First Exodus theory revised

Gerry Quinn · 11 Feb 2011, 15:46 · from 2011-February.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:46:39 -0000
Subject: (urth) First Exodus theory revised
References: <SNT123-w3286EA1163A6618F1499BFCFEF0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <05062B89A2D744D286BB69A371F39839@jill>

From: "Lee Berman" <severiansola at hotmail.com>
>
>>Gerry Quinn: I really don't agree with this.  He has a dream or waking 
>>dream in which
>>images of various women run together (I think women he associates with sex
>>or sexuality).  In this dream he also sees the Outsider as a wooden toy, 
>>and
>>a polished tabletop as the sea.  I don't think there's any reason to take 
>>it
>>literally that all the women in his dream are the same woman, any more 
>>than
>>that the Outsider is a wooden toy.
>
> I can see why Marc has trouble with your theory Gerry. As a 
> self-acknowledged mystery
> writer, Gene Wolfe has a special place in his work for dream sequences and
> stories/myths/legends. I can't see him using a dream sequence to reveal 
> something as
> banal as the fact that Silk is a man and has had sexual thoughts about 
> various women.
> We already knew that. The dream must be there to tell us things we don't 
> know.

So you are saying the Outsider really is a wooden toy?  After all, that's 
what the dream tells us and we certainly didn't know it.

I've re-read the passage containing the dream, and in fact it has a very 
clear and obvious interpretation, which isn't really about sex and sexuality 
although I was heading in the right direction. All you have to is read the 
context.  Read just before the dream.  The Outsider is speaking to Silk 
about what would happen if Kypris were killed and Thelxeipeia became the 
goddess of love:

***************************************************
[using quotation marks for italics]
"I would claim her in that case, long before the end.  As I have so many 
others.  As I am claiming Kypris even now because love always proceeds from 
me, real love, true love.  First romance."

The Outsider was the dancing man on a toy, and the water the polished 
toy-top on which he danced with Kypris, who was Hyacinth and Mother, too. 
"First romance", sang the Outsider with the music box.  "First romance".  It 
was why he was called the Outsider.  He was outside -
[Remora wakes him up]
***************************************************

Isn't it totally obvious what is being said here?  Kypris is the goddess of 
LOVE.  His love for Hyacinth and his love for his mother.  Kypris, Hyacinth, 
Mother - they are all aspects of love, which proceeds from the Outsider.

There is absolutely no implication that they are the same human personality. 
In fact the idea is absurd, because we know who Silk means by Mother 
[capitalised] - he means his adoptive parent.

This is confirmed 46 pages later when Silk is buried and has a vision of 
both sets of parents.  Again, his adoptive, non-biological mother is called 
Mother.  The other woman does not speak and there is no indication 
whatsoever of any relationship to any other character in the story.

You and Marc have both used the word 'banal' now in connection with my 
interpretations.  What I consider banal is cockeyed extrapolation based on 
random mythological or other allusions.  Yes, dreams are important, but not 
to the exclusion of all else, and not to be taken literally.  That's the 
whole *point* of dreams - they don't have to be literal!

> I find pointed significance in the metaphors of the wooden toy Outsider 
> and the tabletop
> sea which presage revelations in Short Sun and hearken back to mysteries 
> in BotNS. I
> would expect revelations of similar importance with regard to the women in 
> the dream. I
> think similar importance can be found in all Wolfean dreams, legends and 
> stories.

Yes, there are important revelations.  The Outsider is the God of Love. 
That's about as important a revelation as you might hope for.

- Gerry Quinn

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