So who is the child in Baldander's bed? [was: Juturna, the Missing Sister]

Lee Berman · 29 Jul 2010, 17:46 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:46:28 -0400
Subject: (urth) So who is the child in Baldander's bed? [was: Juturna,
 the Missing Sister]
Message-ID: <SNT123-W65B2997A3FCDDB00C58F6ECFA90 at phx.gbl>

>Jerry Friedman-  No doubt you're right in general that we should consider 
>fantastic explanations, but I don't see how it applies to the boy in Baldanders's 
>castle.

Well, I suppose the catamite status of the baby would fall under my other 
category, "unpleasantly outrageous" better than "fantastic" explanations.

I was addressing what I thought were some other posters who were willing
to give Baldanders the benefit of the doubt with regard to this issue. I don't
think he was intended to receive such benefit from Wolfe. Perhaps from Severian
though.

I don't see the importance in wondering whether the chained, decorated baby in
his bed is currently being used as a sexual object or whether that is planned
for the future. But Severian does. Why? Perhaps it is his way of saying, "well
if you have such thoughts and plans, but haven't gotten to act on them yet, then
it isn't so bad". Perhaps this ties to his odd comment regarding Little Severian.

Perhaps I have been too obtuse. The point of my thoughts on this thread is that
I detect evidence that Severian has had homosexual and pedophillic thoughts and 
experiences in his life. Though we are his confidants, he doesn't quite want to
admit these but manages to betray himself anyway, to those attuned to the signals.
His discussion of these activities when engaged in by others suggests mild 
disapproval and denial of interest mixed with contradictions that essentially
"out" him.

It seems like an almost embarassing, painfully intimate confession if there can
be such a thing of a fictional character. It leaves me wondering if I should 
even be discussing such things in a public forum. Perhaps that was the intention 
of the author.

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