FTP Pig; Clute's Review; Not Boredom

Alex David Groce · 22 Feb 2001, 17:59 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: Alex David Groce <Alex_Groce at gs246.sp.cs.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: (whorl) FTP Pig; Clute's Review; Not Boredom
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 17:59:34
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Nutria said:

> Well, I'm happier with such a view. The thought that Horn's last
> words are "I should not have come back", followed by his departure
> from this world, makes the trilogy into a real tragedy. Also, I
> don't understand why Silk, who has never met Seawrack, would want
> her along on the way to the Whorl (unless all these extended
> speculations about Hyacinth, Kypris, etc. are valid -- but I'm a bit
> dubious about them).

in response to vizchaza:

>I don't think this plus "deeply appreciates" is enough to declare Horn dea=
d.
>Horn is dead in exactly the sense that Thecla, the old Autarch, and Pas
>himself are dead: they exist as remnant identities in another medium. Horn
>indeed bids us farewell at the end of RttW, but so does Silk.

I agree, but not completely.  Severian contains multitudes, but I at
least don't think that we can say "Severian is Thecla" in quite the
same sense we can say "Severian is Severian."  And certainly the more
ancient personalities within him are less essential to the Severian
who writes BOTNS than Severian or Thecla.

I think that until Remora's "exorcism," we have a situation analogous
to Severian going through the rest of CLAW, SWORD, and CITADEL after
the feast with Vodalus saying "I am Thecla.  I am not Severian."  The
first sentence is true, but far from completely true, and the second
sentence is false.  Mind you, I think that though Severian is Thecla,
it is also legitimate to say that Thecla is _dead_.  The Thecla in
Severian is (like the Horn in Silk) both something more and something
less than a ghost.  Horn is dead, though something of him lives on in
the man he died seeking.  Horn can properly fall into the role of a
Theclaish presence once Silk is willing to acknowledge his own
identity.

--
"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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