Cassie as the Ambassador's wife

Dave Tallman · 19 Sep 2009, 20:16 · from 2009-September.txt.gz

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From: davetallman at msn.com (Dave Tallman)
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:16:30 -0600
Subject: (urth) Cassie as the Ambassador's wife
In-Reply-To: <003001ca395e$bdc69e60$3fd14a0c@rclackey>
References: <003001ca395e$bdc69e60$3fd14a0c@rclackey>
Message-ID: <4AB53C1E.6020801 at gmail.com>

Roy C. Lackey wrote:
> I don't know what the answer is, but Gid said the shooter was a man. He
> could be lying, but why? Transformation "up" or "down" is mentioned, but not
> sideways. That is, there is nothing to indicate that a human could transform
> himself (see, old-school pronoun) to look like another human, even of the
> same gender.
>   
On page 99 "Are you aware of shape-changers? Werewolves and their 
ilk?... Some human beings can transform themselves, Cassie. The cells of 
their bodies rearrange themselves... Wolves, dogs and leopards are the 
most common forms... The most common forms but not the only forms."  It 
looks to me like Wolfe has given us some leeway to have other sorts of 
shape-changers, with possible multiple human forms.

> Margaret might be a werewolf but, shooter or not, if she is, where does it
> show up in the story? The only demonstrable werewolf I know of is Al, the
> fake FBI agent.
>   
True, but the detailed description of werewolf traits on p. 206 invites 
us to find another werewolf. Here are a few of the clues I found most 
convincing, drawn from one of my theory pages on the WolfeWiki 
("Mysterious Margaret"):

   1. There's the clue of the werewolf's "swift loping walk, even in
      women." (p. 206). Margaret bobs along (p. 59). Does any other
      female character have a unique walk described?
   2. She is gray (p. 54) with a colorless face (p. 57). Werewolves
      "dress in wolf shades: gray, black, and white." (p. 206).
   3. They are also insensitive to color (p. 206). Margaret fails to get
      a straw for Cassie's drink (p. 57), indicating she doesn't care
      much about lipstick. She describes a costume which shows skin in
      the middle as "spring-green" (p. 107), but the costume that is
      spring-green is the long missionary gown (p. 190). The costume
      that shows ten inches of bare waist features a faux-grass skirt
      (p. 131). This would be grass-green, not spring-green. Perhaps
      Margaret can't tell the difference.
   4. She avoids an obvious word when misreporting the name of Sharon
      Bench as "Shirley Ladydog" (p. 86). As a werewolf female she might
      be extra-sensitive to this word.
   5. Werewolves have a hard time avoiding slipping back to wolf form
      (p. 100). They also "want the wild and a liberation from human
      morality" (p. 207). Margaret's scrupulous morality may be an
      effort to avoid slipping back. Her elaborate trick with the napkin
      to avoid a direct lie is an example of this (pp. 82-83).
   6. Margaret always has yogurt and fruit for breakfast (p. 186). She
      may avoid eating meat to keep from setting off her wolf nature.

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