silk, the dancing toy, gods in the tunnels

Gerry Quinn · 27 Aug 2013, 15:18 · from 2013-August.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:18:13 +0100
Subject: (urth) silk, the dancing toy, gods in the tunnels
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	<9BC7C1E2-BE2C-44C5-88F7-A62EF0A865DA at yahoo.com>
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From: Marc Aramini

> One of the oddest moments in New Sun comes when Severian
> reflects on how the language he uses is perspicuous, with one
> word having only one meaning, when the wording of every
> statement in new sun is ambiguous. "he was the smallest of
> those dead" - this is another example of the literal interpretation
> being the "right" one even though it doesn't fit the context.
> Grammatically it says Triskele (a three legged tripod used in
> worship of a sun god) is dead.  Everything is heliocentric in
>  the metaphors of new sun- the coast rises to meet the sun,
> etc. We know it can't be literally true because Triskele is
> alive, but the literal, coded message is that the Claw is not
> the actual source of healing. Does that make Severian and
>  his dog ciphers?

I don't really get this.  "He was the smallest of those dead" could mean he 
was dead, or it could mean he was the smallest of those left for dead by the 
residents of the Bear Tower, even if he was not literally dead.

Maybe he wasn't quite dead, or maybe he was dead and was raised by Severian. 
The Claw was never the source of healing, even though Severian thought it 
was for a time.

Either way, there's a difference between the story being told by way of the 
characters (which is fine), and the characters internal lives existing only 
as vehicles for the telling (which is not).

- Gerry Quinn

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