the atmosphere on the bridge

David Stockhoff · 17 May 2011, 22:40 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 18:40:09 -0400
Subject: (urth) the atmosphere on the bridge
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Severian seems also to have gone from an old, near-dead slum area around 
the Citadel to a more lively part of Nessus; the areas are separated by 
a river and connected by a bridge which is easily closed by guards when 
needed.

On 5/17/2011 2:00 PM, Jason H wrote:
> One more quick follow-up: After Sev crosses the bridge, on the western 
> side, he tells us there is "nearly as much coming and going of coaches 
> and drays as there had been on the bridge itself." That makes sense; 
> my original puzzlement was why there wasn't a similar scene on the 
> eastern side of the bridge. :)
>
> -Jason
>
> On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 10:54 AM, Jason H <beet31425 at gmail.com 
> <mailto:beet31425 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Thanks for the interesting replies. I agree that the bridge must
>     be some sort of mall-like bazaar. One particular point that
>     bothered me though was why this traffic didn't flow over onto the
>     Water Way on the other side. People and carts are presumably
>     crossing the bridge, so how could the Water Way remain so deserted?
>
>     I think there's a hint of an answer in the text (of course):
>     "Leaving the lapping tongues of the river, I mounted a flight of
>     broken steps from the Water Way to the more elevated street of the
>     bridge..." The carriages from the bridge wouldn't go down a flight
>     of stairs to the Water Way. There's probably a more populated
>     elevated road, parallel to the Water Way, which takes on the
>     masses of people leaving the bridge.
>
>     -Jason
>
>
>     On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 12:40 AM, Jason H <beet31425 at gmail.com
>     <mailto:beet31425 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         I'm confused about the atmosphere on the bridge that Severian
>         crosses at the very beginning of his exile (Shadow chapter XIV).
>
>         Previously he had been walking on the Water Way, and I get the
>         impression there are few people about. He says he no longer
>         appeared a torturer "in the eyes of the few who passed me";
>         also, he was able to hear the song from a ship, carried by the
>         wind, from a league away.
>
>         But when he steps on the bridge, the scene is suddenly
>         crowded: there are carriages, there are vendors crying out,
>         and people "thronging" the walkway. When he stops to talk to
>         the guard, he is suddenly surrounded by a hundred people. All
>         of this in the dead of the night.
>
>         Does this make sense? Why would the bridge be so crowded, but
>         the walkway on one side of the river be practically deserted?
>         Aren't the throngs of people *crossing* the bridge?
>
>         It's not a very important point, I'll grant. But I think that
>         one of the things that makes Wolfe special is that he tends to
>         think through these things carefully beforehand. His scenes
>         feel real because he's taken the time to make sure there are
>         no internal contradictions. I'm sure he drastically changed
>         the atmosphere on purpose, but I can't make the scene work in
>         my mind, because I can't visualize it as really happening. Any
>         thoughts on this minor point would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
>         -Jason
>
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