Abaia and the undines

Matthew Keeley · 06 Dec 2008, 07:27 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com (Matthew Keeley)
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 02:27:28 -0500
Subject: (urth) Abaia and the undines
In-Reply-To: <319891.68655.qm at web37607.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <W217641043543611228522617@webmail32>
	<50CD1F046692403FB2C540234BD53C56@GATEWAY>
	<319891.68655.qm at web37607.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <44fb53d10812052327y52a3e64fnd983b6c57fe6d445 at mail.gmail.com>

On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 1:35 AM, Craig Brewer <cnbrewer at yahoo.com>
wrote:> There's an interview where Wolfe says that he was obviously
concerned with "working out" some of his beliefs as a Catholic. But I
don't see why "working out" can't mean giving a fictional account of,
say, a monstrous version of what you believe in order to clarify it by
contrast. The alzabo/eucharist is a case in point: there we're given
an incredibly ambiguous version of communion which is an ongoing "what
if" take on communion throughout the whole book: "what if" it were
literally becoming another (non-divine) person? In that case, Severian
achieves a union with Thecla he never could otherwise, but it's also
something he struggles with throughout the books, suffering identity
crises, revulsion at the corruption of traditional "union" (as well as
simple disgust towards cannibalism), etc. In fact, to me, so much of
the emotional impact of Severian's Thecla-ness comes as a result of
its being a corruption of a more holy kind of communion. There's a
>  beautiful tragedy inherent in it.

Agreed. Though I'd point out that it's the results that are ambiguous,
not the process.

I mean, the description of Thecla's corpse is horrific, as parts of
her have apparently been roasted, she's probably been gutted, etc. I
believe Severian states he hopes never to see her in this world again?
In any case, the eating Thecla scene is one of the most disturbing
things I've ever read, one of Wolfe's best moments as a writer.

Contrast with eating the autarch - it's done off-camera, and is
presumably much more "natural" - Severian and the autarch don't try
and pretty it up or prepare the "meal" - Sev just eats the autarch's
brain.

Wolfe is a Catholic, but I think he wants us to remember how
unpleasant and how physical Christianity is. The crucifixion was a
bloody, horrible event, as are martyrdoms, etc. Vodalus' "communion"
tries to deny death - Sev takes Thecla's body, but her corpse is done
up to look appealing. It's metaphorically (and perhaps literally?)
bloodless.

-Matt

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