Mystery of Agia

Jeff Wilson · 20 Jan 2011, 06:37 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:37:54 -0600
Subject: (urth) Mystery of Agia
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W52C248EFC08E2FD507FBBCFF90 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W52C248EFC08E2FD507FBBCFF90 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4D37D842.4070005 at io.com>

On 1/20/2011 12:10 AM, Lee Berman wrote:
>
>
>> Son O' Witz: Jeff's layout here is compelling.
>> But there is something that makes me think Hethor is using Agia more tham she is using him.
>> He seems to genuinely consider Severian "Master". No?
>
>> Has anyone picked up on anything that sheds light on his motivations, beyond the stated one of
>> Agia's sexual submission?
>
> I like a lot of Jeff's ideas, often very deep and insightful. But not this one. My feeling of his
> summation of Agia is: well, she's just some girl. Kind of emotional, has some unreliable
> boyfriend mirrors, not too important. She can wander off from the story and it really doesn't matter.
> She's about like that one girlfriend from 10th grade..uh..whats-her-name again....

You promised you would never mention her again! *sob*

> In general I don't agree when people try to explain Wolfe characters, especially important ones,
> as though they were like normal people in our lives with inexplicable behavior that has no relevance
> to us. Unlike people in our lives, these charcters are created, with every word and gesture crafted with
> a purpose, for the reader, by a very careful author. I can't see why Wolfe would bother to create an
> important character who doesn't mean much.

I didn't mean to give the impression she was an unimportant character, 
more that she *has* a dissolute character, and it's in keeping with that 
for her to wander off either from lack of interest in pursing 
increasingly deferred gratification, or from gaining some maturity and 
realizing no punishment she can visit on Severian will restore her 
brother or lessen his loss.

And if she really is part of Hethor's sekrit mishun to provoke Severian 
into revealing his true nature, once it is revealed he has become the 
new Autarch that's also run its useful course and again it would be an 
obvious time for them to cease tracking him.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
Computational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana
< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >

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