Lake of Birds

DAVID STOCKHOFF · 22 May 2012, 17:56 · from 2012-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (DAVID STOCKHOFF)
Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 10:56:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: (urth) Lake of Birds
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From: Bruno de Albuquerque Furtado <meuemaildobruno at gmail.com>
>To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net> 
>Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 11:14 AM
>Subject: Re: (urth) Lake of Birds
> 
>
>"Which Tiresias? Genderbender, blind seer, mediator between gods and men, accursed of the gods, or prophet of Apollo?"
>
>
>You forgot one: "Royal councilor". As in the guy who councils the kings of Thebes, Odisseus, and so forth. But still I tend to agree with Ant?nio, in that there's much which doesn't fit in this theory. For instance, I feel that in order to make an association with Tiresias, blindness would be an important feature. But to my knowledge, there's nothing indicating that FI could be blind. Also, it appears that the deformed old guide wearing a mask, when Severian is in the power of Vodalus, is FI. That guide and his helper are reported to have "dark skin" though, which probably means they're autochthons.
>
>That's probably the most applicable one, although it derives from his prophetic powers. In literature especially (Oedipus), Tiresias was indeed a royal adviser, which makes him a mediator between gods and kings. I like "prophet of Apollo" too, for reasons below. 
>
>The thing about mythical allusion is that there is always more material than you can possibly use. You can't expect it all to fit just because a few salient points correspond. Moreover, not only do Tiresias' blindness and gender experiences come from curses, so they are not an essential part of his being, but it wouldn't necessarily matter if they were. These are allusions, not legal documents. We don't need to give 
Inire a gynecological or eye exam, if neither of those things come up.
>
>More awkwardly---if I understand the various contradictory stories correctly---he may have owed all his powers to blessings given to make up for those curses. Which would mean that Tiresias became a seer after he was blinded. As it happens, he was priest of Apollo first, so that's not entirely true. He simply became a better seer. 
>
>So I don't have a problem with this allusion at all! I heartily support it. 
>
>I wonder however if it does not point us in another direction: if Inire is indeed blind, then Wolfe covers it with a cowl, because we never see it or Severian never remarks on it. Therefore any potential Inire must wear a cowl. This would tend to severely limit the "Elvis is everywhere" theory of Father Inire---perhaps too severely.
>
>
>
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