From: StoneOx17@aol.com
Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 07:40:05 EDT
Subject: Re: (urth) Sherry Gold's death


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In reply to my statement that I thought Sherry died after Weer,

mantis wrote
> Stone Ox wrote
> >I'm not convinced.  I see Sherry's death as being one instance of the
> >"everybody is dead" theme, and Weer's stroke as being the first of
> >his ailments in the afterlife (although it may be a reflection of a real
> >stroke that killed him)
,,,
> >In fact, I think Weer had his posthumous
> >stroke _because_ Sherry Gold died, and that she was the last
> >person alive who remembered him well
...
>So Sherry's death triggers Weer's wandering?  No, just a posthumous stroke,
>a turning over in the grave--the wandering is still triggered by the fall
>of the elm (hundreds of years after Sherry's death)?

The wandering is still triggered by the fall of the elm ... showing real-life 
posthumous events can have an effect on Weer's spirit.  Why not Sherry's
death as well?

>If =this= is true, then any post-stroke memories (in the factory, limping;
>the illness and death of the secretary; the letter from Peacock to Smart on
>the desktop [?]) are all of the more spacey "corridors of time" category,
>like the visits to Dr. Black (did it ever really happen?) and Dr. Van Ness
>(compilation of many visits boiled down, with bad splices), rather than the
>"realistic" category of nearly everything else.

No, I'd say rather that the stroke is filtering back into his recollections 
and
coloring them.  You have to admit =something= funny is going on with the 
stroke.  In real life, when Weer slept with Sherry, he could hardly have 
apologized to her for a stroke he had after she died.

I wrote
> >And thanks to Michael Straight for his suggestion, obvious once
> >it's been made, that the Chinese philosopher's headrest at the end means
> >that Weer will be reliving his afterlife (and not necessarily for the first
> >time).

mantis replied
>I don't know if you have addressed this or not, so I'll just go ahead: One
>problem with the "recurring loop" reading of PEACE is that there are clear
>ways to signal such a thing: FINNEGANS WAKE (and in genre, DHALGREN) uses 
>a split sentence, the opening fragment then lining up perfectly with the
>ending fragment many hundreds of pages later.  The text is a circle, no
>question about it.
>
>The framing structure of PEACE does not really allow such a thing: it is
>quite linear. A. D. Weer starts writing in a notebook (the beginning) and
>then he stops writing (the end).  It would not have been too hard at all
>for an ending fragment to match up to a beginning fragment, but it did not
>happen.  Nor would it have been difficult if Weer had a notion to express
>himself in non-writing, through song or sculpture, for example (change of
>media, but the same story), but that did not happen, either.

I have to admit I'm not so sure about the circularity.  You could also take 
the 
hope of resurrection from the Chinese philosopher's pillow as a warning 
against belief in reincarnation, and not as a sign that Weer's ghost will 
relive 
his afterlife.  Given how little I know about Purgatory, I can't even say 
which 
interpretation is more in line with Catholic thought.   

>Speaking of which, I'm hoping I can get Gene Wolfe to go to the Winchester
>House in San Jose, or tag along if he is already going!
>
>Oo, even better: get some friends to go dressed up as characters from
>PEACE.  Have Sherry Gold wandering around inside Winchester House, bobby
>socks and all.

Good luck ... that sounds like great fun!

Stone Ox





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In reply to my statement that I thought Sherry died after Weer,



mantis wrote

> Stone Ox wrote

> >I'm not convinced.  I see Sherry's death as being one instance of the

> >"everybody is dead" theme, and Weer's stroke as being the first of

> >his ailments in the afterlife (although it may be a reflection of a real

> >stroke that killed him)

,,,

> >In fact, I think Weer had his posthumous

> >stroke _because_ Sherry Gold died, and that she was the last

> >person alive who remembered him well

...

>So Sherry's death triggers Weer's wandering?  No, just a posthumous stroke,

>a turning over in the grave--the wandering is still triggered by the fall

>of the elm (hundreds of years after Sherry's death)?



The wandering is still triggered by the fall of the elm ... showing real-life 

posthumous events can have an effect on Weer's spirit.  Why not Sherry's

death as well?



>If =this= is true, then any post-stroke memories (in the factory, limping;

>the illness and death of the secretary; the letter from Peacock to Smart on

>the desktop [?]) are all of the more spacey "corridors of time" category,

>like the visits to Dr. Black (did it ever really happen?) and Dr. Van Ness

>(compilation of many visits boiled down, with bad splices), rather than the

>"realistic" category of nearly everything else.



No, I'd say rather that the stroke is filtering back into his recollections and

coloring them.  You have to admit =something= funny is going on with the 

stroke.  In real life, when Weer slept with Sherry, he could hardly have 

apologized to her for a stroke he had after she died.



I wrote

> >And thanks to Michael Straight for his suggestion, obvious once

> >it's been made, that the Chinese philosopher's headrest at the end means

> >that Weer will be reliving his afterlife (and not necessarily for the first

> >time).



mantis replied

>I don't know if you have addressed this or not, so I'll just go ahead: One

>problem with the "recurring loop" reading of PEACE is that there are clear

>ways to signal such a thing: FINNEGANS WAKE (and in genre, DHALGREN) uses 

>a split sentence, the opening fragment then lining up perfectly with the

>ending fragment many hundreds of pages later.  The text is a circle, no

>question about it.

>

>The framing structure of PEACE does not really allow such a thing: it is

>quite linear. A. D. Weer starts writing in a notebook (the beginning) and

>then he stops writing (the end).  It would not have been too hard at all

>for an ending fragment to match up to a beginning fragment, but it did not

>happen.  Nor would it have been difficult if Weer had a notion to express

>himself in non-writing, through song or sculpture, for example (change of

>media, but the same story), but that did not happen, either.



I have to admit I'm not so sure about the circularity.  You could also take the 

hope of resurrection from the Chinese philosopher's pillow as a warning 

against belief in reincarnation, and not as a sign that Weer's ghost will relive 

his afterlife.  Given how little I know about Purgatory, I can't even say which 

interpretation is more in line with Catholic thought.   



>Speaking of which, I'm hoping I can get Gene Wolfe to go to the Winchester

>House in San Jose, or tag along if he is already going!

>

>Oo, even better: get some friends to go dressed up as characters from

>PEACE.  Have Sherry Gold wandering around inside Winchester House, bobby

>socks and all.



Good luck ... that sounds like great fun!



Stone Ox







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