Severian's Sexuality

b sharp · 07 Jun 2008, 04:47 · from 2008-June.txt.gz

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From: bsharporflat at hotmail.com (b sharp)
Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:47:06 -0400
Subject: (urth) Severian's Sexuality
Message-ID: <BAY103-W365DDB57ABAFA6E276DA95D7B60 at phx.gbl>

I'm in the camp which perceives Severian far more guilty of withholding
details of his sexuality rather than embellishing them in his story. Heck, it 
takes him four books of sprinkling hints to finally admit he had sex with Thecla.
He doesn't seem too prideful about his other "conquests".   

He is most open and graphic in describing his sexual interactions with Dorcas but 
can never specifically commit to print that she is his grandmother.  It also seems 
to me (sorry I know this is sacriligeous to some) that Wolfe gives Severian 
occasional homoerotic and even pedophilic thoughts. Naturally these 
embarassments are also disguised but I think they are there.

In a related vein, I was recently contemplating Wolfe describing Jolenta's pubic 
hair as a "newly hatched chick". I always thought it seemed an odd, jarring 
metaphor.  I considered that it supports Borski's guess...showing us 
that Jolenta's real hair color (hidden by Wolfe earlier) is pale gold, like her 
grandmother, Dorcas, and that her real name might be Severa.  The sexual 
congress between Severian and Dorcas, Dorcas and Jolenta, Agia and Agilus 
(his cousins I think), and Severian and Cyriaca (his aunt I think) is what leads 
me to think of this as an Oedipally cursed family.
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