Questions . . .

David Duffy · 27 Nov 2007, 05:28 · from 2007-November.txt.gz

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From: David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:28:08 +1000 (EST)
Subject: (urth) Questions . . .
In-Reply-To: <474B939A.8040103 at io.com>
References: <4E82554550FE5149AD4B30A4FEA22492AF8A82 at xchange.briercrest.ca>
	<474B939A.8040103 at io.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0711271512020.8667 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007, Jeff Wilson wrote:

> Eric Ortlund wrote:
>
>> 3) Is there a deeper significance to the code phrases Vodalus gives
>> Severian?  There's so much about ships elsewhere in the book (the
>> pelagic argosy) - the ship on the tomb Sev rests in as a boy, the ship
>> he sails to Yesod in - and the Autarch drops the phrase to Sev. as he's
>> talking about the higher world Severian will eventually travel to.  Or
>> is it "just" a phrase?
>
> "pelagic" makes it a specific sort of ship, one that sails the high
> seas. This distinguishes it from the Tzadkiel, or the riverine vessel
> Severian nearly sinks in Urth. Also, argosy can be multiple ships. Hmm,
> perhaps "pelagic" is the only sort of vessel *not* encountered in
> Severian's chronicle, though the crypt would seem to depict one.
>

One reading is that it refers to those enemies of the Commonwealth that 
have their home underwater.  Perhaps an overreading, but I quite liked
the possibility it also referred to Pelagianism (perfectability without 
grace, yada yada).

David Duffy.

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