Baldanders' dream

Lee · 22 Aug 2014, 14:55 · from 2014-August.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 10:55:47 -0400
Subject: (urth) Baldanders' dream
Message-ID: <BLU175-W2893DBF7CDD85701A6FD0CFD00 at phx.gbl>

the Cumaean>> is the leader of the Witches in BotNS.

Jeffrey Wilson: Is she? She's considered a witch, and Merryn is 

at her disposal in the Stone Town, but that's not the same.

IIRC, the only other time we see witches is in Severian's boyhood 

memory of going to the Witches' Tower. There he finds The Cumaean

and Merryn only. Perhaps there are only two witches? Given the

information we are provided, including Merryn's deference, I feel

justified in calling The Cumaean the leader of the witches. I guess

it involves a leap of assumption but it seems a small one to me.

>Gerry Quinn: Note the plural in "characters".  It seems to bear out 

>what I said; snakes and caves do not uniquely identify a character.

It is a human bias to assume that "identity" is uniquely identifiable.

But, as characters like Tzadkiel illustrate, other sorts of beings may

not be locked into a single body, shape or identity.

Looking to mythology and the Bible and other sources from which Wolfe

draws inspiration, we can see that Greco-Roman gods, Judeo-Christian

angels and other non-human beings can assume a plural identity, able

to change their size, shape, species and even to appear in multiple 

places at once.

The Cumaean is not a human being. Given Wolfe's mythological/Biblical

inspiration, I think she follows the Tzadkielian plural identify pattern 

and she shares an identity with other snakey, cavey Sun Series characters 

such as Echidna and perhaps certain extremely large, false god-like 

creatures on Urth (and Blue).

Tzadkiel is an angel who resides in "heaven". But some angels have fallen

to Earth and Urth (making them "demons").

>As for personality characteristics, I mean things like the Cumaean's 
>interest in witchcraft and archeology, and Echidna's rather prudish 
>interest in the virginity of the priesthood, and her killing of Pas to 
>preserve her rule over the Whorl.  They don't seem at all like the same 
>person.

I don't see why witchcraft and archaeology exclude prudery and power-

hunger in a personality.

I see wolfe asking his readers to answer certain progressively more difficult

questions. Who was "Pas" on Urth? Easy answer- Typhon.  Who was Scylla on Urth?

A little tougher- Great Scylla? Cilinia? both?  Who was Echidna? The snakey

Cumaean perhaps?  Who were Molpe and Thelxiepeia on Urth? Given the mermaid/

siren connection, perhaps they were Undines? Who was Phaea on Urth? No evidence

for any character I am aware of. (Hethor's slug maybe?)

But if someone DOES have some ideas on other Urth characters who translate to 

Whorl gods I'd be interested!

>It would take a lot more in the way of 'clues' to convince me that two 
>seemingly unrelated characters, who never appear in the same series of 
>books, are one and the same.

Yes, of course. You should not have the false impression that I am trying to 

"convince" you of anything. I certainly hope you are not trying to "convince" 

me of anything. We each have our own views about Gene Wolfe's work and this is 

the place we can all share them.

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