The mystery of the image of an astronaut cleaned by Rudesind

António Pedro Marques · 07 Jul 2010, 21:33 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: entonio at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?QW50w7NuaW8gUGVkcm8gTWFycXVlcw==?=)
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:33:17 +0100
Subject: (urth) The mystery of the image of an astronaut cleaned by
	Rudesind
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Maybe I should point out in more detail how the two things you are confusing 
are quite distinct.

- One is the author having a purpose for including something in the story. 
The thing is there because it serves some end. That is its narrative advantage.

- The other is the reader having a purpose for making assumptions about what 
happens in the story, i.e., speculation. Speculation is justified because it 
enables a novel or in some way extended reading.

In fact, the reason you've provided yourself for justifying speculation is 
that it serves to find a narrative advantage to things which otherwise you 
think don't have any.

Now, I'm not a fan of the idea that everything must provide narrative 
advantage. In fact I think a decent lengthy book should have detail in it 
that is there only for its own sake. Maybe it could provide narrative 
advantage in a parallel story. Maybe the fact that the character forded 3 
instead of 2 brooks could be significant in some untold story about that 
place. Maybe the story can even be written one of these days.

In short, I don't think everything in a book should serve some purpose 
within that book. But reader speculation must, because with all the stuff 
that Wolfe left lying there to toy with, if you don't set some standard, 
then you can go on indefinitely at random.

Whereas you've done the reverse: you think everything in the stpry must 
serve some purpose, yet speculation is free to roam.

Ryan Dunn wrote (07-07-2010 22:18):
> Exactly, or Ouen being her son, or a boatman looking for 'Cas. Or FBO going backwards in time only to keep meeting Severian as if by chance?
>
> ...ryan
>
> On Jul 7, 2010, at 5:13 PM, James Wynn<crushtv at gmail.com>  wrote:
>
>>> Whereas no one has yet explained just what the
>>> considering-that-some-characters-in-the-BNS-are-Inire brings to the table.
>>> Lee points to it enlightening Inire's nature and motivations, but I find
>>> that sketchy. Could your camp do some more sketching, perhaps?
>>
>> What's the narrative advantage of Dorcas being Severian's grandmother?
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