Cyriaca

Jonathan Laidlow · 11 Aug 2000, 09:31 · from urth-v0029.mbox · original

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From: "Jonathan Laidlow" <LAIDLOJM at hhs.bham.ac.uk>
Subject: (urth) Cyriaca
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 09:31:15 GMT
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Hi Jim,

Thanks for a stimulating suggestion for rereading portions of=20
'Sword of the Lictor' again, specifically chapters 5-7, if anyone=20
needs the reference.

A few thoughts in addition to those already posted. Sadly they take=20
the form of questions, as I'm still puzzled myself:

What relevance does the context of the story have? Specifically -=20
Cyriaca is a fallen woman - a failed Pelerine (Roman Catholic nun=20
analogue?). Her eyes weren't right  - which is suggestive of either a=20
failure of vision (she could not 'see' the truth which a Pelerine must)=20
or that she saw too much, that she had knowledge, specifically the=20
worldly knowledge of sex. Certainly after leaving the Pelerines she=20
enters into the fallen world of Eve, and she is to be killed for her=20
promiscuity. She also seduces our hero, not that he complains. All=20
this suggests the fallen world of post-Edenic humanity, where=20
knowledge is the cause of the fall.

2. The archive is quite obviously, in one sense, a mythology of the=20
library of Nessus. Cyriaca suggests that it is in Nessus and that it=20
has a guardian. A library is a repository of knowledge, after all.

3. The story is also quite evocative of the story of Pandora's box=20
and the evil knowledge loosed on the world, although here the=20
knowledge is not absolute evil. Indeed, by giving up their=20
knowledge of base Earthly things the beings lose something. They=20
lose more when the knowledge is regained.

4. Why does Severian state that he knows 'more of it than you, but I=20
had never heard it before' (end chap 6) What is he referring to? The=20
obvious answer is the library of Master Ultan, but there are probably=20
more answers which the denizens of Urth can drag up. Anyone?

Jonathan

 --
Jonathan Laidlow
Editor, Ultan's Library
An electronic journal for the study of Gene Wolfe
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/ultan
email: J.M.Laidlow at bham.ac.uk

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