Hyacinth and Seawrack

Roy C. Lackey · 22 Oct 2010, 17:56 · from 2010-October.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:56:56 -0500
Subject: (urth) Hyacinth and Seawrack
References: <AANLkTimtKXoupGw3QVWbGGVk9W6_Vk1ZFOngxqrWbJFd at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <001a01cb7212$8a7b3820$bcce4a0c@rclackey>

Dave Tallman quoted and wrote:
> James Wynn wrote:
>
> I'm pretty sure that is not the only time the Rajan confuses Hy with
> Seawrack. I couldn't tell you exactly where. I thought there was a
> time where he talks about Hyacinth singing.
>
>
> There is, in IGJ, p. 121. "Here I stopped to listen, for I heard
> Hyacinth singing to her waves."
>
> I believe this is more about the Narrator's identity confusion than
> any real identification of Hyacinth with Seawrack. He exchanges one
> love for another because he is really two men. A similar mistake is
> when he addresses one of his sons as "Horn" in the last book.

I agree. IIRC, there are also other places where Silkhorn confuses one wife
with the other, when he writes Hyacinth when he means Nettle. He also
consciously substitutes Hyacinth's name for Nettle's at least once, when he
spoke to Chandi: "As for me, I did not weep; but I was at least as homesick
as she, and when she was calmer I told her about you, Nettle, calling you
Hyacinth." (OBW, 222)

He also mentions Seawrack's singing on the same page.

-Roy

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