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From: "Robert Borski" <rborski@charter.net> Subject: (whorl) Re: the Mother-as-Inhuma Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 00:53:22 Shellac having gracefully conceded the following: <Okay, point taken. I remembered the line about "holy slave" after I posted. I suppose the only legs that the Cumaean-as-Inhuma hypothesis has left to stand on would require that a) Severian was wrong (as he often is) about the Cumaean being a Hierodule or b) the Inhumi DO come from Yesod, which is certainly an interesting thought.> Well, you're hardly the first person to mis-identify the Cumaean. In one of the very early posts I wrote after reading OBW, I speculated that the Mother of Blue was actually the Mother of Urth--i.e., the Cumaean. I based this on two reasons: 1) Both are "Mothers." 2) The Mother of Blue is wearing a crimson robe when she first appears. This will probably not connect with many of you, but in an essay I've shared only off-list, I postulate that the Pelerines and the witches are sacred and profane branches of the same religion, with the Cumaean being the leader of both (hence the crimson cloak found by Severian in the stone town is hers). Turns out I was wrong, however--at least about the Mother of Blue being the Cumaean. Now let's hear some more of your speculations and theories, Shellac! Robert Borski *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun. *More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.moonmilk.com/whorl/ *To leave the list, send "unsubscribe" to whorl-request@lists.best.com *If it's Wolfe but not Long Sun, please use the URTH list: urth@lists.best.com