Catherine's Crime

Mantis wrote: <While I don't for a minute suppose that the pelerines would have one of their own sent to the Matachin Tower for any crime, let alone something as mild as breaking a vow of virginity, still, you bring up an interesting point that has vexed essayists for years--what crime, real or suspected, would be serious enough to warrant Catherine's stay with the torturers?> Keep in mind that Severian has exultant features, and there are no exultants on Ouen's side, so the exultant features must come from Catherine's side. All the exultantesses are concubines of the Autarch, and are kept in the House Absolute under somewhat strict guard. If Catherine ran away, she could find safety in the Pelerines. Having become dissatisfied with the monials, she left, but was caught in Nessus after a tryst with Ouen. The Autarch of the time, whether it was Appian, or his predecessor (the one who closed the roads), had her tortured. Christopher R. Culver <crculver at aol.com> http://members.aol.com/crculver/index.html

Christopher R. Culver, But isn't the monial Catherine, uh, rather =short= for an exultant? I believe somewhere in the text it says that Thecla was Severian's adult height at the age of thirteen . . . and she kept growing, of course. =mantis=

Catherine ran away, and didn't take her medicine? SBear.