Abaia and the undines

Son of Witz · 12 Dec 2008, 21:52 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org (Son of Witz)
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:52:51 +0000
Subject: (urth) Abaia and the undines
Message-ID: <W185412187233921229118771@webmail9>


>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Stockhoff [mailto:dstockhoff at verizon.net]
>Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 01:36 PM
>To: urth at lists.urth.net
>Subject: Re: (urth) Abaia and the undines
>
>Witz wrote:
>
>> If Severian returns significantly more cut up than when he left,  
>> that would also explain why Valeria weeps, but not why he was  
>> depicted that way in the House Absolute.
>
>
>
>I don't follow.  he's scarred about the time he becomes Autarch. so  
>when he reigns in the House Absolute, he's scarred.
>when he returns later, he's fixed, but he has a smaller new/different  
>scar from his fight with the Monarch's guards, but that happens after  
>the Chrisos scene above.
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>
>Right. The argument is that portraits of Autarch Severian make him look younger and better than he is---even though the chrisos shows him scarred---so when he is healed, he looks like he did before he was scarred and married Valeria.
>
>Why a coin would show him scarred while his portraits show him unscarred, I don't know. 
>
>Is it possible that the portraits Valeria has seen are not of Autarch Severian, whom she knew anyway, but icons of the Conciliator? And that they looked different enough that no one guessed they were the same? It would be a bit like Jesus showing up in short hair and body armor and an assault rifle, then reappearing with long hair and robes and a halo. Suddenly you'd get it.



I like that image.  When I was about 15 I did a drawing of Jesus and His Disciples packing aussalt rifles. "Jesus is back and he's pissed"
(speaking of such heresies, has anyone seen Bill Hicks's stand-up comedy about how if Christ returned the LAST thing he'd want to see is a crucifix on his followers? seriously funny)

In my reread I haven't yet got to any unscarred portraits, and had forgotten them if they're there. But I had just read that bit about the scarred face on the Chrisos, so I'm probably wrong about the portraits. I can't remember clearly. will read that soon though.

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