Osterlings

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 08 Dec 2005, 17:30 · from 2005-December.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 09:30:55 -0800
Subject: (urth) Osterlings
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.58.0512082034430.26939 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
References: <a06230906bfbcc3cb8b95 at 69.85.166.162>
	<Pine.LNX.4.58.0512082034430.26939 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
Message-ID: <1f7617370512080930v76f50040kbdcb9ccaf2151001 at mail.gmail.com>

Dan R asks if anybody would

> > care to speculate as to how the
> > dietary habits of the Osterlings figure into the grand scheme?

And David D responds

> Probably for the same reason as historical anthropophagy, to get
> spiritual/magical power.

Uh, no. The Osterlings are described in the list of names in TK as
"People who eat other people to become more human." This is
indeed inhumu-like. This is part of a larger pattern in Wolfe of
devouring someone to become him/her, which I presume to be
a series of variations upon and especially perversions of the
Eucharist.

--Dan'l

--
I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.
                        -- St Teresa of Avila
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