Corundum of the Claw

Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org · 24 Jun 2010, 17:20 · from 2010-June.txt.gz

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From: Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org (Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:20:49 -0700
Subject: (urth) Corundum of the Claw
In-Reply-To: <4C2349FD.9040105 at verizon.net>
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	<4C2349FD.9040105 at verizon.net>
Message-ID: <6924F96B-7876-4037-A74F-7A9721E951C8 at butcherbaker.org>

On Jun 24, 2010, at 5:05 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net> wrote:

> There's a bit in John that says (I paraphrase): Jesus does not come to put the world on trial or to condemn it, but to rescue it.
> 
> Severian comes to carry out a death sentence.

I definitely feel that "the Sev is not divine" arguments are fine and appropriate, and I don't care to try to convince anyone, but I think it's a shame that people get hung up on this idea that Severian did a bad thing, that he "carried out a death sentance".
This view is not, er, holistic to the themes. The most boiled down theme in this book, holographically repeated, is Death and Resurrection. We must not forget that.

Severian brought renewed life to the planet. the death of Urth was the birth of Ushas, and the resurection of the dying planet.  To miss this is to fundamentally misunderstand the books, I think.  To view this as a death sentence, one is basically taking the short sighted selfish side that Severian's foes had. They would deny the future for a few more years for themselves.
Fuck that.  This is a cycle that we see in nature. The forest has to burn for it's own good, periodically.  

I'm sorry, just about any reading goes, but to just see Severian's act as a just tradgedy seems to completely miss the point.

It had to be a torturer to deliver the death stroke that brought new life. No one else would obey. Everyone else prefers to save themselves and cling to their attachments like children.  Severian did a difficult, necessary, and beautiful thing.

~witz

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