Hut/Ultan's Library/Catherine

James Wynn · 06 Apr 2009, 16:39 · from 2009-April.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:39:28 -0500
Subject: (urth) Hut/Ultan's Library/Catherine
In-Reply-To: <49D97045.8000800 at io.com>
References: <COL109-W203E9E25E77526A04FB504D7870 at phx.gbl>	<883571995.20090405181338 at poczta.fm><AFEB31E805FC4A70A20D18FBF4D07BC3@eMachinePC>
	<49D97045.8000800 at io.com>
Message-ID: <D75AFBBB6BC0424FAC57BAFF1757A694@eMachinePC>

>>> Stan: Why weird? Ultan is a Vodalarian, and has
>>>eaten part of the corpse. He is hardly a great exception.
>>
>> "...and quite suddenly I felt that he and I were dead..."
>>
>> I'm not sure I understand this explanation. At the time of this event, 
>> Severian had not eaten any corpse; so, why did he feel that he himself 
>> was dead? I suppose it is not absolutely required, but this pairing seems 
>> to imply they were "were dead" for the same reason...whatever it was.
>
> A few months ago we went over this - they meet in unlit underground 
> tunnels, essentially catacombs for books instead of bodies. Ultan is also 
> very much like the barrow wights or dwarves of the Norse epics, 
> essentially a barely animated corpse guarding grave goods and other 
> treasures.

Hmmm...I searched the archives and nothing about dwarves or barrow wights 
came up.

Anyway, I'll require a lot more convincing. If the catacombs lent out their 
corpses, I'm not aware of it. I'm sure barrow wights did not abet such 
practices. And if Ultan *were* intended to be analogous to an animated ward 
of a grave, that would put Severian in the position of a treasure 
hunter...not a corpse himself.

J.

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