Digest whorl.v011.n002

Alex David Groce · 01 Aug 2000, 08:46 · from whorl-v0011.mbox · original

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From: Alex David Groce <Alex_Groce at gs246.sp.cs.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v011.n002
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 08:46:42
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William said:

>alga,

>I think you are missing the point here. The writer of both OBW and=20
>IGJ is the same version of Horn, the one that has come back from _The=20
>Whorl_ looking a lot like Silk, however he got that way. But his=20
>narrative voice differs considerably, at least to me and Adam and=20
>Ian, from the first book to the second. So whatever happened to cause=20
>that change (if the change is real) had to happen between (or close=20
>to) the end of OBW and the beginning of IGJ.

I agree with this strongly.  In my opinion the change stems at least
partly from something (fairly) simple: Horn is no longer ruling a city
"as Silk."  Horn is freed to become something more like a holy man
precisely because he is no longer in the false position of officially
_being_ Silk.  Horn's reluctance to identify himself with a man he
sees as, unlike himself, good is key to his actually becoming a very
good man himself.  Another couple of things: (1) he's come very close
to death by the inhumi--Wolfe's characters always grow quite a bit
when they willingly face death and (2) I think he's much more at peace
now that he's without his concubines and is being faithful to Nettle
(and Seawrack!)

--
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
--
Alex David Groce (agroce+ at cs.cmu.edu)
Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University - Computer Science Department
8112 Wean Hall (412)-268-3066
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~agroce

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