The Claw of the Conciliator: Chapter XIII
The Claw of the Conciliator
There are times when we drown in memory. When a moment comes back with such acuity that we lose track of where and when we are. The power of the past crashes down upon us and we stagger beneath it, trying to find a way through it, to make sure our feet are still planted on the earth.
Severian has mentioned this before, in fact, that the past has swept him away at moments in life, such is the power of his recollection, the curse of his memory. What we find near the end of this chapter is one such moment, but it’s not his memory.
Rather, it’s Thecla’s.
For while he’s consumed her memories and in so doing pulled her into himself, he has not reconciled the intrusion of these new memories, this lifetime of recollections. And so when he goes to The House Absolute, Thecla’s memories sharpen and he remembers a place he’s never been to, remembers people he’s never met, forgets the name and face of Jonas, his companion.
He becomes overwhelmed by Thecla and, for a moment, we wonder if Thecla will take over. He will become her.
And I think this isn’t so different from what happened. While Thecla doesn’t take control of Severian, Severian is changed by her presence in his memory. For we are nothing but our memories. Who we are, what we are, relies on the things about ourselves that we remember. That we construct of these fragments of memory. It’s why the same memory can have different meaning to the same person at different times in life. Such simple memories can change who we are in the present, based on our transformed perspective.
And so Severian, now full of Thecla’s memories, must become a new version of himself to account for all that now resides within him. Her memories are now his memories. He is no longer only Severian, but nor is he Thecla. Instead, he is both of them, always, all the time.
Do you hear the romance in this?
Perhaps not, but it’s a metastasized metaphor of his love for her.
Two have become, quite literally, one. Bound together forever.
And for Severian is this not like holding her soul within his own chest? Are they not now one and complete in a way that could never have been possible while she yet lived?
A first love. A love lost. A reunification.
I find this both funny and sweet and deranged, and I think that’s exactly how Wolfe intends it. He uses the blasphemous and the sacred to give us this deranged form of eternal love.
The centerpiece of this chapter, however, is that Severian has raised someone from the dead. First, he raised himself accidentally and now he’s raised another on purpose. Why does Severian try to save this man?
It’s unclear but there seems to be a sacred sense of life in Severian, despite who and what he is. A torturer, an executioner, with a sense of the divinity of life. And perhaps that’s fitting.
Another metastasized metaphor.
We also meet a few of Severian’s hangers on, who come as if from nowhere, and then Severian leaves them once more, denying his power over them.
It’s a very strange moment that defies explanation, especially deep as we are in this novel.
But Hethor is back!
And then he’s gone.
And Severian and Jonas now stand on the grounds of the House Absolute, the seat of the Autarch.
I'm currently on chapter 27 and I can't wait for your thoughts on some of the exciting developments that happen later on! I've been reflecting on the nature of this new and uncanny evolution in Severian and Thecla's relationship. In a very real and strange sense she is reborn in Severian, resurrected. Our protagonist has become a new creation, a fusion between Severian and Thecla, although not a perfect one.
He is now a being who has male and female characteristics, or point of views as a result. A male and female side, just as the blade of his Terminus Est has a male and female edge. And I agree with your observation that his perfect memory has strengthened the potency of Thecla's memories within his psyche, since he's obviously grappling with them. They are invasive, and seem to threaten to consume him entirely at points.
I also suspect that the claw, which has the power to alter reality, might be contributing to this dilemma, this phenomenon. As if its power seeks to make Thecla incarnate through Severian. And this seems to track with what Thecla told Severian about the time when her mother was in labor with her, she had the servants take her to the Vatic Fountain, where apparently one can see their future, and that she had a vision of Thecla seated on the throne. We know Severian becomes the future Autarch. So in a way, Thecla's mother's propechy turned out to be true.
I've noticed a theme of duality with the characters. Maybe duality isn't the word. So many pairs of characters... Always two. Master Palaemon and Gurloes, Dr. Talos and Baldanders, Agia and Agilus, Thea and Thecla... Vodalus and Valeria? The Autarch and Severian? And now we have Severian and Thecla forever intertwined.
This reminds me of the mirror motif, with Father Inire's occult, faster than light speed travel technology based on the concept of reflections. Characters seem to me to be bifurcated, mirroring each other. Enough from me! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to more of your amazing essays on this amazing work!