Master Ultan's Library

Gwern Branwen · 17 Jul 2010, 01:29 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: gwern0 at gmail.com (Gwern Branwen)
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:29:17 -0400
Subject: (urth) Master Ultan's Library
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On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 9:04 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net> wrote:
> Some of my favorite passages in Severian's narration involve commentary on
> literary style. In Shadow, he compares writing to execution of the
> condemned.
>
> What do you all make of the following mention of Master Ultan's Library?
>
> Similarly *you, who will some day delve in Master Ultan's library,* will
> require of me no long delays; personages who are permitted to speak only
> briefly yet do it well; certain dramatic pauses which shall signal to you
> that something of import is about to occur; excitement; and a sating
> quantity of blood.

My favored interpretation in this: we all agree that Master Ultan is
Jorge Luis Borges. What was one of Borges's most famous short stories?
"The Library of Babel"*, containing all possible books. From a certain
point of view**, there is no writing or creation, but finding - or
'delving' - inside the infinite library.

The Library of Babel contains all libraries, and so any library you or
I find _The Book of the New Sun_ within is also a finding within
Borges's/Ultan's library.

(This is an out-of-universe explanation, yes, but I don't think the
in-universe explanations are tenable, since when Severian writes it,
doesn't he already plan to set it adrift it the void?)

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel
** eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Control:_The_New_Biology_of_Machines,_Social_Systems,_and_the_Economic_World

-- 
gwern

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