Father Inire: teratoid

Lee Berman · 16 Dec 2010, 18:32 · from 2010-December.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:32:58 -0500
Subject: (urth) Father Inire: teratoid
Message-ID: <SNT123-W34015D8F803BFA4BA74724CF150 at phx.gbl>

>Gerry Quinn: One problem with interpreting 'teratoid' as Inire's mark is that nowhere 
>else in the books is such a mark associated with him.  There is no clue needed here either - 
>we are expressly told that this part of the House Absolute is Inire's domain, and we are told 
>elsewhere about his mirrors. And it doesn't seem long since people were insisting that Inire's 
>identifying mark was a monkey!

I don't interpret the teratoid symbol as Inire's maker mark. I only mentioned that possibility
in response to somebody who was asserting their only possible meaning was as a factory stamp or 
something like that. 

I think all alien glyphs in the story are meant by Wolfe to be incomprehensible and meaningless 
to human beings. That includes us, the readers. I consider Severian's meager interpretation of the 
alien symbols he sees to be the best he can do to add HIS meaning to them.

So the suggestion is not that Father Inire considers himself to be a monster but that at some level, 
Severian considers him one. We don't need to see teratoid symbols everywhere, all over the
Commonwealth to get the message. Just a few times in Father Inire's chambers will do nicely.

Monkeys are in the past Gerry. We need to evolve! ;- )

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