, almost getting himself killed
in the avern duel) is a part of his character, and not traceable to Wolfe.
If you read Wolfe's short stories, or the Soldier novels, you will find
what I believe to be to be a deep understanding of female psychology (but
then, what do I know? I'm a bloke).

Severian was a character in over his head from the beginning, as is
revealed in the rest of the torturer books. That's why he was suspicious of
all the women who tried to use him (after the first one), and that's why he
was also suspicious of the men who tried to use him.

I haven't read There are Doors yet, so I can't address your rather cryptic
comment regarding that book.

Loren Miller

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