Metaphors

David Lebling · 04 Oct 1999, 09:38 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: "David Lebling" <David_Lebling at avid.com>
Subject: (urth) Metaphors
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 09:38:08
Message-ID: <urth-v0028-0168 at digest.urth.net>
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Roy C. Lackey, on Dorcas:
<<She then recalled to Sev Dr. Talos's labeling him as Death, which
Sev said was a metaphor. She said it was a bad metaphor and, as they were
walking back to the others, Sev wondered to himself if "Dr. Talos's calling
Dorcas "Innocence" had not been a metaphor of the same kind.">>

Every time I read _Shadow_, I'm convinced that Dr. Talos meant the attribut=
ion
the other way, that Severian was Innocence and Dorcas was Death.  I know th=
at a
close reading of the immediately following text doesn't support that view, =
but
it just feels right to me.  As an exercise, tally up the occasions when Dor=
cas
corrects an innocent or naive opinion expressed by Severian: there are quit=
e a
few.

     Dave Lebling
     (aka vizcacha)

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