Thoughts on the ending of Peace

StoneOx17 · 07 Sep 2001, 10:43 · from urth-v0030.mbox · original

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From: StoneOx17 at AOL.COM
Subject: (urth) Thoughts on the ending of Peace
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 06:43:29 EDT
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Hi,

I've been lurking for a while, and I think it's time I contributed somethin=
g.
I have a theory about the ending of Peace that I'll be describing later in=20
this post, but before I get to it, I want to make a few related observation=
s=20
which should be less controversial.

First, Olivia is convinced that the egg is one of a pair, where hers shows=20
the=20
Resurrection, and the missing one shows the Ascension (page 76, Orb edition=
).=20
=20
This can be taken metaphorically, reflecting Weer's situation in the book: =
he=20
has achieved some sort of resurrection as a ghost, but has failed to attain=20
ascension. =20

Second (page 201) when Weer goes with Lois Arbuthnot to pick up Kate=20
Boyne's diary, he notices a memoir of a local missionary named Murchinson=20
(possibly the same one who brought back the egg) describing his mission to=20
Tartary.  It's ironic that the library chooses to buy the fake diary, while=20
ignoring the genuine memoirs.  As one might expect from Wolfe, the true=20
artifact is spiritual, while the false one, containing clues to buried=20
treasure, is worldly.

Now, we get to the first piece of key supporting evidence for my theory.  O=
n=20
pages 29 and 30, Weer writes "It is too late for it now, but it sometimes=20
seems=20
to me that we ought to have kept records, by the new generations, of our=20
remoteness from events of high significance.  When the last man to have see=
n=20
some occurrence or personality of importance died; and then when the last=20
person who know him died; and so on.  But first we would have the first man=20
describe this event, this thing that he had seen, and when each of them was=20
gone we would read the description publicly to see if it still meant anythi=
ng=20
to us - and if it did not, the series, the chain of linked lives, would be =
at=20
an end."

I think this describes the rules governing ghosts - I think Sherry Gold was=20
the last person remaining alive who knew Weer; and when she dies, Weer has=20
his (IMO, posthumous) stroke.  Later in the book, Weer gets progressively=20
sicker and sicker, as he becomes more and more generations removed from=20
the living.  Finally, we reach Dan French's story of the geese, which=20
parallels=20
Weer's own situation, as illustrated below.

One of the sidhe turns his children into a flock of geese, so that they mig=
ht=20
live forever; though the individual geese might die, the flock would remain=
. =20
However, he's not completely successful:

"In this way, in time, the flock ... dwindled until at last only a single=20
goose=20
remained."

    Only one person alive remembers Weer.

"And thinking these thoughts, she [the goose] flew over Ireland from=20
Inishtrahull to Ballinskelligs Bay, and from Galway Bay to Dun Laoghaire,=20
seeking for one having the second sight who might explain the thing to=20
her, but all such were long since gone from Ireland."

     Weer tries to keep his appointment with Dr. Van Ness, but the yellow=20
reminder is nailed to his desk.

"At last she came to the cottage of a hermit, and as he was the best she=20
could find, she alighted there and put her question to him."

     Weer can find only Dan French, who tells him the story of the geese. =20
But both the hermit and Dan give the best advice possible:

"'Little there is I can do for you,' the hermit said.  'Why did you suppose=20
your father, who could not save himself, could save you?  The time of the=20
sidhe is long past, and the time of geese is passing.  And in time, men,=20
too, will pass, as every man who lives long learns in his own body.  But=20
Jesus Christ saves all.'"

     And this should be Weer's  lesson ... that Jesus Christ saves all. =20
But does he learn it?  Besides the hope of salvation through Jesus,=20
there's another, secular, thread, that runs through the book: the false=20
hope of the Chinese pillow.  Weer speculates that he has passed out as=20
a child beside his chemistry set.  He asks whether, if he went up and=20
slept again in his old childhood room, the old days would come back,=20
and whether, if Hannah had slept at Sugar Creek Farm, "Would Sugar Creek=20
have flowed again?  Olivia tells the story of the Chinese philosopher's=20
headrest.  Again, Weer has a decision between a worldly choice, the false
hope of reliving his past, and a spiritual choice, of ascension through=20
Jesus Christ (although it's not clear he realizes that there is a=20
decision).  And again, it appears that he makes the wrong choice:

"It is time, I think, that I see the enchanted headrest of the Chinese=20
philospher looming behind me, and I wait its coming.  My aunt's voice=20
on the intercom says, 'Den, darling, are you awake in there?'"

And these words are, from Den's childhood, the signal for him to put out=20
the light and go to sleep, this time, it seems, forever.

John 5:25 "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when=20
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen=20
will live."

Peter Shor

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