Severian as Jonah

Lee Berman · 17 Apr 2012, 13:27 · from 2012-April.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:27:21 -0400
Subject: (urth) Severian as Jonah
Message-ID: <SNT123-W299983CBBA2BF32265B8D3CF3F0 at phx.gbl>

>Antonin Scriabin: Interesting idea.  One difference though is that the 
>task of Jonah on his travels was to save Nineveh from its moral corruption, 
>and Severian has the more "mundane" task of bringing the New Sun.  They seem 
>like different "types" of salvation to me.

To me they are quite similar but it bears some explanation. Master Ash tells
us that if Urth took the path of ice, most of the humanity there would
be evacuated to other planets before the freeze. So what is the purpose of 
bringing the New Sun? (and, as I once asked, What's So Great About Ushas?)

Superficially we know that the New Sun and Ushas somehow allow for the 
creation of the Hiero-types. This facilitation of creation of a higher race
of (human-derived) beings could be considered a form of salvation. But I think
there is more to it. The answer is found mostly in Dr. Talos' play.

The Bible does not clearly explain what wickedness was occurring on earth which
necessitated Noah's Flood. But in context it would seem to have something to do
with the Nephilim, giants or "men of reknown" walking on earth who were the 
product of fallen angel/demon matings with human women.  James Jordan (as a modern
Christian theologian) once vehemently disagreed with me on this interpretation but 
I think, at least in the context of BotNS, it is how Wolfe is viewing things.
(elaboration on the demons, giants and Nephilim can be found in the non-canonical
Book of Enoch and the Dead Sea Scrolls)

Dr. Talos' play is narrated by Gabriel, who is a herald of great Biblical events 
(in the Book of Mormon, "Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet 
Noah. The two are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel 
being his heavenly name."). Dr. Talos (who plays Gabriel) mentions many of the pre-
Flood elements in this play including Nephilim, demons, demon-human mating and the 
dawn of a new creation of humanity. Elements from other, similar Flood myths are also 
included (e.g. the names Meschia and Meschianne).

I think in bringing the New Sun, Severian is performing a similar cleansing of Urth
as Noah's Flood brought to earth. I think there has been alien (fallen angel) human
matings on Urth (not to mention human-animal matings) and this is part of the
corruption which must be swept away and must not be perpetuated by an evacuation.
(hence the prevailing isolation/quarantine of Urth's humanity).  The height of exultants 
and the size of Baldanders (a potential ruler) suggests the nephilim/giant aspect from 
Genesis.

As has been discussed before, the cleansing of the Vincula is a symbolic representation
of Severian's purifying role. Horn's cleansing of the sewer in IGJ performs a similar
function. Both hearken back to the cleansing of the Augean Stables by Hercules, who,
like Jonas and Dionysus, can be seen as a precursor to Christ.

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