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

Jeff Wilson · 29 Jul 2010, 19:23 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:23:34 -0500
Subject: (urth) So who is the child in Baldander's bed? [was: Juturna,
 the Missing Sister]
In-Reply-To: <53885.77566.qm at web50708.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
References: <SNT123-W123AD558987FC4D6443A3FCFA90 at phx.gbl>
	<53885.77566.qm at web50708.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <4C51D536.8060004 at io.com>

On 7/29/2010 10:16 AM, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>> We may live in a Michael Jackson world where pedophilia jokes can be part
>> of a comedian's monologue or a recurring character on Family Guy, but Gene
>> Wolfe didn't.

> She may mean that they don't object when people take care of homeless children
> to sexually exploit them, or she may be referring to other "unnatural" practices
> but not that.  I doubt very much she means the Pelerines tolerate pedophilia
> when the children have other possibilities.  (To the extent that objecting to
> anything would do them any good.  Whatever the religion of Severian's time is
> like, we hear little or nothing of its moral doctrines or the idea that anyone
> might follow them.)

Gene Wolfe did live in a world where "chicken hawks" were occasionally 
treated sympathetically in the media, particularly when their exploitees 
turned out to be gay runaways, who easily could have had worse prospects 
in the drug- and mob-infested big cities they were drawn to.

>> but it is a very sore subject for Severian, for some reason.
>
> A lot of people don't bring it up often.  However, as I said before, I agree
> with you that it's striking that Severian doesn't mention it in reference to the
> apprentices' lives in the Matachin Tower.  (As many here have probably found
> out, the name Matachin can suggest homosexuality, though not pedophilia.
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattachine_Society>.)

Years ago I giggled about that sailing over GW's head, but it's starting 
to look like he meant it to suggest some homosex background.

I can see Severian not mentioning the sodomy because it's just the way 
things were where he was raised, and it explains the emphasis he puts on 
his hetero achievements, but where does he get his otherwise everyday 
"common" knowledge, like that people might disapprove of pederastry, or 
that there's a special potion that lets you relive the life of a dead 
person? Lots of people come to the torturers, but outside of Thecla, the 
circumstances don't seem to favor cultural inculation.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
IEEE Student Chapter Blog at
< http://ieeetamut.org >

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