From: "Andy Robertson" 
Subject: Re: (urth) Suicide & Despair
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 15:58:11 +0100


What people are persistently failing to acknowledge, though Wolfe flags it
again and again,  is that Hyacinth was a bad woman, and disastrous for Silk.

Silk's near suicide on the airship comes *after* he has obtained Hyacinth,
after he has gotten his dearest wish, and realised it is dust and ashes.
Hence the despair.

I believe that Silk's life with Hyacinth was hell.   Consider the state of
the house he was in - small, mean, "almost everything broken".

He did not, could not, kill himself while she lived, because somehow he
still loved her.

But when she died, at long last, he lay down the burden of life and love, at
last free of her, and allowed his spirit to die.


    hartshorn









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