Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:52:54 -0400
From: StoneOx17@aol.com
Subject: Re: (urth) The Green Man's restitution

Don says:

> All of this talk about Silk (the man who doesn't eat) put me back on
> the track of a question that's been nagging me.  How does the Green Man
> repay Severian for setting him free?  The rescue from the Ascians
> doesn't count (the Green Man's own words) and he claims that he will
> aid him again.  Then, nothing.  No more Green Man.  In my mind there
> are three explanations for this.  Wolfe forgot about the Green Man's
> promise, or decided not to bother with it (not a viable option for me),
> Severian decided to omit any more mention of the Green Man for his own
> reasons (too close to the first, basically a cop-out), or the Green
> Man, being a master of the corridors of time has already aided Severian
> in his past (though it would be the Green Man's personal future).
> "When" in the text could this have happened, and what action could it
> be?

This question has been bugging me for some time as well.  
The Green Man promises to set Severian free when he is
imprisoned, so we only need to look at times when he is
imprisoned (although there are a lot of those).  I am also
convinced that the Green Man's restitution happens before
Severian frees him, thus creating yet another time loop.
When Severian is imprisoned in the antechamber, one of the 
other prisoners there sees a green face, which I am convinced
is the Green Man looking for opportunities to set Severian
free.  I think this shows that Wolfe hasn't just dropped 
this thread.  However, this can't be the time that the Green
Man redeems his promise, since Severian gets out of the 
antechamber by himself (remembering Thecla's use of the
hidden door's word of power).  

Any takers on this one?

-- 
Stone Ox (Peter S.)


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