Fish

DAVID STOCKHOFF · 16 Mar 2012, 20:39 · from 2012-March.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (DAVID STOCKHOFF)
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:39:30 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: (urth) Fish
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W9A980A50EB403B1C734F6CF5F0 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W9A980A50EB403B1C734F6CF5F0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <1331930370.11380.YahooMailNeo at web84106.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

________________________________
 From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>
To: urth at urth.net 
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 3:31 PM
Subject: (urth) Fish

But there's the fish's mouth subset of that. If Typhon and Severian's
tete a tete is meant to reference the temptation of Christ, then as
surely the fish's mouth is meant to reference the story where Peter is
told by Jesus to pay his taxes with a coin he'll find in the mouth of
the next fish he catches.

I can't help but think Wolfe's reference to this story points out that
while Christ is associated with universal spritual salvation, Jesus was
a guy who made a number of instructive points with simple magic and 
parlour tricks such as this. Likewise for Severian's life.

____________________________________________
I don't know the story but I agree that the juxtaposition must mean something.

>?It might have been the snarling face of Jurupari, or perhaps a map, and it 
>was wreathed with letters I did not know.?

...
Learning that a Jurupari is a S.American demon who captures people in his cave-
like mouth and is also a cichlid fish which broods eggs in its mouth I must connect
it with the star named Fomalhaut (fish's mouth) and the Ouroboros story in which 
men are swallowed in a cave-like mouth and probably the cave of the man-apes in
which some monstrous presence lurks below.

Add the mention of a fishy monster like Abaia who is so large he could easily
brood a school of daughter undines in his mouth, and a picture of what Agia was 
referencing with her drawing becomes, if not perfectly clear, at least a bit more 
in focus. (I believe this also helps us understand the relationship between The
Mother and Seawrack) ??? ???  ??? ?  ??? ??? ? 

______________________________________
What is it, then? A monstrous mouth? A fish sign, but fully annotated rather than two curved lines? A black hole?
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