Talk:Severian (character)

Severian and Dorcas
–I thought that the boatman who was Dorcas's husband remains unnamed, & if i recall, it is speculated that is it a different name....Charn? Or similar. I don't have any sources in front of me, but I'll try to remember to look it up when I get home.--m:. 22:27, 4 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I couldn't find a name or nickname in Shadow, but it was Robert Borski in "Solar Labyrinth" who suggested that his name was "Caron." Later on Borski says that his name isn't found in the "New Sun."  Which leaves me kind of at a dead end for now.--m:. 01:51, 5 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Since no one had anything to say about this, I've "boldly" gone ahead & removed the Charon statement from the article. mordicai. 12:33, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Events in the Urth of the New Sun
-(spoilers in this post) At the bottom of the page, it states that the claw revives Severian during the Urth of the New Sun. However, it seems to be quite explicitly stated that this is not the case much later in the book (during his time as Apu Punchau).

Fuligin
It would be good if there was an explaination for fuligin, the color that is darker than black, as this is a word created by Gene Wolf (probably derived from fuliginous). I understand it is mentioned in the article The Book of the New Sun, although it would not be too much to have it mentioned here also because it is in direct relation to Severian. PyrE 10:40, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Severian as "The Outsider"
If I recall at the end of the Urth of the New Sun, Severian meets someone that says "...the rest of the gods are waiting..." or something like that. Does this mean that he had then become one of the gods? I was thinking that he might be the "Outsider" that had given Patera Silk his "enlightenment". Can anyone confirm/deny this? Wardprefect (talk) 03:03, 15 February 2008 (UTC)wardprefect
 * Talk pages are for discussions on improving the main page, not for use as a forum to discuss the books. Such speculation would almost certainly be original research unless backed by a reliable source (which would answer your question though : )  If you do find out, please add it to the page!  WLU (talk) 22:02, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

The 'other gods' are Odilo, Pega and Thais, who had already died. The Outsider is a true god.2.80.238.169 (talk) 22:11, 5 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Wolfe is on record as saying that Severian is a form of the Outsider rather than the other way around, or simply Severian=Outsider. --Gwern (contribs) 23:28 5 August 2010 (GMT)

Request for help in responding to errors
I'm new to this process. I'm requesting help on how to respond to the errors that I believe are in this article.

There are several errors in the section on Severian's appearance, that Mannea of the Pelerines chooses Severian for a mission based on his appearance, or that the Autarch chooses Severian as his successor at all. I could document the reasons and cite page numbers of the books as sources. The other events listed in the section also can't be ascribed to appearance simply because they aren't clear, except for the case of Dr. Talos, who needed a Death/torturer figure for his play. The reason the captain of the Samru gives Severian passage is less obvious, because Severian himself speculates that his appearance, or more specifically, aspects of his physical state, must be the reason, but, given the experiences from which Severian has just come, and Severian's other speculations about the impressions the captain and sailors have of him, it is clear to the reader that there's more to it.

Explanation, or exploration, of why Mannea chose Severian, and how, and by whom, Severian was chosen to succeed the Autarch, could be in new sections about Severian and the Claw, and Severian and the Hierodules. But, even revealing that Severian succeeds the Autarch, as this article does, is a spoiler. I may be alone in this, but, though there are many hints, it took me a long time to realize that Severian becomes Autarch, and I'm very glad that I didn't find out before I figured it out.

The page "Wikipedia:Spoiler" says "...articles on a work of fiction should primarily describe it from a real-world perspective, discussing its reception, impact and significance." There are definitely many other articles on fictional characters that don't comply with this. The article about Aragorn is an example. The article about Tom Sawyer is more compliant.

Should this article be rewritten with the sections on Personality and Appearance rolled into a single section that contains fewer plot points? Should it be rewritten with its current inaccuracies corrected in appropriate sections? Should it be removed? (originally added but didn't sign on 01:41, 26 May 2011 (UTC)) Lark Wells (talk) 03:47, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Valeria an exultant?
IIRC Valeria was from a family of armigers, not exultants. If the article is simply suggesting that she was living in an exultant's household, it doesn't make this clear, and from what I recall it was her own family line that was implied to have a strong connection to the obscure courtyard where Severian met her. - — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.212.41.71 (talk • contribs) 17:07, 2015 April 12

Severian is a time traveler...
Severian is a time traveler, and his travels have affected his own timeline. In Urth of the New Sun he speculates about previous versions of Severian, who preceded him.

As a youth, he had the (creepy) habit of hanging out in an empty tomb. He realizes the image of the occupant is his own adult image. He realizes the reason the tomb's door is open, and the tomb empty, is that its occupant, probably the original Severian, was not yet immortal, and was buried there, prior to his own birth. Later, when later Severians become immortal, this applies, retroactively, to original Severian.

Severian is attacked by a zombie, while staying in a small inn, after his return from the other Universe, in Urth of the New Son. He remarks how mutliple people came to his aid. Later he speculates that some of his helpers were older versions of himself, after he had fully mastered time travel.

Presumably the various critical works about the stories cover this in more detail. Geo Swan (talk) 17:23, 14 June 2017 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Severian (disambiguation) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 02:17, 22 November 2023 (UTC)