From: Matthew Malthouse <matthew.malthouse@guardian.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (urth) Sev and Thecla in childhood
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 09:10:18 +0000

Tony Ellis wrote:
> 
> Jon Camfield wrote:
> 
> > "...I played again with pebbles in the courtyard beside the fallen curtain
> > wall, as Thecla dodged the hooves of my father's mounted guard"
> > (II, XXV, 204)
>         <snip>
> > "of my father's mounted guard"  is really troublesome.  It's not Thecla,
> > because Sev is (presumably, no hints to the contrary) still talking in the
> > first person, and describing Thecla in the third.  This implies it is
> > Severian's father...
> 
> I really think you're seeing complications that aren't there with this
> one. TBOTNS is full of moments where Thecla's personality surfaces and
> speaks, or rather writes, in the first person. All that's happening here
> is that it's happening within the confines of one sentence for effect.
> The transition presumably takes place after "wall", but anywhere before
> "my father's mounted guard" would do.

I'm inclines to agree. Making the sentence ...the fallen curtain wall, and as
Thecla... would have remove the ambiguity but it isn't actually necessary to
add the "and" for it to be read as a change of view point from Sev. to Thecla.

Matthew

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