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DAVID STOCKHOFF · 14 Jan 2011, 17:00 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (DAVID STOCKHOFF)
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:00:17 -0800 (PST)
Subject: (urth) (no subject)
In-Reply-To: <4D3078D4.9040004 at io.com>
Message-ID: <786582.90225.qm at web84108.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

--- On Fri, 1/14/11, Jeff Wilson <jwilson at io.com> wrote:

> On 1/14/2011 9:07 AM, Ant?nio Pedro
> Marques wrote:
> > David Stockhoff wrote (14-01-2011 13:00):
> > 
> >>> I have wondered more than once in these annals
> about the lack of
> >>> pregnancy in Valeria. I guess we
> >>> could think of it as a pre-castration
> condition for the New Sun (what
> >>> if he failed and faced castration;
> >>> he can't have already had a child).
> >> Yes, that kinda makes sense, and yet kinda doesn't
> quite explain it. Was
> >> Severian simply informed that any heir he produced
> would be killed?
> > 
> > Rather Sev produce heir -> Sev no gets called to
> Yosed (methinks).
> 
> It makes sense to not bother asking people to destroy the
> world if their kids are on it, esp when you have the freedom
> to move in time to the ones who don't have kids. In this
> vein, Inire or whomever also seems to seek out candidates
> who have as few other family ties as possible (Ymar,
> "Appian") and are practiced at hardening themselves to human
> suffering (Ymar was a jailer, "Appian" served under the
> honey steward and so was probably complicit in the
> Antechamber detention to the point of delivering the
> pastries and coffee himself).

True. But (1) there is Valeria (2) we have no evidence Severian knew what would happen if he succeeded---though one can certainly find grounds to suspect he did, not least the fact that he never denies it directly in his own autobiography. OTOH, I would almost expect lies from the Heirodudes, but Inire might have warned him.

I can think of few rulers who have shown any real concern for human suffering. Autarchs, by their natures, might actually be expected to be _more_ empathetic than, say, Roman emperors, so maybe this "hardening" is a red herring and the only operating principle is "we obey." Still, Severian has no family and perhaps more enemies than friends outside the Guild.

As for the lameness, it need not be taken literally that Severian and his rule will be sterile; it could be symbolic, just as his sacrifice is symbolic, since he returns from the other side (sort of).

Lee: Briefly, "The sacrificial/sacral/divine king has an obligation to sacrifice himself for the good of his people and the land. The maimed/Fisher king is a danger to his people as he might cause the kingdom to become a wasteland."

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