5HC

Gerry Quinn · 25 Aug 2014, 13:27 · from 2014-August.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:27:05 +0100
Subject: (urth) 5HC
In-Reply-To: <BLU175-W145761B61B1BAFD4442E1ECFDF0 at phx.gbl>
References: <BLU175-W145761B61B1BAFD4442E1ECFDF0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <53FB39A9.8070906 at bindweed.com>

On 25/08/2014 13:30, Lee wrote:
>> Gerry Quinn: my interpretation, which comes from the timeline clearly given during Marsch's interrogation.
> Since I consider Number Five to be a much more reliable narrator than 
> VRT, I tend to base my understanding of what happens more on the first 
> section of the novel than the final section. But I will check out 
> VRT's timeline for signs I am mistaken about Marsch's arrival. 

There's no contradiction between the two.  The first section indicates 
that the best part of a year passed between Marsch's first visit and the 
murder of No. 5's father.  In the third section it is indicated that 
Marsch has been on Sainte Croix for over a year.

>> Text that is plainly written by the boy (we arre practically told so in
>> so many words when Wolfe tells us of the officer looking at the text,
>> comparing it with Victor's school composition book, and nodding), who
>> had a clear reason to write it.
> Your interpretation of the "nodding" is just that- your interpretation.
> Marsch himself ostensibly explains the change in his handwriting as being
> due to a cat bite. He explicitly explains that the handwriting change
> lasts long after the bite has healed, and appears to be permanent.
>
He does not explain how his writing became similar to that of the boy 
who supposedly died.

Nor does the above explain 'Marsch's' ruminations in his cell about his 
abo mother, and the hard time he had learning to write as a schoolboy.

> Where does one draw the line on what is plausible? My point is and has always
> been that the placement of that line is arbitrary and individualized. Each
> person draws that line where it feels most comfortable to them.

I would propose the following criterion: a plausible theory is one in 
which no character - at least if they are sane enough to function to 
some degree in human society - is delusional regarding concrete matters.

Characters are permitted to speak figuratively, to dream, and to lie 
with reason; and text relating to such sources need not and should not 
be interpreted as embodying literal truths about events and characters 
in the story.

  - Gerry Quinn

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