Two Ships

Lisa Schaffer-Doggett · 14 Aug 2003, 05:11 · from urth-v0308.mbox · original

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From: Lisa Schaffer-Doggett <harlekin at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Two Ships
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 22:11:51 -0700
Message-ID: <urth-v0308-3891 at digest.urth.net>
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On Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 08:42 AM, James Jordan wrote:

>         I don't think your Whorl =3D OneShip hypothesis can stand close=20
> inspection, as Crush has pointed out. Thematically, however, there may=20
> be something Wolfe intended. The One Ship is related symbolically to=20
> the Church: seven sided, existing throughout all of time, moving=20
> between the heavens and the Briah-world. The Church-as-Ship is just=20
> WAY too common historically for us not to consider it, and Wolfe=20
> certainly positions the One Ship in such a way as to point to=20
> Church-symbolism.
>         But that brings up Typhon's ship as a counterfeit, of course,=20
> housing false pastiche religions that he established as a way to=20
> control the people inside of it. Given that this is indeed the case,=20
> Wolfe may have loaded Whorl with "counterfeit equivalents" to the=20
> features of the One Ship, for thematic reasons. This might be worth=20
> exploring, building on the parallels you have mooted.
>

Don agrees.  He finds this a most likely scenario, the Whorl as a=20
corruption of Tzadkiel's ship.  Or perhaps a lesser imitation since he=20
is suspicious of the "holiness" of the Hiero's.


On Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 08:04 AM, James Wynn wrote:

>
> The only way I can think to salvage this theory is to say that=20
> Severian's
> ship was *first* the Whorl, retrofitted over time to eventually become
> Severian's ship. In that case, the time-line problems disappear and=20
> all the
> problems in technology can be explained by the passage of time. This=20
> is a
> less elegant solution than you were looking for since it doesn't=20
> explain
> "the cargo". But IMO it resolves some nasty snarls.
>

Don doesn't think this is likely.  However, Silk did leave for the=20
Whorl at the end of RttW and it went on it's merry way to who knows=20
where.  Maybe it went to Yesod.  If Silk is Typhon redeemed then this=20
makes an interesting circle.  Hmmm.


--=20

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