The House Azure

CHAPTER IX SUMMARY*

At the brothel, Severian hires a woman who calls herself Thecla. She blows him.

Barbea (63.3/8) Saint Barbea and her brother Saint Sarbelius were tortured with red-hot irons before being martyred in Edessa under Trajan in 101 BCE. (LU)

Gracia (64.8/25) "favor," or "blessing," in Latin. Saint Gracia, daughter of the Moslim caliph of Lerida, Spain, was converted by her brother, changing her name from Zaida to Gracia. (LU)

destriers (64.9/26) While D&D players or medieval history enthusiasts might recognise a destrier as a war horse, in Severian's time on Urth, a destrier is a genetically engineered steed that could run at speeds of 150 mph.

paphian (65.1/29) pertaining to love; especially pertaining to, or devoted to, unlawful sexual indulgence; belonging to the class of prostitutes. From the Greek Paphos, ancient city of Cyprus that was the center of Aphrodite worship. (LU)

POST READING THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS

(Potential spoilers for the ninth chapter)

The Temptation (63.1/6) Upon first reading this my mind when to the famous Da Vinci painting, but then I considered the context. Severian is entering a brothel to dispense with his virginity. In light of that, consider Genesis 3:1-5 KJV:

3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

66.15/59 She shrugged, "I was saying that the Chatelaine Thecla is not the Chatelaine Thecla. Not the Chatelaine Thecla of your mind, which is the only Chatelaine Thecla you care about. Neither am I. What, then, is the difference between us?"

Because this is Wolfe, there s a metric shit ton that can unpacked here. That is one smart prostitute. And if she is not clever, she is at least deep. No? Well, consider the master of the House Azure. Could he have coached her to have such a response to clients? If she is a clone, as khaibits are, then has she inherited some of Thecla's intelligence and profundity?

This is a very interesting hint into Severian's mind. Look back to the first chapter. On page 11, in paragraph 3 (11.3/33) he shares:

Once more, this brings to mind common trends in philosophy. Here, I am reminded Plato's theory of forms. Instead of recounting it for you myself, I shall guide to Alain De Botton's YouTube channel - The School of Life.

PLATO ON: The Forms

It is rare that I come across a dead horse that I am not willing to flog further. I'm flawed. I admit it. Bear with me.

In 1977, E. F. Schumacher released his last, best work: A Guide for the Perplexed. He touches on many things and it is a beautiful book of practical philosophy, but what the above passage made me think of was his take on the four fields of knowledge.

There are four fields of knowledge for an individual:

1. I => (the inner): being aware of your thoughts and feelings, self-awareness

2. I => (the inner of other persons): being aware what other people think and feel

3. Other person => I: understanding yourself as an objective phenomena

4. I => the world: study of the outside world

The khaibit Thecla jettisons these four fields and mixes them all into one big ball of yarn. Her statement at once honors and acknowledges each of them but also demonstrates how they are inextricably linked.