(no subject)

Lee Berman · 26 Nov 2012, 13:39 · from 2012-November.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:39:16 -0500
Subject: (urth) (no subject)
Message-ID: <SNT123-W49E36B5A0E7C6FF7472E4ACF5F0 at phx.gbl>

>Jeff Wilson: And the secret is only that we torturers obey.

>the badger: For some reason I want to believe that there's something else, something esoteric ...

I agree with badger that this is too broad and simplistic. I agree with Jeff that this is, in
some fashion, "the secret" that Master Gurloes imparted but there is more to it that we are supposed
to derive.

When talking to Dorcas, Severian provides an elaborate, well-thought out justification for why his job
as torturer is necessary. Yet when given Autarchial powers, one of Severian's first acts is to abolish
the guild.

M. Andre-Druissi has provided an nice framework for showing how BotNS tracks Gene Wolfe's life up to that
point, including his military service in Korea. I wonder if the "secret" of the torturers might relate to
something personal that happened to Gene Wolfe; perhaps something he was ordered to do as a soldier. 

(this is in keeping with my interpretive notion that BotNS is written at numerous levels- fictional/
narrative, mytho-religious, socio-political and autobiographical. So when a gap appears at the narrative
level, the answer may be found by extrapolation at one or more of the other levels)

I think this torturer guild secret is in direct parallel with the secret of the Inhumi. There also, we are
told of a secret which will not be revealed. Later we apparently are told the secret but it seems so vague 
and general it seems there must be more to it.

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