urth-urth.net Digest, Vol 6, Issue 13

James Wynn · 09 Feb 2005, 08:21 · from 2005-February.txt.gz

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From: thewynns at earthlink.net (James Wynn)
Date: Wed Feb  9 08:21:59 2005
Subject: (urth) RE: urth-urth.net Digest, Vol 6, Issue 13
References: <BAY102-F9E809BFF9257FDCCAE04AB9750 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <004b01c50ec3$791a8580$4c1e4b0a at vcorp.ad.vrsn.com>

>>I assume you are talking about Valfather appearing as "a bright shadow"?
>>Very Platonic. Perhaps it is a Scholastic view of the gods?
>
>Yeah, that's what I was thinking.  But how does the Lothar/Loki fit into
>that?  Maybe as an expression of the One's (more Neoplatonic than Platonic
>here; oh well) more playful (thus apparently capricious) side?

Well, I don't think we ever saw Lothur. Who knows what he would have looked
like to Able? Lothur's origin in Wolfe's world is as confused as it is in
Norse mythology. In THE WIZARD is called Valfather's youngest son, but some
say he was among those who came from Skai.  In Norse mythology Loki also
sometimes seems to be Odin by another name or an even a much older god.

In THE WIZARD universe, there is evil because TMHG wants them to be
different from himself, and for that to be, they must be wrong in someway.
Perhaps Lothur is just *more* different than the other Overcyn.

I think Lothur's mysteriousness in THE WIZARD probably reflects Wolfe's own
ambivalence regarding his nature and the ultimate value of myth. I mean,
just because Wolfe believes the pagan gods were "real", doesn't mean he
accepts the stories about them as objectively true.

~ Crush

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