Love, Hyacinth, Valeria

At 02:17 PM 2/20/2003, you wrote: As for Silk, my memory of TBOTLS is not that good, as I said; but my

Or perhaps (and rather, I submit) the Hyacinth that Silk loves is her true self, which she does not herself see, and constantly abuses. And her misperceptions and self-degradations are, horribly, the result of the way men have used and abused her. Silk loves Hyacinth with "eros," but more with "agape," the love of principle that sees into the truth and does not flinch. Maybe it's just me, but I myself found the scene where the boy Severian meets Valeria to be quite charming. I felt Severian was smitten with her, at a childish level, and I was too. Okay, they're not old enough for romantic love, and Severian becomes bored with her after 10 years of marriage and can't wait to cheat on her. No agape here! My point is that, for me anyway, Wolfe is capable of presenting rather endearing and affectionate scenes when he wants so. He just doesn't very often want to. FWIW. Nutria

Nutria wrote: <<My point is that, for me anyway, Wolfe is capable of presenting rather endearing and affectionate scenes when he wants so. He just doesn't very often want to.>> I also thought many of the scenes with Severian and Dorcas were quite charming too -- true, she's his grandmother and he cheats on her to boot, but still, before you realize they're related it's quite romantic. - Shell

Silk did more than flinch--he nearly jumped, from the airship. I agree with Adam that the Hy Silk fell in love with--at their first meeting--didn't really exist. It didn't take Silk long to find that out, either, which is why he despaired on the airship, but by then it was too late. Let me review the facts. Less than 24 hours after Silk's "enlightenment", at which time he pledged heart and soul to the Outsider, he fell in love with a beautiful, naked, junkie whore. Hy neither said or did anything at their first meeting to inspire love. The most obvious thing she had going for her was her body, something any normal 23-year-old male could appreciate. The soiled sheets on her bed should have told him her worth as a human being. That she "came on" to him, a complete stranger, might have gladdened his gonads, but the Father Brown in him should have seen beyond that. But, along with her body, Hy possessed one other important quality--she was possessed by Kypris at the time of their meeting. This isn't speculation; Kypris said so when she appeared to Silk in the glass at Orchid's. Possession by the "love" goddess imbues the possessed with apparently irresistible qualities. This is the only excuse I can find for Silk falling so hard for so little, all within a matter of hours after his enlightenment. Days later, after finding and marrying Hy--which had nothing to do with the mission given him by the Outsider--when Hy was no longer possessed by Kypris, Silk realized he had lusted after her at the expense of his commitment. Without Kypris to add shine to Hy's natural luster, Silk began to see her for what she was, which wasn't much. The same thing happened to Auk. He fell in love with Chenille when she was possessed by Kypris, but when the goddess was gone Chenille wasn't as lovable. As with Moses's "sin" in the wilderness, Silk was tempted and failed his God; and, like Moses, he was punished by being denied the Promised Land. That's the real reason Silk didn't go on the lander. He stayed with Hy because he was man enough to live with the consequences of his own actions. And as soon as Hy was dead he was on his way to Blue, however convoluted the path the Outsider chose for him. -Roy