AEG only semi-spoilish

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 20 Nov 2008, 00:03 · from 2008-November.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:03:36 -0800
Subject: (urth) AEG only semi-spoilish
Message-ID: <1f7617370811191603l568768bfmb1c9496b85df3122 at mail.gmail.com>

Here goes Dan'l with his nutty theory again...

My ongoing theory is that one of Wolfe's basic themes/memes/working
methods is to embed non-Christian cosmologies into larger Christian
contexts. That is, in these novels Christianity is ultimately true but some
other belief system functions locally as if it were true.

The most blatant example of this is "Long Sun," which is  explicitly a
Gnostic world (the Whorl) contained inside a larger universe in
which Christianity is true (i.e., the Outsider is the Christian God).
Only slightly less straightforward are his embedding of Norse (TWK)
and Greek (Latro I & II) pagan cosmologies into the Christian ur-context.

I've argued this at length.

So I don't suppose anyone on this list will be terribly surprised
when I suggest that, in AN EVIL GUEST, Wolfe has similarly
embedded Lovecraft's cosmology into the Christian ur-context.
That Squiddie (Cthulhu) and R'lyeh and other Lovecraftiana are
real in the novel seems beyond dispute. The cultists practice
Lovecraftian nihilism, and it is "locally true" -- as long as they
are under the influence of the GOOs, it may as well be true.

This needs fleshing out, but I'm putting it out as a starting point
to be attacked and developed.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
http://www.danehyoakes.com

I once absend-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant
and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and
a bottle of chili sauce. -- T. Pratchett
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