Boatman as Inire

John Watkins · 07 Aug 2010, 13:07 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: john.watkins04 at gmail.com (John Watkins)
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 09:07:47 -0400
Subject: (urth) Boatman as Inire
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W377BD955D6DC9B5FDBC50CCF920 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W377BD955D6DC9B5FDBC50CCF920 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <AANLkTikB=On2K+rRO3nVEbDqcAbpvurYkw+kUUrhOw0B at mail.gmail.com>

On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 7:35 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> The connection between Faunus and his copulatory habits with animals seems
> like it could be
> related on a number of different levels with regard to Father Inire and
> various characters and
> creatures in this story. Moreover I can't help but like the connection
> between Faunus/Pan and
> the Long Sun.
>
> This is another example.  There is no textual evidence that Inire copulates
with anything.  But you like the Inuus point because it fits in with this
thing about copulation.

Here's why I don't like the Inuus point particularly.

1)  The connection to "Inuus" could well be coincidental, as the decision to
give the character a name punning on "inire" and "finire" is a decision to
employ the root meaning "to enter" that is the basis of "Inuus."

2)  Typhon is already a Pan/Faunus analogue, and is evidently on the other
side of the cosmic battlelines than Inire.

3)  The presence of the river Gyoll is, as James Wynn has pointed out,
practically a demand that we identify the Fenrir in the story.  Not only is
Father Inire's name a near-anagram, but the idea of Fenrir chained ties in
neatly with Inire's thousand-year servitude to the Autarch.  This is aside
from Wolfe's reputation for hiding at least one wolf in all his novels.

But this is rather beside the point, because even if Inire is meant to refer
to Inuus rather than Fenrir, neither of those people are Charon/Chairon.

Finally, with regard to the Cumaean, a strong case has been made here
recently that she is not a shapeshifter at all but that Severian briefly
sees her four-dimensional body. (There are other possibilities as
well--e.g., she's always snaky but employs some form of illusion.)  Whether
or not that is true, I assume you will recognize the tremendous leap
required from "the Cumaean has a snaky alternate form" to "Father Inire
possesses Tzadkiel-style shapeshifting, mass altering, and polylocation
powers."

As for her shapeshifting being demonstrated as clearly as anything in Wolfe,
I only note that at the very least Tzadkiel's shapeshifting is more clearly
demonstrated, as is the more limited shapeshifting possessed by inhumi and
several characters in The Wizard Knight (Baki and Uri, Gylf and Setr at
least).  More recently, An Evil Guest and The Sorceror's House both feature
overt and probably covert shapeshifters.  I expect there are many more
examples.

Then there is the fact that despite having such shapeshifting powers as you
hypothesize, Inire seemingly principally disguises himself as bent old men.
That's an inconvenient fact for a theory of a Tzadkiel-like Inire.

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