interview clipping on Free Live Free

Michael Straight · 20 Apr 2001, 11:13 · from urth-v0030.mbox · original

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From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: (urth) interview clipping on Free Live Free
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 11:13:28
Message-ID: <urth-v0030-0326 at digest.urth.net>
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On Fri, 20 Apr 2001, maa32 wrote:

> GW: Envy, envy I think is Stubbs. And I wasn't trying to write allegory. =
I=20
> wasn't saying he was a personification of envy. I wanted to show men and =
women=20
> who were actually beset by these sins. "
>=20
> I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but once again we need to consider the=20
> position of authorial intent: fallacy or definitively influential in=20
> interpretation?

I think that bit about personification is important.  In real life, Envy
and Pride and Lust and Avarice are often all interrelated, so any attempt
to create a character beset by Envy is likely to involve the others as
well.

So it's possible Wolfe was thinking of Envy for Stubb and Pride for
Serpentina, but that he ended up writing scenes where we see more of
Serpentina's Avarice (or whatever you call her desire for Free's power) =20
and Stubb's Pride.

If you look at what the characters learn from their temptation scene,
Serpentina is tempted with the offer of power, but she ends up humbled and
gives that speech about how little humans deserve more power or longer
life, thus it corrects her Pride.  But I have a harder time seeing the
Envy in Stubb's temptation.

-Rostrum

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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