Antipolaric brothers

Lee Berman · 23 Nov 2010, 02:39 · from 2010-November.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:39:22 -0500
Subject: (urth) Antipolaric brothers
Message-ID: <SNT123-W190587912FBAA8DF2E9D6FCF3E0 at phx.gbl>

>James Wynn: There's something twinny about Silk and Auk that I've never quite been 
>able to put my finger on. Thematically, they divide the deeds of 
>Hephaestus between them.... I don't know. But I _do_ think there is a meta-connection 
>between Silk and Sev as well. I think the fact that Wolfe had the Rajan meet Severian 
>and justifies it as necessary in the telling of the story implies that 
>this is so.

James I'm hoping you will explain what you mean about the deeds of Hephaestus and these
two characters.

I do like Andrew's dark/light twin comparison of Severian and Silk. Not sure Wolfe had
Silk in mind when he first wrote about it. I think perhaps Silk's progenitor, Typhon is 
a more likely subject. I think perhaps this is why the Silk-Pas connection was sort of kept
under wraps for most of the story.

I am currently noticing that despite his apparent evil, Typhon is on both Urth and the Whorl, 
an organizer and builder, while Severian, in his crowning achievement is a destroyer. The 
good/evil, creator/destroyer dichotomy is an issue I think is intrinsically addressed by 
gnosticism and I am still wrestling for some understanding there. Perhaps, slowly, it is coming.

Something recently occurred to me. Severian wasn't really in so much danger of being killed by 
Typhon. I think the episode parallels Severian's pounding of Eata. The purpose of the beating 
was to establish dominance not to harm. Typhon's insistance on Severian taking stewardship of 
Urth resembles Severian's insistence that Eata be his second.  Yet, despite being far more 
overmatched than Eata, something in Severian will not accept lieutenant/second banana status. 
(perhaps this is why Roche was written as Drotte's second and not Severian).

Since you mention Auk I'd like to mention the character of Pig. By name and by other clues we can 
associate Pig with the goddess Phaea. But I think his blindness and his manner of speech connect 
him to Tartaros and his human associate, Auk. I don't know if it relates to what you were saying,
James but I find a similarity in the relationship between Silk and Auk and Silkhorn and Pig. Still
not really sure what was going on with regard to Pig and Hyacinths's room.

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