Seawrack

Fred Kiesche · 25 Nov 2013, 18:51 · from 2013-November.txt.gz

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From: godelescherbach at gmail.com (Fred Kiesche)
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 13:51:56 -0500
Subject: (urth) Seawrack
In-Reply-To: <CAJ8=rth_V6cLBxfXJtZz9q4POrzewJerZ+6-wDy13G6AqVAVAw at mail.gmail.com>
References: <BLU175-W292227DEB9FBCC7341E508CFE00 at phx.gbl>
	<52934D00.7020907 at verizon.net>
	<CAJ8=rth_V6cLBxfXJtZz9q4POrzewJerZ+6-wDy13G6AqVAVAw at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAC1m3Sf+qoH+H97WRyqfbPTiG1Fmd8CzYrZV4B0GjxiZuAk9vg at mail.gmail.com>

No, he's Spartacus!

//beat//

No, I'm Spartacus!


On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 11:37 AM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <danldo at gmail.com>wrote:

> Silk isn't Jesus, he's Moses.
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 5:13 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net>wrote:
>
>>  Any chance she is a projection of Hyacinth/Kypris? She couldn't possibly
>> have her own personality. Something suppresses the memories of eating dead
>> sailors and allows her to communicate with Horn.
>>
>> On another note, Silk's relationship with Hy parallels the nontraditional
>> theories of Jesus' being married to Mary Magdalene? Does that lead us
>> anywhere, theologically or otherwise?
>>
>> And speaking of Mary, it has been noted by mythicists that if you added
>> up all the Marys in the life of Jesus you'd have about a dozen---all the
>> women are named Mary. This reminds me of St. Catherine and her maids, of
>> course. Same question as above.
>>
>> Speaking of Mary part 2: "The meaning [of the name Mary] is not known for
>> certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness",
>> "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely
>> originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from *mry*"beloved" or
>> *mr* "love"."
>>
>> (Will Dan Brown's next novel assert that Mary was cloned? And why
>> not---she was perfect enough to be chosen as Jesus' mother!)
>>
>>
>> On 11/22/2013 11:14 AM, Lee wrote:
>>
>>  Darrell Burgan: The more I think about it, the more confused I
>> Darrell Burgan: the more I think about it, the more confused I am about the role
>> of Seawrack in the Short Sun novels. She is clearly an important character in OBW,
>> but there is little information about her origin, or even how she is involved in the
>> many great arcs of the story.
>>
>>  Regarding her origin, I think there are two conflicting stories presented.
>> One is that she is a human girl who happened to fall into the water and was
>> taken under the wing (so to speak) of the monstrous Mother who nurtured her
>> and mutated her into a sea being.
>>
>> I think that story is a lie and a deliberate deception to make her more
>> acceptable and appealing to Horn. I think her true origin can be found
>> between the lines.
>>
>> Seawrack is a female figure who was budded off from the larger mass of
>> the giant undersea monster/god called The Mother. This is in parallel to
>> the female buds we see on the back of Great Scylla in RttW. And probably
>> also in parallel to the production of undines by Abaia on Urth.
>>
>> Abaia is conflated with a boat armed with cannon in BotNS and I think the same
>> thing happens when Horn encounters the all-black pirate ship with its
>> female crew. Seawrack loses her arm when Horn shoots and hits the most
>> prominent female on that boat. I think that "pirate ship" was The Mother.
>>
>> In mythology, Echidna is the "mother of all monsters" (Typhon is the "father"
>> but that's a different thread). By some accounts, Echidna is the mother of
>> the sirens (beautiful but monsters nonetheless). Two of the Whorl goddesses
>> have the names of sirens, Molpe and Thelxiepeia. On Blue, the Mother's genesis
>> of the siren Seawrack (not her real name) establishes her connection to Echidna
>> for me.
>>
>>
>>  I can't escape the feeling that understanding her is somehow key to
>> understanding the Short Sun epic.
>>
>>  Seawrack is a big part of OBW. In the next two books, she is there, but mostly
>> just as a presence, a memory, a longing. A song that continues to sing in Horn's
>> mind.
>>
>> I find the explanation of her importance to be autobiographical in nature. Just
>> as I get the sense that Horn's relationship with Nettle and his children (natural
>> and inhumi) is meant to reflect something of Wolfe's feelings for his own family,
>> I think Seawrack serves a similar purpose. What more can be said? Isn't there
>> someone in your life who was a "Seawrack"? Someone who is still provoking a sense
>> of wistful longing?
>>
>> Here is Gene Wolfe's response when asked about Seawrack by an interviewer from
>> Christian Fandom:
>>
>>
>>  DJB: What's going on with Seawrack in On Blue's Waters? She almost seems like a rape
>> victim. What does her character's reactions signify?
>>
>>   GW: If you can't understand Seawrack, I can't make you understand her.
>>
>>  http://www.christian-fandom.org/oli-gw.html 		 	   		
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>
>
>
> --
> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
>
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>



-- 
F.P. Kiesche III

Husband, Father, Good Cook. Reader. Keeper of abandoned dogs. Catholic
Liberal Conservative Militarist. Does not fit into a neat box or category.
"Ah Mr. Gibbon, another damned, fat, square book. Always, scribble,
scribble, scribble, eh?" (The Duke of Gloucester, on being presented with
Volume 2 of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.) Blogging at Bernal
Alpha. On Twitter as @FredKiesche
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