From: Jon Camfield <griffjon@austin.rr.com>
Subject: (urth) Re: Dear Dorcas
Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 19:36:22

[I've been ABEND almost a year, my apologies.  I've just recently started
reading again; the Dorcas thread caught my eye.  Re/Hi everybody; greets to
the new folks]

The early evidence in the book lead us to believe (our first read through,
many year ago) that Dorcas was never actually dead, just in a coma.  We
later realize that she was brought back to life by Sev's unwitting use of
the Claw.

What if both are true?  What if she was in fact merely in a coma when she
was leaded and drowned? And what if she awoke from that coma, spewed some
of the shot so as to be light enough to move from her marked location, and
then died?  This would explain a handful of events; her dream of being
poled across the lake, the lack of much shot in her stomach later on, her
not being in the right place in the lake...

Now, as for Dorcas' history... her husband seemed incredibly fond of her at
least, poling for her for so many years.  There's something to be said for
that level of devotion.

I had always wondered at Wolfe's very brief mention of the Virgin who would
walk around Nessus unmolested.  This story popped back up into my mind in
relation to Dorcas--what if she had given up that or a similar position to
marry, and was looked down upon for it?  I can't offer any evidence, and,
in truth, I like the suggestion she had an abortion--possibly due to poverty.

Isn't there a syndrome, TSS or somesuch, that can result from unsanitary
abortions?  Couldn't it lead to a coma...?


______________________________________________________

Jon "GriffJon" Camfield http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~griffjon

Web R&D; eCertain.com
Channel Manager, Undernet #Poetry: www.tripod.com/~ircpoetry, 1995-1999

**
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher
a hog, construct a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch
manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die
gallantly. Specialization is for insects." --Robert A. Heinlein,
_The_Notebooks_of_Lazarus_Long_

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