Subject: Re: (urth) for Benjamin  - sev as conciliator
From: Josh Geller 
Date: 19 Aug 2003 07:59:07 -0700

On Mon, 2003-08-18 at 23:25, maa32 wrote:
> Hi Benjamin.
> Of course there are plenty of indications that Severian is the conciliator all 
> over the place in BOTNS.  First off, there is mention of him as the Dark Sun 
> (sev's fuliginous cloak).  Agia emphasizes that he is the master of time as 
> they approach the botanic gardens, that he could be "right around the bend of 
> the street", or something similar.  Of course he is - he's right there talking 
> to her, and it's situational irony, as well as foreshadowing the power of the 
> claw to reverse the passage of time and Severian's own travels.  There's a ton 
> more - at the party in Sword of the Lictor where Severian is supposed to throw 
> the woman off the cliff, he talks about how the Conciliator could be masked at 
> the party and not even know it, clearly talking about himself.  Wolfe uses a 
> lot of that situational irony, which I believe can be attributed to a very 
> knowing Severian trying to hint that he is indeed the conciliator, long before 
> we ever get Urth of the New Sun.  

The avatar normally doesn't talk about being an avatar. It's, like, a
rule or a law or whatever you want to call it.'Once privately, once
formally, once publicly' is how it goes.






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