Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 17:34:31 -0700
From: Michael Andre-Driussi 
Subject: Re: (urth) Greetings!

Welcome, Oren.

You wrote:
>Anyhow, I've just started reading my first Gene Wolfe novel, Shadow of the
>Torturer. And I have a question about something on the first page actually
>
>
>Who were the characters who said the following two phrases:
>
>    "And try to get through the barbican without a safe-conduct? They'd send
>to
>    Master Gurloes."
>    "But why would the guard leave?"
>
>I guess that when I get used to Wolfe's style I wouldn't have to ask such
>trivial questions! But until then...

The characters at this point are: Roche (Drotte's lieutenant), Drotte (the
captain of the apprentices), Eata (the littlest one), and Severian.

The sequence goes like this:

1. Roche talks to Drotte.
2. Eata suggests going around instead of through.

Because of this, it seems natural to me that Drotte is the one speaking the
line "And try to get . . . ?"

Since there is no identifier for the response, I assume that it is the
other speaker previously named: Roche.  So it is

1. Roche talks to Drotte.
2. Eata suggests.
3. Drotte scoffs.
4. Roche questions.

It is a conversation between the captain and his lieutenant, with the
interruption of communication from an underling -- a communication
summarized rather than given verbatim (perhaps it was mainly contained in
the gesture).

I hope this is of some help!

=mantis=


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