Urth Net
the points of it all
↰ answers Daniel Fusch
· by quotation
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Well, argued, Cliff.
Thanks!
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But I disagree.
Oh, drat. :)
3 quoted lines · 1–2 deep
(snip)
"I have always thought that this story illustrates the fact that there is not always a happy ending, and in many cases, no 'ending' at all."
Well, if this is the case, then why does this mini-story end with Severian's promise to Foila that he will record, remember, and tell the four stories? By doing this, he ensures that Foila and the rest will live on--will have immortality, via the stories. They will be remembered, even if only in the sense that their stories are remembered. This is Literature in a nutshell--the stories are to be preserved and retold. And because of this, Foila's death is not a complete end. The storyteller has achieved immortality through her story.
I see your point, and I think our ideas can co-exist. Yes, Sev promises to record the stories (and we are reading them, so he came through on his promise). But I'm not sure his promise was anything but a reaction to the area being decimated and everyone waiting for his judgment being killed. If they had lived, I think he would have judged (nice little sub-thread maybe - who would he have chosen?). What strikes me is that they were all so caught up in the storytelling, the consequences of the judgment to come - they had alot invested in the whole thing - And it didn't truly matter due to the attack. I think it shows us that nothing we care about, love, hate, etc. can stop fate or chance (whichever way you prefer to look at it). Things can irreprerably change or prevent an outcome - what's the phrase... coitus interruptus? I could be struck dead by a meteor while typing this, just as they were struck dead before the conclusion of the contest. The cosmos just doesn't care.
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So I still argue that the point here has to do with storytelling.
I might add that, while I agree, it's hard to argue against that because the entire series IS storytelling, by Wolfe through Sev to us. I can't think of a time when one could say it's NOT storytelling.
2 quoted lines · depth 2
(snip)
"This, to me, is the ultra-refined meaning of
the Urth Books. The Grand Unification Theory, if you will."
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...After all, storytelling is the human attempt to define life and invest life with meaning. If we can never fully grasp life, it is because we can never fully tell our stories. Modernism is an exploration of this concept (here comes The Sound and the Fury again!).
... and like in the film Rashomon there are many versions of the truth. I agree, but could insert that a story with no end is still a story, and "the end" is that it has no "end". Brain... hurt... :)
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If you like, the four stories represent four perspectives on life. No story is judged above the others because all four are valid, worthwhile, useful, and beautiful perspectives.
Well, I could say no stories are judged because the contestants were all killed, and the contest rendered moot. I can't imagine Sev not judging the contest, had they lived. He's an executioner - very used to making decisions and not getting emotionally invested in the consequences of his judgments. I think he would have judged, if the attack had not occured.
Cliff