From: C R Culver <CRCulver@aol.com>
Subject: (urth) A Response to the Rehashing of KLS
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 22:33:19 EDT


[Posted from URTH, a mailing list about Gene Wolfe's New Sun and other works]

FunkMonkey,

Welcome to the list! Your post was very much welcome, as it returns discussion
to one of the most enigmatic parts of the BotNS.

<The exultants, (again, more of a feeling than any hard fact in the book)
headed by Typhon, returned to Earth (now Urth)>

Who says they ever left Earth/Urth? The cataclysm that ended the age of the
Monarchy was twofold. One part was the introduction of Erebus, Abaia, and
Scylla into Uroboros. The second part was the "infection" of the Old Sun by
the black hole. No reason Typhon himself should have left. It should be noted,
however, the Typhon ensured that others did leave by building the
Starcrosser/Whorl.


<Example: The name kimleesoong, the city of Athens and the story of Theseus,
the practice of kingship in the middle ages, among others.>

The fact that Jonas mentioned the Greek myths and the election of the king at
the marchfield was shocking. I knew Jonas was old and arcane, but that passage
really hammered it home. 


<Jonas is NOT a Korean name!>

No, it is the name of a religous figure (Jonah). Hethor, the other wanderer,
has himself a religious *alias*, so I assume that Jonas is an alias as well.


<Hell, English can be nasally and monosylabic at times, we don't know what
they speak in the Commonwealth.>

I stand by my idea that Jonas is speaking Korean. The fact that Korea was just
mentioned a few pages before leads me to believe it is not coincidental.
English can be monosyllabic and nasal at times, but Korean is *always* that
way.


<Jonas sees (and I presume Wolfe intended us to see as well) that the
antechamber is a small replica of Urth.>

I've never consciously realised that myself. Thanks for bringing it up.


<Kim is NOT Hethor.>

Yeah, it's unlikely, I'll admit. It must be understood, however, that KLS is
the same *type* of person as Jonas and Hethor, a crashlander (and not in the
Larry Niven fashion <g>).


<"When the navigator was buried there were black wagons and people in black
clothes walking." chap XVI.  That's right, kimleesoong IS the navigator, and
the navigator is dead.>

Why would the autarch or monarch give him a full-scale funeral and let the
prisoners out to watch?


<This kimleesoong obviously has a myth surrounding him, being the Adam figure
of the Antechamber>

Thrice we see Adam-figures pop up on the gardens of the House Absolute. The
first time is the talk of KLS as Adam, the second is Meschia in Dr. Talos'
play, and third is the actual Meschia of Ushas in _Urth_. The House Absolute
seems to be the Garden of Eden.

Christopher R. Culver <crculver@aol.com>
http://members.aol.com/crculver/index.html
------------------------------------------------
"Ignorance, that light of fools steers a wayward path"
-Brendan Perry

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