Typhon uber alles and the fleshing of the hero

Lisa Schaffer-Doggett · 16 Aug 2003, 03:12 · from urth-v0308.mbox · original

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From: Lisa Schaffer-Doggett <harlekin at earthlink.net>
Subject: (urth) Typhon uber alles and the fleshing of the hero
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:12:18 -0700
Message-ID: <urth-v0308-3909 at digest.urth.net>
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Hi everyone,

Andrew's post whipped me back to something that has been on my mind for=20
a while:  Typhon's nature.  It is pretty well established I think that=20
he is not a product of natural childbirth.  He is, to get straight to=20
the point, the Nazi dreamboy, the ubermensch.  Blond (blue eyed?)=20
genetically perfect, brilliant, and desirous of bringing Urth back to=20
the good old days of empire.  Ruling from South America no less. =20
Typhon is a fascist, the ultimate fascist.  I think his story is told=20
in The Tale of the Student and His Son.   A hero, created from "dreams"=20
to defeat Abaia (the Naviscaput).  He defeats this monster by allying=20
with its daughter (Scylla?) and returns home most likely to rule (like=20
Theseus who by the way is one of Graves' seasonal sacred kings).  This=20
reading of the text satisfies me in two ways.  It gives me ground for=20
the nagging instinctive feeling I've always had that Abaia does not=20
exist (either through extinction or through the fact that he is really=20
Scylla) and it also fleshes out Typhon as a creation for a good purpose=20
gone bad.  It explains Cilinia's connection to Scylla, and (for me at=20
least) it helps explain Severian's connection to the sea creatures (for=20
those who don't know, I think  Sev is Typhon's genetic son).

But even if no one buys my readings of the Wonders of Urth and Sky, it=20
is still hard to avoid Typhon's parallels to the fascist ideal, and=20
this goes a long way toward explaining why the Whorl is so out of sync=20
with Urth culture.  No mutant animals, no Aliens (he'd be furious about=20
the inhumi I think), the Chems (don't they have a symbolic tie to=20
Judaism?) are little more than slaves and aren't supposed to leave the=20
Whorl when colonization begins.  A throwback to a better time with him=20
(as Silk, I think, but Pas would work, I suppose) ruling over it all.

Comments are welcome,

Don

--=20

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