Sev's Silence about Catherine

brunians at brunians.org · 25 Jun 2008, 11:51 · from 2008-June.txt.gz

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From: brunians at brunians.org (brunians at brunians.org)
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:51:42 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: (urth) Sev's Silence about Catherine
In-Reply-To: <48621560.5060307 at gmail.com>
References: <BAY103-W515978F1A600665073F319D7A00 at phx.gbl>
	<48621560.5060307 at gmail.com>
Message-ID: <12587.72.171.0.144.1214394702.squirrel at brunians.org>

You are, of course, entitled to believe whatever you wish to believe.

It's pretty clear to me, though, that it is a little initiatory stage
play, and that Severian has the proper attitude to be performing in such.



.



> b sharp wrote:
>> But the text doesn't seem very ambiguous in this Elevation scene.
>> Severian says the sword
>> is a wooden batten. He calls it a "false blade" as he describes the
>> downstroke. It meets
>> resistance because it hits the "ingenious mechanism" that elevates a wax
>> head.  The wax
>> head and real head coveredin fuligin cloth trick is described in detail.
>> And Catherine would
>> have to have tremendous healing powers to be able to take her severed
>> head, place it back
>> on her neck and have it instantly as good as new.  Only Severian, as
>> Conciliator, is able to do
>>  anything close to that and he is limited to restoring withered arms and
>> removing giant tumors.
>> Well, I guess he cures the sick girl in the jacal also but nothing as
>> dramatic as instantly healing
>> and restoring a severed head.
>>
> I still think there's something funny going on in that scene. Sev says
> "...I took up the sword. It was vary heavy,"  A little later he says "I
> remember that for a moment I feared it would overbalance me."  Is this
> really a wooden batten no larger than an ordinary headsman's blade?
>
> Her head was in shadow on the block. The sword "thudded into the block,
> which fell into two." That isn't a description of directing the blade to
> one side. I admit he says that was what he was going to do, up to the
> last instant. Perhaps he was hypnotized or controlled in some way.
> Palaemon and Gurloes have to be in on it, because they carry on the
> ceremony as if nothing unusual happened.
>
> "I felt dizzy and tired."  This sometimes happens when he exercises his
> own healing ability. Perhaps this only happened once, at Sev's own
> elevation.  Nevertheless, something seems to have happened that is
> different than what he said would happen. He's lying, but glimpses of
> the truth break through.
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