Dorcas and Fechin

b sharp · 16 Jun 2008, 19:25 · from 2008-June.txt.gz

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From: bsharporflat at hotmail.com (b sharp)
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:25:16 -0400
Subject: (urth) Dorcas and Fechin
Message-ID: <BAY103-W280E96E6EC8422C9DB54AD7A90 at phx.gbl>

Just a few responsive blurbs:

Dave Tallman,  to clarify, I don't see Urth as being the same as Earth nor Jesus
appearing in Severian's universe, Briah.  That universal history is similar to ours 
but not identical.  Thus they have St. Katharine to our St. Catherine.  Roses pop 
up on St. Katharine's wheel, not St. Catherine's.  Moreover, given Father Inire's 
probably close association with the Torturer's Guild through the ages, couldn't that 
story be an import? I don't remember shewbread mentioned in the BotNS text but 
it doesn't necessitate Jesus, nor do altars or candles.  I'm not saying my view of a 
Jesus-less Urth is correct, only that it is defensible.

Dan'l Oakes, I always thought the "Theoanthropos" as spoken by Agia referred to 
The Concilliator.  Isn't he a God-Man and his purpose to reconcile the gods and men?
The "Theoanthropos" as spoken by Marie is probably Jesus but I find it clear that the
Jungle Hut does not exist in the universe of Briah.  The time portals are shown to 
work by having the ground floors in the present and the upper floors in the future. 
I see the elevation of the Jungle Hut, the airplane, the Bible reference etc. marking 
it as existing in Briah's future ...i.e. our own universe...probably Yesod.

Thalassocrat if, as I'm suggesting,  these characters are all one immortal, shape 
shifting alien then the time frames and lifespans cease to have much meaning. 
Regarding Rudesind, as an old, bent, monkey-like, art loving master of the mysteries 
of the Secret House, I tend to throw him into the Inire mix.   [he calls himself Inire 
but everyone else calls him Father Inire...why?).  I once discussed why Fechin's 
portrait of Rudesind might be a self-portrait  
( http://lists.urth.net/pipermail/urth-urth.net/2006-May/006350.html ). And I can make
similar arguments for Rudesind being Inire in his final scene in Citadel though I doubt 
anyone is interested. [How does Rudesind get that note?]  It does rely on the Inire 
character referring to himself in third person quite often and some Talos-like confusion
between servant and master.

Dave Tallman, that's an interesting thought about Dorcas.  I'll note that Roy C. Lackey
once developed an elaborate theory regarding the hidden messages to be found in 
Dorcas' choices of flowers. But a correspondence with Gene Wolfe let him know the 
flower choices were purely aethetic.  Also, I had thought Jolenta had tried to commit 
suicide at first also.   But I want to note (on Earth, anyway) the saliva of vampire bats 
contains a very potent anti-coagulant called desmoteplase or DSPA.  Dorcas surely has 
some dark secrets involving transgressions with family members that she feels bad 
about. Perhaps she even senses, at some level, she is currently being sexual with her
grandchild or grandchildren. Perhaps their whole family feels bad about that peculiar sin
they tend to commit.

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