More Castleview (Spoilers)

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 19 Jun 2007, 19:28 · from 2007-June.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:28:49 -0500
Subject: (urth) More Castleview (Spoilers)
In-Reply-To: <44fb53d10706190955p22462c92scf93a7f407f4b3ec at mail.gmail.com>
References: <44fb53d10706190955p22462c92scf93a7f407f4b3ec at mail.gmail.com>
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On 6/19/07, Matthew Keeley <matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 4. What are we to make of Excalibur's resemblance to a cross (Mercedes at
> first thinks it's a jeweled cross)?

The guard of a sword is often shaped like that, and knights (at least in
legends) would often stab the sword into the ground to get a cross to
pray by.

> 5. Also about the ending: Wolfe really seems to like the legend of the Green
> Man or Green Knight; in The Wizard Knight Able tells us that he WAS the
> Green Knight who Gawain decapitated. Maybe Wolfe is trying to take an
> essentially pagan symbol and Christianize it, as it is his wont to do? The
> Green Man could perhaps be read as a Christ figure, though so presumably
> could the king who slays him, as he too will die and rise again. A little
> earlier in the text, Phyllis Sun sees Odin leading the Wild Hunt down the
> streets of Castleview; the narrator takes pains to describe his missing eye,
> which, if I recall correctly, he gave up so that he could give knowledge to
> humanity; a Christian take on Odin seems like something Wolfe would enjoy.

I don't know much about the Green Man, but Odin gives his eye to Mimir
in payment for wisdom, not so he can give his wisdom away. He is looking
for a way to avert Ragnarok.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
http://www.danehyoakes.com
Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations,
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salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards
reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.

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