Sev and Thecla in childhood

Matthew Malthouse · 28 Sep 1998, 09:10 · from urth-v0019.mbox · original

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From: Matthew Malthouse <matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (urth) Sev and Thecla in childhood
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 09:10:18 +0000
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Tony Ellis wrote:
>=20
> Jon Camfield wrote:
>=20
> > "...I played again with pebbles in the courtyard beside the fallen curt=
ain
> > wall, as Thecla dodged the hooves of my father's mounted guard"
> > (II, XXV, 204)
>         <snip>
> > "of my father's mounted guard"  is really troublesome.  It's not Thecla,
> > because Sev is (presumably, no hints to the contrary) still talking in =
the
> > first person, and describing Thecla in the third.  This implies it is
> > Severian's father...
>=20
> I really think you're seeing complications that aren't there with this
> one. TBOTNS is full of moments where Thecla's personality surfaces and
> speaks, or rather writes, in the first person. All that's happening here
> is that it's happening within the confines of one sentence for effect.
> The transition presumably takes place after "wall", but anywhere before
> "my father's mounted guard" would do.

I'm inclines to agree. Making the sentence ...the fallen curtain wall, and =
as
Thecla... would have remove the ambiguity but it isn't actually necessary to
add the "and" for it to be read as a change of view point from Sev. to Thec=
la.

Matthew

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