Sev's not-so-perfect memory

James Jordan · 15 Jul 2003, 00:09 · from urth-v0307.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at cox.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Sev's not-so-perfect memory
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:09:17 -0500
Message-ID: <urth-v0307-3678 at digest.urth.net>
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At 06:43 PM 7/14/2003, you wrote:
>Crush responds:
>
>>Since they are trivial, they can only be errors in memory (assuming
>>they aren't typos).
>
>They might also be errors in interpretation.  Perhaps Drotte and Roche=20
>both said it, but at
>one point it was more significant that one said it, and at another time=20
>the other.  Maybe
>Vodalus handed the pistol to Thea with his helper as an intermediary.=20
>After a while it starts
>to sound like Biblical exegesis.  Which may be the point.
>
>Tom

         Yes, this is like interpreting a particular part of the Bible that=20
is kind of relevant to the Severian narrative: the gospels. One can find=20
scores of "contradictions" in the four gospels that upon a brief inspection=20
turn out not to be contradictions. Did Jesus meet two blind men on the road=20
to Jericho (Matthew), or only one (Mark)? Resolution: He met two, but for=20
thematic reasons the legal "two witness" gospel of Matthew mentions two,=20
and the personalistic gospel of Mark only mentions one and names him. Was=20
Jesus leaving Jericho or entering it? Leaving the old Jewish city (Matthew=20
& Mark, more Jewish) and entering the newer Roman city (Luke, more Gentile=20
orientation). The gospels seem to give different accounts of who came to=20
the empty tomb on resurrection morning, but these can easily be put=20
together into a coherent narrative.
         Another example of this kind of question consists of the=20
differences between the books of Kings and the books of Chronicles, in the=20
Old Testament.
         Of course, some people object to these harmonizings and prefer to=20
believe in real errors or differences between the gospels. Fine. Wolfe,=20
however, is a conservative Catholic, and I've no doubt but he is a=20
harmonizer when it comes to the gospel accounts. And the question on the=20
table is what Wolfe is doing.
         Which is why I agree with Tom. Before assuming there are real=20
contradictions in Sev's book, we should consider whether some or even all=20
of them can be harmonized.
         I agree that Sev's repeated claims to perfect memory are=20
suspicious, and likely a self-deception. I'm just arguing that we want=20
fully clear-cut examples so we can begin to uncover precisely what Wolfe=20
may be getting at.

Nutria



--=20

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