The Ending; Some Spoilers for _Engine Summer_

matthew.malthouse · 18 Apr 2001, 13:25 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk
Subject: Re: (whorl) The Ending; Some Spoilers for _Engine Summer_
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 14:25:17 +0100
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On 12/04/2001 19:10:05 David Lebling wrote:

>> From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net>
>> [Re: Merryn] But we did, I think.  Jahlee says she doesn't know who the
>boy [Severian]
>> is, and Merryn says "'He's my brother.  We're brothers and sisters, we
>> witches and the torturers.'" (267)  There's a bit of ambiguity here, as
>her
>> words could be interpreted as meaning only that all torturers are
>"brothers"
>> to all witches; but if that's what she means, her answer is rather
>> unhelpful.
>
>Wolfe is kind enough to preserve some ambiguity here. The obvious reading =
is
>that their guilds are brother and sister guilds. You may read it otherwise
>if you choose, but don't think Wolfe is going to open his kimono on this
>issue at this late date. He's fluttering his fan at you here.

Another 'I can't quite remember' I'm afraid but is it not said early on tha=
t the
boy children of condemned prisoners who could stand under a certain bar were
taken into the torturers guid and the girl children given to the witches? T=
he
ambiguity remains but with the possibility that Merryn and Sev could be
biological brother and sister although if so they should not be aware of it.

Matthew - catching up, being 1/2 way through RttW

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