Plausibility

David Stockhoff · 12 Nov 2009, 18:23 · from 2009-November.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:23:11 -0500
Subject: (urth) Plausibility
In-Reply-To: <mailman.14451.1258046675.27276.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
References: <mailman.14451.1258046675.27276.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <4AFC528F.6020202 at verizon.net>

True, but I was more struck by Able's rather flat interpretation of his universe---where is he, WHEN is he, the sequence of events that make up the plot---than his interpretation of his feelings. That's what I found hard to follow.

At any rate, while Severian does have those advantages (he is Autarch, as I said), Able does very well for himself despite, I think, lacking a strong analytical component to his personality, or a desire to understand or explain (or excuse).

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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:26:16 -0500
From: Scott Wowra <swowra at gmail.com>
To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Plausibility
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Able (not Abel) is a young teenager transformed into the body of a man.
Think about how well you wrote as a teenager. Did you understand all of your
motivations and have perfect insight into your actions? I know I didn't. In
contrast, Severian has the wisdom of multitudes. Given that, Sev certainly
has more book-smarts and insight into his motivations...he can view his
behavior from 1000s of different perspectives. Comparing their abilities to
self-reflect is a stretch and ultimately will make Able look like a dunce.

Someone commented that Able was a "brute and a bully." Not sure that
characterization holds water by the end of "The Wizard." He seems to be
fairly mature and certainly not a bully like he was early in The Knight. His
ultimate choice of desire over duty may not be heroic, but I tend to think
many of us would have made the same choice.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 8:59 PM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net>wrote:

> > That makes sense. Does it explain why Abel is so hard to follow? Certainly
> > his material is bound to be looser, less subject to "modern" analysis. I was
> > struck by Abel's lack of interest in his surroundings---it's very American
> > in a way, and yet it fits the milieu.
> >
> > I think Severian's narrative is strengthened by a couple of other factors
> > that tie into the plausibility principle but are separate from it. Mainly,
> > he's Autarch, with a very clear place in the world and a biography that is
> > more like a history or a hagiography. Every detail counts, as we know, and
> > he knows it too. Wolfe may well have precise knowledge of Abel's comings and
> > goings, but we don't necessarily need to.
> >
> > However, I can't argue that Severian has a better sense of the structure of
> > his universe than Abel does. He may be better read, and probably learned a
> > lot more as Autarch than he knew during his travels. But both characters
> > have a distinctly medieval point of view. Severian attempts to explain what
> > happened to him. Does Abel?
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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