RTTW questions

Pat O'Leary · 08 Feb 2001, 16:08 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: "Pat O'Leary" <poleary at cecom.com>
Subject: (whorl) RTTW questions
Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 16:08:24
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0156 at digest.urth.net>
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Fascinating stuff, buds.

Some questions that continue to puzzle me...and some comments...

1. Why was the farmer who gave Silk/horn the seed so fearful/hostile/violen=
t toward him?

2. Was the sacrifice of animals instead of people begun when Pas realized h=
is renegade children were
hiding in them?
I felt this was hinted at somewhere in RTTW--very subtly.

3. Why does Maytera Marble say, "Oh Scylla!" when she gets her new eye and =
sight back?

4. Aren't each of the letters that open each volume lies?

OBW: An Inhumi trap. Something like "Come to Offworld where a land of golde=
n opportunity awaits!"
IGJ:  Inclito's (Or is it Silk/horn's) misinformation about his war capabil=
ities. To induce the Duko to
underestimate their forces, or to inspire an allegiance from one of the wav=
ering towns?
RTTW: Silk/Horn impersonating a comatose Jahlee (in order to gain physical =
proximity for a dream
journey that will save her).

That's sort of how I read them. If this is the case then each letter is a f=
ormal overture of the
central narrative method: Impersonation. One person telling another's story=
. And the overreaching irony
is that the narrator is not who he appears to be. Is unknown even to himsel=
f.

By the way--at the risk of being obvious--Was not this the most amazing nov=
el?

Patrick O'Leary

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