Severian
Encyclopedia
Severian is the narrator and main character of Gene Wolfe
's four-volume novel The Book of the New Sun
, as well as its sequel, The Urth of the New Sun
. He is a Journeyman
of the Guild
of Torturers who is exiled after showing mercy to one of his clients.
Severian claims to have perfect memory
(his eidetic memory is stated as a fact by Gene Wolfe in Shadows of the New Sun). In spite of this, some critics and analysis claim him to be an unreliable narrator
.
Severian starts the novel as an apprentice but shortly becomes the captain of apprentices, and later a Journeyman in the Guild of Torturers. While still captain, Severian meets and befriends the Chatelaine
Thecla, a woman who is part of the Autarch's court who has been imprisoned because her sister had become the consort of Vodalus. Thecla is to be treated with special care, and since she takes a liking to Severian, asks that he sit with her for a while each day.
Severian eventually falls in love with Thecla. However, when Thecla is eventually tortured, Severian is moved by love and pity, and sneaks a knife into her cell, allowing her to take her own life and end her suffering.
Severian is briefly imprisoned, but it is decided that his life is to be spared, and (after being given the sword Terminus Est
) he is sent to be the Lictor
of Thrax, a city in the north.
He is also allowed to keep his Torturer's cloak, which is fuligin, "the color that is darker than black."
As he exits the Necropolis
he must pass through the city of Nessus. As he does this, he meets Dorcas and Agia, two women who play a vital role in his life during the narration of the novel (see below). He also obtains the Claw of the Conciliator, a gem with apparently supernatural powers that Severian is attempting to return to its rightful owners, the Pelerines. During his travels, he eventually meets with Vodalus and agrees to join his insurrection. At a feast that evening, Severian ingests a portion of Thecla's recovered body together with a drug taken from an (apparently alien) creature called an alzabo, a ritual that conveys to him Thecla's memories. Part of her personality and presence occasionally emerge and some characters seem to recognize, or sense, Thecla when they look at him.
Severian travels to the House Absolute, the throne of the commonwealth's Autarch, and eventually abandons Vodalus' cause.
When Severian reaches Thrax, he thrives as the city's Lictor for a while. However, he once again shows mercy (allowing a woman to escape rather than strangling her to death) and is forced again to flee.
He frequently encounters and occasionally travels with a troop of actors composed of Dr. Talos, a giant Baldanders, and a beautiful woman Jolenta. Dr. Talos appears to be the leader of the group but is later revealed to be a Homunculus
created by Baldanders to be his doctor and servant. Baldander's Gigantism
is later revealed to be Self-experimentation
designed to increase his intelligence and longevity so he may better understand alien technology.
He climbs a series of high mountains at the turning point of his life. In the mountains, a small boy also named Severian is blasted out of existence and cannot be revived with the Claw. Severian kills the former ruler of Urth.
In additional travels, he eventually becomes a mercenary in the north and is seriously injured. During his convalescence he encounters the Ascian language
before venturing out once again. Towards the end of the final volume of Book of the New Sun, he encounters the Autarch himself a second time (having met him once already during his previous visit to the House Absolute). When the Autarch is critically injured, Severian inherits the throne by eating the forebrain of the Autarch.
Severian apparently rules for quite some time before leaving Urth to seek a new sun, as some of his predecessors as Autarch had tried (and failed) to do; these events are covered in the follow-up novel "Urth of the New Sun," which is not considered an integral part of the initial 4-volume "Book of the New Sun."
, who was also resurrected.) The old man at the Lake of Birds and Dorcas had Ouen, the waiter at the Inn of Lost Loves, who refers to Dorcas as his "mother come again." Ouen later tells Severian that a locket he has contains a picture of said mother; Severian recognizes it as Dorcas. The innkeeper there then notes that while Ouen does resemble his mother's picture, in profile he's very like Severian.
Severian quizzes Ouen about his past loves, asking "A woman you loved--or perhaps only one who loved you--a dark woman--was taken once?" Ouen confirms that a woman named Catherine was taken by the law (and therefore handed to the Torturers) after having run off from some religious order (probably the Pelerines). Catherine's child was raised by the Guild, which is where we find the young Severian at the beginning of the book.
At one point in his narrative, Severian refers to himself as insane, although he is not entirely certain how and why this is. As a professional torture
r, despite his displays of mercy, he tends to be extremely clinical and detached when describing his work activities, to the point where he assumes the reader is already familiar with his methods and rationalizations.
By the middle of the first book, he carries with him, at all times, an unusual artifact, the "Claw," which apparently has the power to bring the dead back to life, as he does with Dorcas and, later on, a young soldier
(before he brings this young man back to life, Severian seems to realize that he almost prefers the company of the dead to the living).
He is usually dressed in the uniform of his guild: a fuligin mask, fuligin cloak and fuligin breeches, a belt, hose, black boots & a bare chest. He also carries his sword, Terminus Est, in a "sable manskin" sheath slung over his left shoulder in a baldric
. He carries his few possessions in a sabretache attached to his belt.
Severian's height and apparent strength, along with his intelligent and educated manner of speaking, repeatedly lead him to be singled out for special treatment by people who have known him only briefly. These include Dr. Talos, who offers Severian a partnership; the Autarch, who recognizes him as his successor; Cyriaca, who seduces him; the people of the lake, who follow him into battle; Foila, who asks him to judge a story contest; Mannea of the Pelerines, who sends him on an important mission; Guasacht, who offers him a place in the cavalry; and the captain of the Samru, who gives Severian free passage and protection on his vessel. Meeting Severian at the Saltus fair, the green man says, "I'm a fool, I suppose, to put any confidence in you. And yet I do." However, the Cumean's acolyte Merryn calls him "common," and none of the servitors or courtiers of the House Absolute pay him any heed, except for steward Odilo, who takes him for a nobleman [and later, the younger Odilo, in The Urth of the New Sun, who does the same.]
Gene Wolfe describes Severian in Shadows of the New Sun as being 6'1", 175 pounds, with straight black hair and a high square forehead. He has slightly large hands, a long bony face, with moderately high cheekbones and a strong chin. He has dark eyes, pale skin, and good teeth.
Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
's four-volume novel The Book of the New Sun
The Book of the New Sun
The Book of the New Sun is a novel in four parts written by science fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe. It chronicles the journey and ascent to power of Severian, a disgraced journeyman torturer who rises to the position of Autarch, the one ruler of the free world...
, as well as its sequel, The Urth of the New Sun
The Urth of the New Sun
The Urth of the New Sun is a 1987 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe that serves as a sort of coda to his 4-volume Book of the New Sun series. Like Book, it is of the dying earth subgenre...
. He is a Journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
of the Guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of Torturers who is exiled after showing mercy to one of his clients.
Severian claims to have perfect memory
Eidetic memory
Eidetic , commonly referred to as photographic memory, is a medical term, popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume. The word eidetic, referring to extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall not limited to, but...
(his eidetic memory is stated as a fact by Gene Wolfe in Shadows of the New Sun). In spite of this, some critics and analysis claim him to be an unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
.
Severian's Life
At the opening of the novel, Severian saves the life of Vodalus, an outlaw who is fighting to restore Urth to its former glory. As a reward, Vodalus gives Severian a gold coin, which Severian treasures from then on. Severian later learns that the golden coin is fake. Dr Talos hands him a similar coin and tells Severian it is fake; Severian compares the coin to the coin Vodalus gave him, and notices they are the same (pg. 395, Citadel) Throughout the rest of his youth, Severian idolizes Vodalus and seeks to join him.Severian starts the novel as an apprentice but shortly becomes the captain of apprentices, and later a Journeyman in the Guild of Torturers. While still captain, Severian meets and befriends the Chatelaine
Chatelaine
Châtelaine has the following meanings:*Châtelaine, a woman who owns or controls a large house ....
Thecla, a woman who is part of the Autarch's court who has been imprisoned because her sister had become the consort of Vodalus. Thecla is to be treated with special care, and since she takes a liking to Severian, asks that he sit with her for a while each day.
Severian eventually falls in love with Thecla. However, when Thecla is eventually tortured, Severian is moved by love and pity, and sneaks a knife into her cell, allowing her to take her own life and end her suffering.
Severian is briefly imprisoned, but it is decided that his life is to be spared, and (after being given the sword Terminus Est
Terminus Est
Terminus Est is a sword in the science fiction series The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. It is wielded by Severian, a torturer and the narrator of the series.-Terminus Est and Severian:...
) he is sent to be the Lictor
Lictor
The lictor was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium, the right and power to command; essentially, a bodyguard...
of Thrax, a city in the north.
He is also allowed to keep his Torturer's cloak, which is fuligin, "the color that is darker than black."
As he exits the Necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
he must pass through the city of Nessus. As he does this, he meets Dorcas and Agia, two women who play a vital role in his life during the narration of the novel (see below). He also obtains the Claw of the Conciliator, a gem with apparently supernatural powers that Severian is attempting to return to its rightful owners, the Pelerines. During his travels, he eventually meets with Vodalus and agrees to join his insurrection. At a feast that evening, Severian ingests a portion of Thecla's recovered body together with a drug taken from an (apparently alien) creature called an alzabo, a ritual that conveys to him Thecla's memories. Part of her personality and presence occasionally emerge and some characters seem to recognize, or sense, Thecla when they look at him.
Severian travels to the House Absolute, the throne of the commonwealth's Autarch, and eventually abandons Vodalus' cause.
When Severian reaches Thrax, he thrives as the city's Lictor for a while. However, he once again shows mercy (allowing a woman to escape rather than strangling her to death) and is forced again to flee.
He frequently encounters and occasionally travels with a troop of actors composed of Dr. Talos, a giant Baldanders, and a beautiful woman Jolenta. Dr. Talos appears to be the leader of the group but is later revealed to be a Homunculus
Homunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
created by Baldanders to be his doctor and servant. Baldander's Gigantism
Gigantism
Gigantism, also known as giantism , is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average...
is later revealed to be Self-experimentation
Self-experimentation
Self-experimentation refers to the very special case of single-subject scientific experimentation in which the experimenter conducts the experiment on her- or himself. Usually this means that the designer, operator, subject, analyst, and user or reporter of the experiment are all the same...
designed to increase his intelligence and longevity so he may better understand alien technology.
He climbs a series of high mountains at the turning point of his life. In the mountains, a small boy also named Severian is blasted out of existence and cannot be revived with the Claw. Severian kills the former ruler of Urth.
In additional travels, he eventually becomes a mercenary in the north and is seriously injured. During his convalescence he encounters the Ascian language
Ascian language
The Ascian Language is a fictional language invented by Gene Wolfe for his fantasy series The Book of the New Sun.The language is spoken by the inhabitants of the “northern continents” of the future earth, the Ascians, who are enslaved by their masters in a way much like the people of Oceania in...
before venturing out once again. Towards the end of the final volume of Book of the New Sun, he encounters the Autarch himself a second time (having met him once already during his previous visit to the House Absolute). When the Autarch is critically injured, Severian inherits the throne by eating the forebrain of the Autarch.
Severian apparently rules for quite some time before leaving Urth to seek a new sun, as some of his predecessors as Autarch had tried (and failed) to do; these events are covered in the follow-up novel "Urth of the New Sun," which is not considered an integral part of the initial 4-volume "Book of the New Sun."
Severian and Dorcas
Dorcas, whom Severian inadvertently resurrects at the Lake of Birds, is almost certainly Severian's paternal grandmother. (Wolfe has named her for the Biblical DorcasDorcas
Dorcas was a disciple who lived in Joppa, referenced in the Book of Acts of the Bible. Acts recounts that when she died, she was mourned by "all the widows ... crying and showing the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them."...
, who was also resurrected.) The old man at the Lake of Birds and Dorcas had Ouen, the waiter at the Inn of Lost Loves, who refers to Dorcas as his "mother come again." Ouen later tells Severian that a locket he has contains a picture of said mother; Severian recognizes it as Dorcas. The innkeeper there then notes that while Ouen does resemble his mother's picture, in profile he's very like Severian.
Severian quizzes Ouen about his past loves, asking "A woman you loved--or perhaps only one who loved you--a dark woman--was taken once?" Ouen confirms that a woman named Catherine was taken by the law (and therefore handed to the Torturers) after having run off from some religious order (probably the Pelerines). Catherine's child was raised by the Guild, which is where we find the young Severian at the beginning of the book.
Personality
Despite being the narrator for all four books of the series plus a sequel, Severian's personality and inner world remain unknown, even to Severian himself.At one point in his narrative, Severian refers to himself as insane, although he is not entirely certain how and why this is. As a professional torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
r, despite his displays of mercy, he tends to be extremely clinical and detached when describing his work activities, to the point where he assumes the reader is already familiar with his methods and rationalizations.
By the middle of the first book, he carries with him, at all times, an unusual artifact, the "Claw," which apparently has the power to bring the dead back to life, as he does with Dorcas and, later on, a young soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
(before he brings this young man back to life, Severian seems to realize that he almost prefers the company of the dead to the living).
Appearance
Severian describes himself as having a straight nose, deep-set eyes and sunken cheeks. Thecla states she has "never seen such white skin coupled with dark hair." Regarding Severian's appearance of strength, the Autarch remarks that Severian "seemed to me a construction of horn and boiled leather." He is said to be tall, although not at genetically-altered exultant levels. Cyriaca, who never saw him without his mask, describes Severian as having a narrow waist, a sharp chin with a cleft, deeply set, large and mobile eyes, high cheekbones, flat cheeks, black hair and thin lips.He is usually dressed in the uniform of his guild: a fuligin mask, fuligin cloak and fuligin breeches, a belt, hose, black boots & a bare chest. He also carries his sword, Terminus Est, in a "sable manskin" sheath slung over his left shoulder in a baldric
Baldric
A baldric is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon or other implement such as a bugle or drum...
. He carries his few possessions in a sabretache attached to his belt.
Severian's height and apparent strength, along with his intelligent and educated manner of speaking, repeatedly lead him to be singled out for special treatment by people who have known him only briefly. These include Dr. Talos, who offers Severian a partnership; the Autarch, who recognizes him as his successor; Cyriaca, who seduces him; the people of the lake, who follow him into battle; Foila, who asks him to judge a story contest; Mannea of the Pelerines, who sends him on an important mission; Guasacht, who offers him a place in the cavalry; and the captain of the Samru, who gives Severian free passage and protection on his vessel. Meeting Severian at the Saltus fair, the green man says, "I'm a fool, I suppose, to put any confidence in you. And yet I do." However, the Cumean's acolyte Merryn calls him "common," and none of the servitors or courtiers of the House Absolute pay him any heed, except for steward Odilo, who takes him for a nobleman [and later, the younger Odilo, in The Urth of the New Sun, who does the same.]
Gene Wolfe describes Severian in Shadows of the New Sun as being 6'1", 175 pounds, with straight black hair and a high square forehead. He has slightly large hands, a long bony face, with moderately high cheekbones and a strong chin. He has dark eyes, pale skin, and good teeth.