From: Craig Christensen <2644@mn3.lawson.lawson.com>
Subject: (urth) The jeweled Claw, the Story of the Black
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 12:37:00 

While reading through the archives I came across this February 1998 post   
from Christopher Culver

>In _Shadow_, chapter XXXV, there is the tale of the woman who brings   
black
>beans from the stars. This woman threatens to cast them into the sea   
unless
>she were obeyed. The lords of the time "a hundred times more complete in
>their dominion than [the] Autarch...had her seized and torn to bits."
>This story seems, in my opinion, to show the planting of the black hole   
in
>the Old Sun. I think that the sea mentioned is not Ocean but rather
>Oroborus(sp?), which is outer space. The lords, I think, are the   
monarchs, >because they were more powerful and had a larger empire than   
those of the
>autarchy. Thus, the black hole was put into the sun because of the   
tyranny of
>the monarchs.
>Who is this woman? The idea expressed by some on the list is that the
>Conciliator/New-Sun-himself put the black hole into the sun. But, if   
this
>story were true, it was not he, but rather a woman. Could it be   
Tzadkiel?
>After all, she is one of great power who could do such a thing, and is   
of
>higher authority than men. But, I am not sure that she could be ripped   
apart.

This thought made brought to mind Severian's encounter with the small   
version of Tzadkiel in Urth, chapter XL, "The Brook Beyond Briah."   She   
indicates that she is a fragment of the original Tzadkiel when she says,   
"...I'm a part of myself that was banished long ago, long before the   
first time you met me."  Can anyone tell me what she was banished for?

On another subject, is the thorn that Severian gave to the chiliarch in   
Urth, chapter XXXIX, "The Claw of the Conciliator Again" the Claw that   
Agia robbed from the Pelerines?  If so, when did it become encased in   
gem-stone?

And if I may ask one more question today, who is the woman being led away   
by Praetorians in Urth, chapter XLI, "Severian from his Cenotaph"?  He   
observes her, and she him, shortly after Severian restores the dead   
assassin.  She is familiar to him, but even with his perfect memory he   
can not recall from where or when he knows her.  She is come and gone in   
less than a page, but you get the impression that she is an important   
character.

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/