Baldanders' dream

Lee · 20 Aug 2014, 12:47 · from 2014-August.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee)
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 08:47:28 -0400
Subject: (urth) Baldanders' dream
Message-ID: <BLU175-W2280AAA84D8494FDF8208CFD20 at phx.gbl>

>Marc Aramini: but Baldanders has a dream, too - of caverns below 

>with stone teeth dripping blood - of arms dismembered found on 

>sanded paths and shaking chains in the dark, and attributes this 

>to Severian being next to him.

>Sounds like what sleeps in the mines at saltus waking up. Perhaps 

>Severian brings this thing to life, too

On first reading, the dream influence of Severian's past as a

torturer would seem to be the likely inspiration for Baldanders'

dream.

But given the futuristic nature of Severian's dream, Severian's 

future in the Saltus mine seems a more likely source. "Stone

teeth" seem very allusive to stalagmites and stalactites. The 

"chains" may symbolize the servitude of the man-apes and of course

Severian does quite a bit of arm dismemberment in his time there.

I think the gigantic presence beneath the mine has not been given 

its due attention. Most thoughts regarding the alien megatherian

presence on Urth rightfully involve the water, given the focus on

the giant eel-like Abaia and his aquatic undine daughter-brides,

corroborated with "Great Scylla" in RttW.

But there is much cave imagery present in Urth's mythology also.

There is the Ouroboros story in which people are ingested, mistaking

its mouth for a cave. There is the mention of Jurupari, a monster 

with a cave-like mouth for its victims. Fomalhaut,  the "mouth of

the fish" is mentioned (by the Cumaean). Then there is the cave of 

the Cumaean, herself.

This cave hearkens to the cave dwelling of the Roman Cumaean Sibyl

while the snake-like nature of The Cumaean ties her to the Pythian

Oracle at Delphi. Snakes and cave-dwelling also hearken back to the

"Mother of All Monsters", Typhon's wife, Echidna.

Though "Echidna" is not mentioned by name in BotNS, it would seem

Wolfe thought "snake" and "cave dwelling" would be enough clues to

tie the character of The Cumaean to the wife of Typhon. Since few

got the reference, Wolfe made sure the name Echidna was front and 

center in Long Sun.

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