more on Wolfe females

maa32 · 10 Sep 2003, 06:03 · from urth-v0309.mbox · original

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From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Subject: (urth) more on Wolfe females
Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2003 23:03:03 -0700
Message-ID: <urth-v0309-4092 at digest.urth.net>
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Interestingly enough, I was just talking with my girlfriend the other day=20
about Wolfe's portrayal of women.  She says that Thecla influences how=20
Severian treats (and writes about!) Dorcas and Agia, casting Agia (who=20
Severian actually likes) as a villainous wench and Dorcas as little miss=20
perfect.  My girlfriend went on to say that the only good woman character t=
hat=20
Wolfe has written was Agia. She says girls really think like that, and that=20
Wolfe finally got the "shame" aspect of it right (re - breast hanging out i=
n=20
Botanic Gardens).  She said Thecla was too idealized, but I rationalized th=
at=20
away by claiming that Thecla IS the narrator and that the idealization is a=20
distorted self-image.

She doesn't like Mint, but thinks Chenille is OK.

Frankly, all this talk of Severian not being a good guy is disheartening. =20
He's ok.  He helps children with pustules on their faces and only hesitates=
 a=20
little bit when saving women from rabid animal-people, and then only becaus=
e=20
he has no reason to help the lady.  Another interesting thing is that Chris=
sy=20
(my girlfriend) claims that Severian's care for little Severian was exactly=20
Thecla's feelings for Big Severian coming through (or at least her maternal=20
instincts).  Chrissy also said that perhaps Severian's misogyny comes in la=
rge=20
part from Thecla herself, who is a jealous lover.  Severian is in control o=
f=20
his body, but he can't engage his emotions.  When he thinks that Dorcas and=20
Jolenta were lesbians, it is because his woman self is looking back at the=20
memory of coupling and categorizing them as homosexuals.

Also, it was my opinion that perhaps Severian's narrative insistence on=20
Vodalus as an influence on his life could have been "highlighted" and made=20
more important by Thecla-as-narrator.  She obviously had allegiance for=20
Vodalus, since she used all his buzzwords.

In any case, Chrissy claims that the only interesting relationship between=20
Severian and a woman is the one with Agia, and they don't even get it on.

While we are on the subject of unreliable narration, there is a scene in La=
ke=20
of the Long Sun where Gulo talks to Remora about meeting Silk, Chenille and=20
Auk in the arbor of the manteion when he first goes to spy on them.  His=20
version of the meeting is NOT like the real version 30 pages previously. He=20
says that Silk was talking about Gulo when Gulo himself came up, and there =
is=20
no indication that he says this to Chenille in the actual text. Is this mea=
nt=20
to cast doubt on the validity of the rest of the narrative?  What can we do=20
without external evidence?  Not too much, I think.

Oh well.  Enough for now.
Marc Aramini

--=20

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