Quetzal On Urth? (allegory?)

James Jordan · 27 Nov 2002, 17:36 · from urth-v0211.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at cox.net>
Subject: RE: (urth) Quetzal On Urth? (allegory?)
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:36:03 -0600
Message-ID: <urth-v0211-2280 at digest.urth.net>
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At 10:55 AM 11/27/2002, you wrote:
>Allegory, typology, or symbolism? Let me explain...
>
>Charles said:
>Well, I don't see it that way, though I'll grant that this is a matter
>of interpretation.  Quetzal identifies himself with the cobra in the
>sense that he's trying to lure A-man and Wo-man from the garden (the
>Whorl) up into his tree (Green) by doing everything possible to carry
>out the Plan of Pas.  My interpretation differs from yours in that you
>see Urth, rather than the Whorl, as "the garden."  Each interpretation's
>validity depends on the point of view.  Yours is valid if Quetzal was on
>Urth, which I do not believe him to have been.
>
>Crush responds:
>I'm afraid I don't agree that your interpretation is feasible. Quetzal says
>that the cobra lured A-man and Wo-man into his tree, BUT (at the time of
>LS3:1) they *had not yet climbed down*. This means that the cobra had
>*already* lured them into his tree. The next part of the story was when th=
ey
>climbed down. Now Quetzal is engaging in allegory here, but I don't consid=
er
>it very difficult to understand: Since A-man and Wo-man have already climb=
ed
>the "tree", the "tree" is the Whorl which took them off the Urth. Since
>A-man and Wo-man have yet to "climb down," then "climbing down" is
>disembarking to Green. If I could accept your interpretation, it would make
>many things easier, but, alas, the interpretation does not follow the
>allegory.

Nutria rejoinds:
         Makes sense, but I don't think its the only way to read it. You're=20
right I think that serpents are all over these books, and deliberately so.=20
But surely Scylla is a serpent also? The title of the chapter is "The=20
Slaves of Scylla." Is that what Quetzal is? In that case, going with your=20
allegory, it was Scylla who helped or had Typhon build the whorl. It is=20
Scylla's tree. In the chapter, Quetzal's own tree is of recent planting.
         I'm thinking that the notion that that the inhumi are slaves of=20
Scylla may open some new avenues of investigation....
         Try this: Scylla wanted the Whorl to deposit its people on Blue,=20
where she ruled. Quetzal has his own plan, to get them to his own tree:=20
Green. On Blue, inhumi are slaves of Scylla, like everyone else. A return=20
to Green, to Quetzal's tree, is "the highroad to freedom." Freedom from=20
what? From being a slave of Scylla?
         I'm just playing with possibilities here.

Nutria


--=20

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