requiem for a mermaid

Fernando Q. Gouvea · 23 Feb 2001, 17:43 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: "Fernando Q. Gouvea" <fqgouvea at colby.edu>
Subject: Re: (whorl) requiem for a mermaid
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 17:43:27
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0346 at digest.urth.net>
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I'm not really happy with any of the explanations so far as to why Seawrack
(and Nettle!) decide to return to the Whorl with Silk/Horn. At one point in
the book, "Horn" says that he knows how to contact the Mother and therefore
Seawrack, but that he would never do it while Nettle is alive. How does the
epiphany in Remora's house change this? If what happens is that Silk
realizes that he is Silk and not Horn, how does that free him to contact
Seawrack? Is Seawrack so totally in control of the Mother that *her* wishes
are not a factor? It doesn't seem so. So it seems a crucial question to ask
why Silk feels he can ask them to come and why Seawrack and Nettle decide
to go.=20

(Of course, one answer is that Wolfe just wanted to end the story, but that
explanation isn't much fun... so regardless of what Wolfe was thinking it
makes sense to look for an answer.)

Fernando

--=20

Fernando Q. Gouvea                     =20
Department of Mathematics          Editor, FOCUS and MAA Online
Colby College                      Mathematical Association of America
Waterville, ME 04901               http://www.maa.org
fqgouvea at colby.edu                     =20
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"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat
                -- Lewis Carroll

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