Seawrack and the Mother

David Stockhoff · 18 Sep 2012, 20:31 · from 2012-September.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:31:27 -0400
Subject: (urth) Seawrack and the Mother
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On 9/18/2012 3:49 PM, Mark Millman wrote:
> Folks,
>
> On Tuesday 18 September 2012, David Stockhoff wrote:
>
>> . . . But the larger point is that once again we have two
>> parallel plausibilities and little help from the narrator.
>> We also have a plain indeterminacy: if Seawrack was
>> not the pirate girl, then why does Wolfe put them so
>> close together? What happened to the girl and where
>> did Seawrack come from? Wolfe does this all the time
>> with his characters.
>>
>> Furthermore, is it too complex to suggest that Babbie
>> attacked Seawrack because he recognized her as the
>> pirate girl Horn shot at? If he hit her in the arm, Babbie
>> would have known who it was, smelled blood, and torn
>> it off defending the boat. Her arm could have suffered
>> both injuries without messing up anything [this last is
>> in partial response to Sergei, whose perspective on
>> this scene baffles me though I understand his reaction
>> to Leeism]. A gunshot wound would explain why she
>> wanted to get on the boat.
> And later, Lee Berman wrote (not as a direct reply):
>
>> . . . Regarding Babbie's apparent guilt over Seawrack,
>> I dunno. It sounds familiar but I was reading ahead and
>> couldn't find where that is described. Seawrack is ini-
>> tially afraid of Babbie. But even if it was Babbie who re-
>> moved Seawrack's arm rather than Horn's shot, I don't
>> see how that changes things much. It still seems like-
>> ly that Seawrack was on the "pirate ship" which was
>> The Mother and had been following Horn's ship for a
>> while before taking permanent residence.
> Here's an alternative hypothesis that may explain all of the observed
> facts, and may have the additional benefit of shedding light on
> Seawrack's name:
>
> The pirate ship is just that:  a pirate ship.  (Whether the Mother may
> have any influence over its crew or the crew's actions is another
> question.)  Horn's shot kills or knocks overboard the girl pirate, who
> (or whose body) is then used by the Mother to create Seawrack, her
> agent.  The first time that Seawrack tries to climb on to Horn's
> sloop, Babbie attacks her (whether he recognizes her as the pirate
> girl isn't important to this idea) and severs her arm.  She returns to
> the sea, where the Mother repairs Seawrack to the extent of sealing
> the wound, and sends her back to Horn's sloop.
>
> Given Seawrack's name, I suspect that Horn's shot killed the pirate
> girl, but it's not, strictly speaking, necessary that it did.
>
> Best,
>
> Mark Millman

I think this is the simplest explanation so far. Of course it leaves the 
Naviscaput element high and dry, so to speak, but I won't miss it.

It explains Mother's motivations all along; it separates her from the 
pirates while identifying Seawrack with the pirate girl. Exactly what 
was needed.

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