narrative errors and time displacement

maa32 · 16 Jul 2003, 04:39 · from urth-v0307.mbox · original

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From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Subject: (urth) narrative errors and time displacement
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 21:39:21 -0700
Message-ID: <urth-v0307-3687 at digest.urth.net>
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Andrew points out that Triskele must have been around for more than a week =
if=20
the time between Dorp and Silk's two visits are contiguous in time.  Of cou=
rse=20
you know my position: this isn't an error at all, but further proof that Si=
lk=20
can travel through time (I also argue that him showing up in Inclito's moth=
er=20
story with Oreb is another example of this time travel, but that's neither=20
here nor there right now)

Everyone seems to have latched onto these small errors in memory, and I agr=
ee=20
that it makes sense if Severian is trying to reconcile multiple memories=20
(after all, the only reason I can think of that he spares Agia is because h=
e=20
already knows that she will save him from Vodalus) from interference in his=20
time line.  However, these "errors" are as nothing compared to some of the=20
most famous works of all time: in Anna Karenina, the text follows two=20
different couples - for one couple, one less year passes than for the other=20
couple during their period of separation, so that in a true master stroke o=
f=20
relativity Tolstoy omitted a year.  Dostoevsky is famous for having changin=
g=20
buildings: was that two stories or four in the police station?  Proust has=20
THREE major characters die and then show up at the same party that confront=
s=20
their death (of course, the party lasts for hundreds of pages ... ), includ=
ing=20
the influential Bergotte and the very important Dr. Cottard.  Did he forget=20
that he killed these major characters off?  No author is perfect; my only=20
problem with these errors in Book of the New Sun is that they are not=20
egregious enough by themselves to point to anything.  If characters were dy=
ing=20
and coming back to life like in Proust, there would certainly be more to wo=
rk=20
with ... And isn't Gravity's Rainbow is one huge seething mess of mutually=20
exclusive events, but that's because Pynchon must have been stoned out of h=
is=20
mind when he wrote it ... and a bit of an ass, eh? (And do I really need to=20
read a 900 page book to tell me that everything is relative and that I can'=
t=20
trust what I hear?  Thanks, but no thanks!)

Marc Aramini

--=20

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