Ouen's Catherine

Roy C. Lackey · 16 Oct 2006, 07:26 · from 2006-October.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:26:29 -0500
Subject: (urth) Ouen's Catherine
Message-ID: <001d01c6f0f4$6911d2a0$8d3ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>

bsharp wrote:
>The maid playing St. Katharine doesn't change appearance year to year in
>Severian's memory, which I think suggests she is making use of a kaibit
>rather than her being one.  Can her unchanging appearance be ignored?  This
>maid is described as being of armiger height.  If she was the kaibit of an
>exultant wouldn't she be exultant height?

I know of no examples in the books of any class other than exultants having
khaibits. The maid who played Holy Katharine was not as tall as Thecla. The
other women who are presumed to be khaibits -- the whores at the House
Azure -- were likewise not so tall as their originals.

Severian believed (or at least conveyed the impression of belief) that his
mother was tortured to death when he was very young. That a dead woman could
or would make an appearance, unchanged, from year to year is no less
remarkable than that a khaibit should do it.

-Roy

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