"My father's mounted guard"

James Wynn · 09 Oct 2008, 13:45 · from 2008-October.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 08:45:33 -0500
Subject: (urth) "My father's mounted guard"
References: <W851743061236441223485653@webmail23> <48ED934F.4010208 at io.com>
Message-ID: <511AF0FD96B44223AE79F3E3ABF4F6E8@GATEWAY>



>>>Bennewitz wrote:
>>> In Claw chap XXV, Severian is having life memories before he falls 
>>> asleep.
>>>while there is obviously the potential for Thecla memories to intermix 
>>>here, this following >>>passage is still confusing:
>>>
>>> "I played again with pebbles in the courtyard beside the fallen curtain 
>>> wall, as Thecla dodged
>>> the hooves of my father's mounted guard."
>>>
>>>Who's Father?
>>
>> Do any of the other 'interruptions' from Thecla's memory happen mid 
>> sentence like this?  I searched the archives and found that this was 
>> suggested.
>> I find it problematic that the narrative voice would change in mid 
>> sentence. Even if the memory is Thecla's why would she be dodging the 
>> feet of her father's guard?
>
>Jeff Wilson said:
> I think it's likely that Thecla here is a typo for her sister's name Thea.

If it were a typo, then it has been replicated across multiple editions. I 
think one needs a significant evidence before settling on the typo 
explanation.

>But the really interesting thing is not only is Thecla's memory roused to 
>the first person at the time of the original reverie, but apparently 
>manifests once again years later during the writing of the manuscript.

Thecla's memory (and as Wolfe seems to see it, her conscious identity) is 
always there. As in The Book of the Short Sun, the author is not a single 
person.
J.

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