Babbie

David Stockhoff · 19 Mar 2009, 11:43 · from 2009-March.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:43:59 -0400
Subject: (urth) Babbie
In-Reply-To: <mailman.8203.1237439206.18432.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
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Message-ID: <49C22FFF.1050301 at verizon.net>

Those are good examples---I couldn't think of any right off. Yes, that's what I meant by "true" and "less true." That is, there is never just "bad" and "good." 

Any mistaken belief can be a step toward realizing and undoing that belief, and moving closer to a true understanding. The journey naturally is no straight path you can fall off of into damnation, nor a maze exactly, but rather a tangle. A path through a wood.

Thus, even the dead ends are not really "dead" just as the gods and their myths are not really "false," and since the "traps and snares" I referred to (Milton) are always set by the Devil, who apparently has no presence in Wolfe (or if he does he works for the Increate), they don't exist. It's an interesting contrast with Protestantism---and Satan-obsessed Catholicism?

Even Catholic priests can become stuck, I guess (haven't read Pirate Freedom). If we become trapped, we do it ourselves. One could be trapped forever, I suppose, but I don't think anyone is ever condemned for it ... even Baldanders.

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Message: 7
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:02:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Craig Brewer <cnbrewer at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Babbie
To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <176065.18290.qm at web37605.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

David, that's a really interesting reading. I tend to think that Wolfe is more ambiguous. It's not all good, and, in fact, the way I see it, most of his stories are about the never-ending problems of figuring out the dead ends from the good made up stuff. Otherwise, why wouldn't Severian be fine believing in the Claw? Or why would Silk have to have the Outsider help him see through Pas? Or why would Able have to be forced to look up to Michael instead of down to Disiri, etc.?

I think you're right that, in the end, all the "false gods" seem to be able to be integrated, but it takes his heroes a lot of time figuring out how to do it properly without following divergent paths.

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