Father Inire as Dionysus

Lee Berman · 22 Oct 2011, 14:48 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:48:46 -0400
Subject: (urth) Father Inire as Dionysus
Message-ID: <SNT123-W39BBF7D0C34EC536408C8FCFE90 at phx.gbl>

>why does a doctor know so much about Commonwealth politics, 

>mythology, eschatology and genesis and cosmic history (not to 

>mention Severian's mother)?

>Andrew Mason: He knows about Carina, who either is Severian's mother 

>or is somehow symbolically linked with her - I don't see that he has 

>to know that she is Severian's mother....Regarding his knowledge in 

general, sometimes I wonder if he has read the Book of the New Sun

I'm not following this. HOw does a doctor, created and bred solely to

minister to Baldanders, know of the Contessa Carina? He lives in a remote

place.  He is not supposed to be privy to the lives of exultants nor the 

politics of the House Absolute and Carina is not found in Severian's writings 

(except, of  course as a contribution from Talos, himself).

Talos' play contains cosmic knowlege of the past and future of a type known

only to a very few others such as Malrubius and Cyriaca's mysterious uncle.

I cannot ignore the source of this knowledge for each of these characters 

as an important literary clue to the subtext of the story.

FWIW, I note that, like Catherine, Cyriaca is a dark-haired, oval-faced

failed Pelerine. I don't think her connection to a cosmically knowlegeable

uncle is a coincidence. His status as a dealer in rare books would seem

to link him to the curators like Ultan, Rudesind and the boss guy at the 

Botanic Garden. The curators are, surely, linked to Father Inire.

Cyriaca seems to have spent long hours alone as a young woman with this

uncle. If he is Father Inire, that is grounds for a little moment of "hmmm..."

A moment similar to Severian's "hmm..." on meeting the boatman, 

Maxellindis' "uncle".

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