the Epitome

maru · 07 Apr 2005, 15:20 · from 2005-April.txt.gz

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From: marudubshinki at gmail.com (maru)
Date: Thu Apr  7 15:20:13 2005
Subject: (urth) the Epitome
In-Reply-To: <BAY102-F21155AE42EA0C259929DA8863D0 at phx.gbl>
References: <BAY102-F21155AE42EA0C259929DA8863D0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4255B216.4070705 at gmail.com>

Chris wrote:

> Hold up a second. This interpretation of the Hierodules/Hierogrammates 
> is something that I find to be surprising, which is not to say it's 
> incorrect necessarily, but this was not how I was seeing things. This 
> may be a straightforward error on my part; I really ought to buy an 
> electronic copy of the books if one is available just to look up 
> things like this.
>
> I thought that what you are calling the creation of the Hierogrammates 
> was a "shaping", that is, the men of the previous universe influenced 
> their development rather than created them from whole cloth. And in 
> turn the Hierogrammates were influencing the humans of Severian's 
> universe to return the favor. Rather than being a great sin I thought 
> this was something that was supposed to elevate each in turn.
>
>> I don't know if my use of "H's" as shorthand for Hierogrammates is 
>> causing
>> confusion with Hieros, or what. Anyway, to be clear, the Hieros were the
>> humans of a previous universe who caused the eventual creation of the
>> Hierogrammates. That creation was their great sin; a sin certainly in 
>> the
>> eyes of the H's, but also, more importantly, in the eyes of the 
>> Increate.
>
>
>> Finally, if Wolfe didn't intend the destruction of Urth and the birth of
>> Ushas to be, in a religious sense, a good thing, why did he write it 
>> that
>> way? Why write it at all?
>>
>> -Roy
>
>
> Do authors intend every event they write about to be interpreted as a 
> good thing? Well, that's not quite what I mean. How about: does Wolfe 
> present it to us as a good thing, or is it *Severian* who presents it 
> to us as a good thing? Again I think this is a shortcut to avoid 
> rationally examining our reasons for thinking of the birth of Ushas to 
> be a good thing. Unquestioningly accepting the value judgments of the 
> narrator does not provide us with solid ground for an interpretation.

True; Severian the Lame is not an uninterested party- the New Sun 
elevates him to levels of importance that couldn't help but gratify
his ego, and he could simply be embarassed at having been a little duped 
into it (ref those earlier passages about how the assasin's
statements on the ship surprised him- did he really not realize what the 
New Sun would do to make Urth Ushas?), and further more
he could well be retreating into that classic Christian's 
apologia/defense of a God permitting or doing evil- 'Don't question 
God/higher being;
rather, have ''faith'' in their actions. All is for the best.'

~Maru

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