Knight Notes: Disiri

This post explores the identity of Disiri and her role in the WK’s themes.

Disiri, like most characters in the WK, is based on multiple sources. And Able’s pursuit of her has multiple meanings. GW uses mythology, legend, Kabbalah and Christianity in developing this theme.

Disiri in Arthurian Legend and Mythological Terms

Disiri’s Arthurian counterpart is the Lady of the Lake.  In some stories, the Lady took Lancelot to live in her fairy world for some time to protect him.  In the WK, Disiri takes both the Real Able and Able/Art to Aelfrice.

As MAD identified in his WKC, Disiri may be associated with the Dis of Norse mythology.

Disiri’s Celtic/British counterpart is Brigid.  Brigid was the patroness of poets, smiths and sacred wells. This fits very well with the events of the WK:

• Disiri tells Able the story of Weland the Smith and the forging of Eterne.
• Eterne is found in a deep well.
• The “names on the wind” that Able hears near the end of The Knight include many poets and writers of the medieval period.

I think Disiri’s counterpart from Greek mythology may be Eurydice. This might be another example of GW moving syllables around and tweaking spelling to hide an identity. If you move the syllables Eurydice becomes “Diceeury”, which sounds somewhat like Disiri.  Eurydice was a dryad or nymph, and linked to the legend of Orpheus. Disiri refers to herself early in The Knight as a dryad. Able is also a representation of Orpheus, and his bowstring is an allusion to the Lyre of Orpheus.  Orpheus and Eurydice end up together in the underworld, which is consistent with the ending of the WK.

Disiri as Beatrice

The WK is strongly influenced by Dante’s Divine Comedy. Art Ormsby’s wandering in the woods at the beginning of the WK is like Dante’s wandering in the wilds at the beginning of the Comedy. Able sees a the castle in the sky he wants to pursue, and gets lost. Similarly, Dante loses his way in a dark wood while trying to get to salvation at the beginning of the Inferno. The six sided castle of Skai reminds me of the seven sided Castle in Limbo where the virtuous pagans live in relative peace and comfort.

One of Dante’s guides in the Comedy is Beatrice, who was based on a woman he knew in real life. She is an idealized feminine, and helps him to achieve the Beatific vision, or union with God. Beatrice sends Dante his first guide, the poet Virgil. Disiri has a somewhat similar role in the WK as Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.  Able loves Disiri, as Dante loved Beatrice. They are the ideal feminine for both, and something that draws the characters onwards towards a resolution.

Disiri and Color, Plant and Animal Symbolism

Green, Yellow and the Language of Flowers

Disiri has green skin and hair, and yellow eyes. I think this has multiple meanings in traditional color symbolism and the Kabbalah color scheme. Green alone, and sometimes green and yellow together (depending on what Kabbalah website I read) are the colors of the Sefirot Binah. Binah is associated with the feminine and wisdom.

While green is considered a positive color, yellow often has negative associations in Western culture. Yellow can be the color of cowardice. It can be the color of deceit (“yellow journalism”).  Yellow has a negative meaning in plant symbolism and the “Language of Flowers.” Yellow roses are sometimes associated with betrayal and treachery. Yellow carnations can mean rejection. The yellow Marigold can mean pain or grief (think Lynnet). Disiri’s actions, at times, seem to represent infidelity or betrayal of Able. Morcaine questions whether Disiri is faithful to Able (at Redhall in “Morcaine and More Magic”) and Able seems to acknowledge that she is not.

The Eyes of a Leopard

Able describes Disiri as having eyes like a leopard in Chapter 7 of The Knight. A leopard was one of three beasts that threatened Dante in the opening chapters of the Inferno, and is portrayed negatively there. There are other sources that suggest that the leopard was viewed negatively in the Christian tradition, and associated with sin.

Disiri is relatively unconcerned with the lives of Able’s friends, acknowledging she cannot love them the way Able loves them. She does not come to his aid when he is imprisoned, and her affection seems fickle at times. Able describes her as “hard and dangerous” near the end of The Knight.

Disiri’s Color Transformation

At the end of the WK, Disiri drinks Able’s blood (red), and loses her yellow coloring. Her eyes change to green, and her skin takes on normal human skin tones.  The vanishing of the yellow is consistent with this being a positive transformation. The color green is associated with life and hope in the Christian tradition, and maybe that’s what her new eyes are to signify.

The Mystical Union of Kabbalah

Able and Disiri are a representation of the mystical union in the Kabbalah between YHWH and the Shekhinah. The achievement of this union is signalled by the reconciliation of the Men and Women of Celidon in the union of many of the protagonists.  This reconciliation was accomplished in a mystical way by Able’s achievement of the Holy Grail and the Golden Fleece when he entered the Room of Lost Loves. I previously associated the Spiny Orange tree with the Sefirot Yesod. Yesod’s colors in Kabbalah are understood to be orange (again, in at least some websites. There is some inconsistency).  Yesod is also associated with the sexual organs.

Disiri as the Bride of Christ

Finally, and consistent with the Christian Allegory, Able is a representation of Christ in the WK. Disiri, in turn, represents the Church, or humanity. He is the Bridegroom and she is the Bride. Like Disiri, humanity in the Christian tradition is fickle, unfaithful, and inconstant. Man must partake of Jesus’ flesh and blood to have eternal life, as Disiri must drink from Able for the Aelf to develop further in accord with the Most High God and Kulili’s plan.  And like Psyche drank ambrosia to have immortality and a true relationship with Cupid.  Able and Disiri will share this water of life with those in Aelfrice.

I will close this post with the image used to illustrate a passage from Revelation associated with the Bride. Dawn in Aelfrice?

Joseph Martin Kronheim, illustration of Revelation 22:17 (public domain).

Knight Notes: The Wizard, Chapters 35-37

This post covers Able’s temporary reprieve from the dungeon through his subsequent release and meeting with Lothur.

Chapters 35-37: Down, The Fight Before the Gate, Five Fates and Three Wishes

Chapters summaries

In Chapter 35,  Able is temporarily released by Queen Gaynor at Idnn and Escan’s urging. His parole is rescinded, and Gaynor sends him to the lowest level of the dungeon. After some weeks of rough conditions he is freed by Arnthor. While recuperating, he leads Escan to Aelfrice, and they meet the most low god.

They return to Kingsdoom finding much time has passed. With Baki’s help, they flee Kingsdoom in Chapter 36 with Uns and Galene. Able sees Disiri for the first time since Redhall. They make their way to Redhall, where they rescue many friends from an Osterland siege.

In Chapter 37, Able and friends link up with Arnthor’s forces, and the learn more about the history of the war. Morcaine summons Lothur, and he grants Able three wishes.

The War with Osterland as the Korean War

Gene Wolfe was drafted and served several years in the Army during the Korean war period. I believe he was a combat engineer, and saw combat.

I have read some posts that state that the war between the Commonwealth and the Ascians in the Book of the New Sun was based on the Korean War and the Cold War.

I think the War with Osterland is also based on the Korean War:

• Celidon’s flag is blue, like the blue of the UN forces. Osterland’s flag is red, like North Korea and China.
• Arnthor is the leader of Celidon, like MacArthur was the initial leader of the UN/American forces. MacArthur was fired before the war ended, Arnthor was killed.
• Celidon sacked the Osterland capital and won a great victory at Five Fates that was supposed to win the war. The UN forces won a surprise victory at Inchon, and captured the North Korean capital. Many thought the war over.
• China intervened, and captured the South Korean capital Seoul. Osterland rallied, and captured Kingsdoom.
• The UN forces eventually retook Seoul, and pushed China and North Korea out of South Korea territory. Celidon retook its territory and drove Osterland out after the River Battle.
• Utgard might even be a reference to the USSR. They have an umber flag. Does “umber” = the “bear”?
• If Utgard is the USSR, the slaying of Schildstarr could even be a reference to the dissolution of the USSR.  The destruction of Utgard may be foreshadowed by Able’s statement to Gylf in Chapter 62 of The Knight, about how the lands of Utgard would be a great country for mounted knights to operate in, and that giants might one day go the way of the ogres of Celidon.
• The starved faces of the Osterlings may be GW’s recollection of poorly fed North Korean troops

Christian Allegory

Able’s second imprisonment is an allusion to the Crucifixion. Particularly the gyves on his wrists and feet. They are a reference to the nailing of Christ’s hands and feet. His despair in the dungeon calls to mind Christ’s statement on being forsaken.

Able’s descent to Aelfrice and Escan’s doppelgänger is an allusion to Jesus and Nicodemus’s conversation about being born again. Escan is born again on the shores of Aelfrice.

Niflheim

Niflheim and the most low god seem to be an allusion to Dante’s Inferno, which had Satan trapped in ice at the lowest circle of hell.  The most low god’s statements and the decision to use the name “Niflheim” may even be a subtle reference to nihilism.  The most low god’s propaganda is that there is no difference between him and the Most High God, or between good and evil. This sounds somewhat like a description of nihilism. The falling ice may be the Most High God’s response to these lies.

Morcaine and Lothur

Able sees Morcaine’s true form when he wears his helmet in her presence. It is a lamia.  Morcaine is the best of the three children of Uthor. As Able says, she has chosen good, though evil has chosen her.

Morcaine is also an allusion/personification of the magic spear Gungnir  of Norse myth. Able says her snake body was marked with runes, and Gungnir’s tip was marked with runes. Gungnir means “swaying one”, and Able describes Morcaine as “swaying” during several encounters in the WK. Gungnir was fashioned by the dwarves with Loki’s involvement. I think what GW is hinting at is that Morcaine’s runes were added in her youth by the Aelf, to increase her powers.  Perhaps Setr and/or Lothur had a role in persuading her to do this, in order to make her their tool. As Able said, evil has “chosen” her.

Lothur is an “empty inferno.” Able refers to him as “Prince of Light,” which suggests the Lucifer of Christian theology.  My theory is that the most low god was a being (Lucifer) cast down from Kleos to Niflheim, and that Lothur was a reflection of the most low god in Skai.

Morcaine and Lothur may be an allusion to the enchanted lady and Lucifer from Jack the Giant Killer legend.  The lady has a series of amorous encounters with Jack, similar to Morcaine and Able.  In the Jack story, Lucifer is killed, and the enchanted lady is freed and marries a “prince.” Perhaps Morcaine and Prince Smiler get together after the WK? They both have dragon blood, and both are royal.

Farewell to Some

We say goodbye to Idnn, Svon and a few other friends in these chapters. Svon is a magnificent golden knight when viewed through Able’s magic helm. Idnn’s transformation from a scared 16 year old girl to a formidable queen is complete.

Beel’s Ancestors

Speaking of  Idnn, I do wonder if Beel and Idnn have some dragon or other nonhuman blood in their veins.  The fact that Beel’s coat of arms includes lamias (it is described on Master Crol’s garb in the “By Combat” chapter: quartered lamiae and lilacs) makes me wonder about his ancestors.  Beel’s unnamed father was a prince, and Uthor’s brother. His uncle Uthor procreated with a dragon. The brother of Uther in some Arthurian legends was named Ambrosius, and sometimes linked with Merlin.

Beel can perform magic, and we learn in The Sorcerer’s House that this is hereditary. Did Beel’s father marry a creature from Aelfrice or Muspel, a lamia even? Did his grandfather, King Pholsung, marry such a creature? King Pholsung appears to be based on Volsung, who in the legend married a giantess, or Jotun.  The Jotun often had magical abilities in Norse mythology.

Idnn is described as having “dark eyes”, not blue. Its not clear whether her eyes are brown, or dragon black like Setr, Morcaine and Arnthor. Garsceg’s eyes are described as a “high wind on a dark night.”  She is also described as pale, like Morcaine. Idnn’s sudden transformation from scared teen to resolute Queen might have been aided by some dragon or Aelf heritage, perhaps very diluted.

Beel also surprisingly slays Thrym, the Captain of the Guards of Utgard. Was Beel lucky, or did he have some dragon heritage that helped him? It wouldn’t be the first time that a seemingly mild manned official concealed something sinister. Think about Patera Quetzel on the Whorl in the Book of the Long Sun. I think it’s interesting that we never see what Idnn looks like through Able’s magic helmet. We do see the other royal women: Morcaine, Gaynor, and Disiri.

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Knight Notes: The Wizard, Chapters 22-23

This post covers the Room of Lost Loves through the battle of Utgard

Chapters 22 and 23: Lost Loves, The Battle of Utgard

Chapter Summaries

In Chapter 22, Able and Lynnet (and Mani) enter the Room of Lost Loves. They arrive at a version of Goldenlawn before it was destroyed, and Lynnet sees her family. Able meets Mani in a grotto, of which he will not speak. Able then emerges by the sea, and sees Parka again. He swims out to the Isle of Glas, and meets Mag, who tells her story.  Able leaves the Room, and then talks with Vil, Uri and Mani.

In Chapter 23, the conversation with Vil, Uri and Mani continues. The embassy meets with King Schildstarr, and make ready to leave. Gifts are given, but the giants intend an ambush.  Beel’s embassy is attacked as it leaves, but the ambush is spoiled by the arrival of Duke Marder’s group coming up from the south. The giants are defeated.

The Room of Lost Loves

The name of the room is an allusion to the “Inn of Lost Loves” from The Book of the New Sun. Severian finds his father, Ouen, there.  Able meets Mag, who is at least the “Real Able’s” mother, in the Room of Lost Loves.

The Room as the River Eunoe

Dante’s Divine Comedy is one of the books that is repeatedly referenced in the WK.  One way may be with the Room.  The Room restores memories of lost love. In the Comedy, souls that reach the top level of Purgatory drink from the River Eunoe, which restores memory of good deeds that happened in their lives.  In another chapter, Able talks of how the Valfather’s mead causes those in Skai to forget much of their lives, which sounds like the River Lethe of Greek myth and the Comedy.

Why Did Thiazi Build the Room?

Thiazi says that the Angrborn love, though they are not loved.  Gilling loved Idnn. They have a need that is not being met.  So Thiazi builds the Room so they can experience it. Its in his study though, which no giant enters without invitation.

I think its use must “humanize” them to some extent. Thiazi is the most “human” of all the giants we meet. He is reasonable, restrained, the most well spoken, and by his own claim not cruel for cruelty’s sake.  He probably has used it the most. I suspect Gilling has used the room as well. He is less human than Thiazi, but more human than the rank and file Angrborn. He has a sense of humor, is capable of negotiation, and has genuine affection for Idnn.

I wonder if the Room is GW’s vision of a really good VR simulation system, something that may be available before too long to humanity.  Will our descendants have their own “Rooms of Lost Love” where they can obtain the love they don’t find in their real lives?

Mag

We learn Mag’s story: the birth of Able, how she was kidnapped by a dragon, and then taken to the Isle of Glas. She and other women on the Isle were used to lure sailors there to feed at least one dragon, Setr. Thinking on this some more, I am satisfied that it was Garsceg who came to Griffinsford. Mag says she “believed” it was Grengarm. However, the old man persona used by the dragon persuades me that it was Garsceg. Ulfa offers thanks to Garsceg in an early scene in The Knight, and Glennidam was a nearby village.

The persecution of Griffinsford may have been part of Garsceg/Setr’s plan to take over Mythgarthr. I have another theory for why Griffinsford was singled out for persecution, which involves Arnthor and his ability to see the future. It’s another allusion to The Once And Future King, and I will detail it later. Glennidam surrendered to Garsceg rather than suffer Griffinsford’s fate.

I have not talked about Black Berthold much, but I think he is modeled on Saint Joseph.  Black Berthold does not appear at all in the events of the WK.  This is similar to Joseph, who apparently had died by the time Jesus began his public ministry.  Ben and Art’s father on Earth ran a hardware store, so Berthold and Able’s father may have been a carpenter, like Joseph.

The Real Able visited Mag on the Isle at some point, but she couldn’t escape with him. It’s not clear why.  She then committed suicide with Setr’s poison. She leaves a message for Able in a glass tube on the island. Able found her bones, the cup, and the tube on his prior visit to the Isle of Glas. Her delivery of Able was very difficult, which is similar to the birth of Heracles.

Able mentions in this chapter that he eventually went back to the Isle after the events of the WK and buried her remains, and raised a monument. Its an interesting remark because it shows that Able did not stay in Aelfrice 100% of the time after the end of the WK.

Was Mag  both the Real Able and Art’s mother?  I think they are two different women.  Mag speaks through Lynnet to Able before the River Battle. She says she knows that Art/Able is not her son.  On a different night, Lynnet comes to Able, and a woman speaks through her, telling him of “her girlhood in America.” I think that two different women’s spirits came into Lynnet.  But I am not positive. I should say that I think the two spirits in Lynnet are more like living memories than conscious entities.

As an aside, I note that there are a large number of characters with the name Mag or one its variations (e.g. Margaret, Maggie, Maisie, Gretchen, etc.) in the GW bibliography (novels and short stories). Anyone have a theory? The name means “pearl.”

Lynnet and Goldenlawn/The Gorgon

As discussed in other posts, Goldenlawn is an allusion to the Golden Fleece. Lynnet’s improvement after entering the room is also related to slaying of the Gorgon by Perseus. Able plays the role of both Jason and Perseus.

The Legend of Oedipus

The story of Oedipus was referenced in Able’s encounter with Michael. It is again in these chapters. Able meets Mag, the Real Able’s mother, in the Room of Lost Loves. Her spirit then enters into Lynnet.  Uri half-seriously proposes that Able could marry Lynnet, calling to mind Oedipus marrying his mother Jocasta by mistake.  Vil himself may be a reference of sorts to Oedipus. Oedipus blinded himself after he slept with Jocasta and had offspring. Vil slept with Lynnet and produced Etela.  Etela may be a version of Antigone, the beloved daughter that accompanies the blinded Oedipus into exile. I think Vil was blinded by the giants though, not for sleeping with Lynnet.

The Grotto

Able sees dead people here, but will not speak of it. Perhaps an allusion to the underworld of Greek myth sometimes visited by heroes. Not a nice place.

Mani

Mani learns he is a fusion of a cat and an elemental. He misses the lives of the two entities that he is made of, that’s his lost love. He later learns that when the cat dies, the elemental will continue on, but that “Mani” will cease to be.

The Grail

Able, as Galahad, achieves the Grail by entering the Room of Lost Loves. I am going to save what the Grail is for a future post.

The Battle of Utgard

The giants disguising themselves as rocks are an allusion to the dangerous rocks or sea monsters encountered at sea by Jason and other Greek heroes in their adventures. It even sounds a bit like the ambush Theseus survived when departing Athens.

Broken Pottery

Hela shows the group some broken pottery.  Heimir says it reminds him of Idnn. This is additional confirmation of Idnn’s counterpart in Mary of Bethany. In the Gospel of Mark, Mary of Bethany breaks an alabaster jar and pours the perfumed oil on Jesus.

Hiding The Coin

The lengthy scene of Vil hiding and finding the coin is an acting out of the Parable Of the Lost Coin. All the parables of the Gospels are acted out in one way or another in the WK.

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Knight Notes: The Knight, Chapters 7-9

Chapters 7-9: Disiri, Ulfa and Toug, and A Wizard Knight

Chapter Summary

Able meets Disiri and is transformed into an adult. We then are introduced to Ulfa and Toug, who will be important characters in the WK.

In Chapter 7, Able is pursuing what he thinks to be the peasant woman Disira into the forest. He hears a cry for help, and finds that it is actually Queen Disiri of the Moss Aelf. She pretends to be trapped under a tree branch to get Able alone. They are intimate, and she then uses her magic to age him into a larger, and more powerful adult male body.

In Chapter 8 Able returns to Glennidam. He strikes down Toug’s father (Old Toug) for laughing at his nakedness, and has his daughter, Ulfa, sew him some new clothes.  Ravd and Svon have already left in search of the Free Companies. When Able leaves he is attacked by Old Man Toug, Toug and a neighbor. Able disarms them and captures Toug.

In Chapter 9, Able and Toug  wander into Aelfrice. Queen Disiri makes an appearance. She “knights” Able and tells him of Eterne. Able resolves to obtain it. Toug stays with Disiri in Aelfrice, and Able plants the last of this spiny orange seeds there. He then leaves Aelfrice and finds Disira and her baby Ossar. They make their way to Berthold’s hut.

Able’s Physical Transformation

In early readings, I simply accepted that Disiri could age Able through magic. However, on further review, I think something more complex happened. The Aelf are not native to Mythgarthr, and are weak there in sunlight.   They have limited control over Mythgarthr’s physical world.

So where did Able’s adult body come from? In talking with Ulfa, he says that Disiri has told him he was “held back” (by her), and that she undid the holding back.  This is probably a reference to the time the “real” Able spent in Aelfrice. But Art/Able was not held back by Disiri, as his arrival in the world of the WK is relatively recent.  Right? Or was Art kept in Aelfrice for years?

I think there are several possibilities. One is that Art Ormsby’s mind was placed into the real Able’s body, and vice versa. The real Able is dead by this point.  This death happened either in Aelfrice, or his body was taken to Aelfrice so it would not decay.  When Disiri undid her magic, the real Able’s body (with Art’s mind) assumed its true chronological age. Perhaps he absorbed new mass from the surrounding environment. Art occupying Able’s body may explain why Berthold thinks Art/Able is his real brother.  Interestingly, Art Ormsby never confuses Berthold with his brother Ben.  So my gut is that Art Ormsby and the “real” Able don’t look that much alike.

Before Able fights Kulili in Chapter 26 of The Wizard, Uri grabs Able and says “This I hold is that part of the Able who was which survived.”

Now this could be Uri just talking about the change in Art/Able before and after he went to Skai. But “the Able who was” reference might also be to the first, or “Real Able.” It may be GW’s clue that Art Ormsby is actually occupying the Real Able’s body.

Able has a dream in The Wizard (Chapter 38) about watching an ambulance on a highway in our world. He knows that the “real Able” is in the ambulance. So, in this theory, the real Able’s mind was put into Art’s body, which was found by Ben, EMS workers, etc.  Given that the real Able was possibly brain dead, Art’s body then died on Earth, perhaps from exposure if his body was lying out in the woods for days.

An alternative possibility is that Art/Able was kept in Aelfrice for years before he awoke in Parka’s cave.  In that case, Disiri is simply allowing Art’s body to catch up to where it should have.

The Worlds Turned Upside Down

We get further evidence of the spiritual disorder in Mythgarthr in these chapters.  Ulfa swears by Garsceg’s name at least twice, and once in thanks that her mother is still alive. She admits that the people of Glennidam worship the Aelf in secret, including Disiri.  Disiri herself accepts homage from Able when he wanders into Aelfrice. This is contrary to the cosmic order of this universe. All beings are to give their worship to the beings of the levels above them. The humans of Mythgarthr are to direct their worship to Skai. Towards the end of the review of The Knight I will suggest a reason for the spiritual disorder.

Able “the Bad”

Some have objected to the WK based on their dislike of Able’s conduct, particularly early on in The Knight. He strikes down Old Toug and threatens to kill Toug during his encounter with Disiri in these chapters. He exhibits some bullying type behavior in later chapters.

I think what is happening is the result of suddenly putting boy in a grown man’s body.  Able is essentially drunk on the change in hormones and is getting used to his new, adult brain.  The more I read, I increasingly lower Art Ormsby’s age when he left Earth. He never mentions driving a car, having a girlfriend or playing a sport.   Ulfa describes him as a “boy”, Ravd a “lad.”  So, I think Art was in the range of 14-15 when he left Earth.

Toug’s Parentage?

I have previously identified Toug as being based on the knights Percival and Tor of Arthurian legend. In some stories, Percival and Tor were fathered by a noble or knight on a peasant woman, often identified as King Pellinore of Listenoise.  According to Ulfa, Old Man Toug was afraid that Ulfa would be raped, and hid her when Sir Ravd arrived at Glennidam.  We later see that Ulfa’s mother is terrified of Able, and can’t even speak to him.  GW could be hinting that Ulfa’s mother was raped in the past by a knight or noble. Maybe Toug is not the son of Old Man Toug.

Who is Toug’s father? Does GW hide any clues in the WK?  Glennidam was in Duke Indign’s lands, so perhaps he was the son of the Duke Indign. Pellinore was also King “of the Isles” according to Wikipedia and Duke Indign’s castle was on a Bluestone Island. Bluestone and Listen(oise) even sound a bit alike.

The name Indign seems to mean “disgraceful” or “unbecoming” according to MAD’s WKC.  It could be that the sexual exploitation of his female subjects is Duke Indign’s disgrace.   Morcaine later says in The Wizard that knights are notorious for raping peasant women.

Toug does later become a knight, and normally knighthood was only open to those of “gentle birth” in Celidon. His desire to become a knight may also hint at his father having this kind of background.

Toug may also be the WK’s version of Much the Miller’s Son. Much is commoner portrayed as a young man taken in by the Merry Men after being engaged in poaching. Toug is also a young peasant who tried his hand at criminal activity when he ambushed Able as he was leaving Irringsmouth.

Ulfa

Ulfa’s Arthurian counterpart is Elaine of Astolat. Ulfa weaves, as Elaine weaves. Elaine tried to and sometimes successfully seduced Lancelot in the stories. Able is playing the role of Lancelot in the WK.

Ulfa also means a female wolf, and a she-wolf was one of the beasts that menaced Dante in the early chapters of The Divine Comedy. 

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Knight Notes: So What’s It All About?

In previous posts I’ve identified influences in the WK and some of the themes GW explores.  But what’s the overall purpose?  The WK can be read in various ways, and in varying depths:

• Its a boy meets girl, boy loses girls, boy gets girl back narrative. Able’s pursuit of Disiri is the central thread of the story.
• Its Joseph Campbell “hero’s journey.” Able is a representation of the “Hero with a Thousand Faces“, and this is GW’s version of the mono myth.
• Its GW’s tribute/acknowledgement/homage to some of his and our culture’s prominent literary and cultural influences: Lord Dunsany, Sir Walter Scott, George MacDonald, T.H. White, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Tennyson, Edmund Spenser, Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant comic strip, movies about King Arthur, etc.
• Not only is it his version of the monomyth, but GW also weaves into the WK the actual stories of famous heroes, including Lancelot, Heracles, Odysseus, Theseus, Beowulf, Perseus, Bellerophon, Cadmus, Oedipus, Orpheus, Jack the Giant Killer, Robin Hood, and maybe others.  The name of the world Able visits, Mythgarthr, could arguably be translated as “Myth World”, or a land inhabited by living myths.
• At a deeper level, the WK is a Christian allegory, somewhat like Pilgrim’s Progress, the Divine Comedy or C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Able is a distant echo of Christ who undergoes a process of theosis and serves as an agent of a higher power to set right a broken world. GW uses Greek, Norse and other mythologies, and Arthurian legends, to code the elements of the allegory into his tale.  The events Able experiences and people he meets match up with the events and people from the story of Jesus in the Gospels and other books the New Testament. Please note that the allusions to events in the New Testament in the WK don’t happen in the same chronological order that they do in the Gospel stories.
• At its most mystic level, the WK is a parable of Men and Women, our mutual estrangement, and the hope of reconciliation.  GW alludes to and uses the Divine Comedy, Greek mythology, the Kabbalah, and color symbolism in communicating this theme.
• Finally, there are faint traces of GW’s biography in the WK.  The War with Osterland is partly based on the Korean War, similar to what he did with The Book of the New Sun.

All of the above are true, but the story can be enjoyed by a reader who only perceives the first few levels. Its the “rereading with pleasure” that allowed me to discover the remaining themes.

This is an incredibly dense book, with each character representing mulitple allusions to folklore, mythology and literature.  I don’t expect a reader to agree with everything I propose. But I would encourage a new or young reader of GW to hold the image of a layer cake in their mind when reading his books. There are usually multiple stories or narratives stacked on top of each other, like the different levels of a layer cake.  If you find yourself strongly disagreeing with another reader’s theory of a GW book, consider the possibility that you are both right.

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Knight Notes: Color Systems and Symbolism

GW makes use of color symbolism in the WK and many of his other works. I have not developed a comprehensive theory for his method, but let me share some thoughts. Perhaps others can offer interpretations.

First, some background on color systems:

• Aristotle developed the first known color system. It consisted of seven colors: White, Yellow, Red, Violet, Green, Blue and Black
• A rainbow is commonly accepted to have seven colors: Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Indigo-Violet. Roy G. Biv.
• Isaac Newton used the same seven colors for his system, and also organized them into a color wheel.
• The Roman Catholic Church has what are known as liturgical colours, which are used in Church decoration and priestly vestments for different times of the year.
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, are the colors the Kabbalah associates with the Tree of Life (Sephirot or Sefirot). GW used Kabbalah symbols, etc. in the Urth of the New Sun, and others have observed Kabbalah symbols/wording, etc. in other books. The Sefirot is composed of 10 parts, and I have read articles associating these with certain colors:
  • Malkhut is blue and black
  • Yesod is orange
  • Netzak is light pink
  • Hod  is dark pink
  • Tiferet is purple
  • Gevurah  is red
  • Hesed is white
  • Binah is green
  • Hokmah is blue
  • Keterhas no color
• If you are going to apply Kabbalah to GW’s bibliography, it’s important that you only use traditional, Jewish Kabbalah. There are non-Jewish versions that have different Kabbalah color associations.

Color symbolism is present across the range of GW’s novels:

• Many characters in GW’s books have colors for names. We have Greens in Peace and There Are Doors. There are Blues in Pandora and Home Fires. There are Blacks in The Sorcerer’s House and Peace. There is a Gold in Peace. A White in An Evil Guest. 
• Certain colors are used to describe people without given names. There is a “green man” in both The Book of the New Sun and Castleview.
• Others have commented on the Blue-Green pairing of Urth(blue)-Lune (green), St. Anne (green) and St. Croix (blue), and the worlds of Blue and Green in The Book of the New Sun, The Fifth Head of Cerberus, and The Book of the Short Sun.
  • What some may be overlooking in these pairings is the color Red. Urth and Lune are joined by the red, dying sun. St. Anne and St. Croix have a sun that is described as pink (ok, almost red). The old red sun of Urth reappears The Book of the Short Sun.
  •  Red, Blue and Green are primary colors in the RBG additive model. When you overlap them you get white:

• As an example of this RBG primary color symbolism in art, let’s consider the painting below,  Dante and Beatrice:

by Henry Holiday (public domain). Taken from Wikipedia commons.

In this scene, Dante (in Green) is observing his beloved Beatrice (in White) with two other women, who are in Red and Blue.  This is a deliberate use of RBG primary color symbolism resulting in white.  Beatrice is associated with the “Beatific Vision“, so its very appropriate that she be dressed in white.  We will revisit Dante in discussing the WK.

Colors are used in the WK as well:

• Orange for the Spiny Orange tree
• Blue in Bluestone castle, and the Sea Aelf.
• Yellow for the eyes of the Aelf
• Red for Redhall. Escan’s library is called the Red Room
• Gold for Lynnet’s manor.
• Green for Able and Disiri. He is a “Green Knight from Skai” in Chapter Three of The Wizard. She has green hair and skin.
• White for Kulili, Cloud, Michael and the Griffin.
• Black for the Black Caan, and for Marder as the Black Knight. Arnthor, Setr and Morcaine all have black eyes.
• Utgard has an umber flag, Celidon a sea blue flag, Osterland a red flag
• The Old Caan of the Osterlings had six sons, by birth order they were assigned the colors red, brown, white, gold, blue and black.

I don’t have a general theory that explains the use of all color in the WK and GW’s other works. A few observations:

• I believe White is associated with holiness or the divine presence. White is the liturgical color of the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Severian brings a new, white sun to Urth in The Urth of the New Sun.
• Black may be associated with death or evil. Severian is garbed in his famous black cloak, and that color is associated with his order. Zwart Black is the villain in The Sorcerer’s House. Marder pretends to be a Black Knight, who uses a skull for a crest. Bobby Black dies young in Peace.  The Black Caan slays Arnthor.
• Red may be associated with sacrifice. It is the color of Good Friday. Ravd of Redhall is slain in The Knight. The red sun of Urth is dying, slain by a black hole apparently.
• Green seems associated with life, or nature.  A dangerous innocence without a moral code?  The world of St. Anne, inhabited by the green eyed Abos, is green. The morally primitive, almost innocent, Inhumi dominate the world “Green.” Disiri of the Aelf has green hair and skin, and is on a lower level than Able.  The character Green from There Are Doors is sort of naive, and not very bright according to GW himself.
• Blue may represent flawed, fallen humanity, and our world generally. The dying Urth is blue. St. Croix, the more developed, politically corrupt world from The Fifth Head of Cerberus is blue.  “Blue” is the planet where most of the settlers from The Whorl have gone, and are struggling to set up a new society. Bluestone Castle is a ruined castle.  Poorly governed Celidon has a blue flag. Chelle Sea Blue from Home Fires is a wounded, mentally unstable war veteran. Aladdin Blue of Pandora is a dishonest, ex-con who appears to screw up a police investigation of a murder.
• The Sefirot Malkuth’s association with the color blue and black may support the previous bullet point. Malkuth is supposed to represent our physical world, the “kingdom.”

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