Episode 16: The Knight with Rereading Wolfe

[@Wvpes]

Excellent. This is probably as close as we'll get to a Rereading Wolfe episode on Wizard Knight for at least a decade 😂, so thanks for getting this collab together. In a lot of ways, I found Wizard Knight more mystifying and intriguing than New Sun, immediately started rereading it after finishing it the first time. Definitely had the experience of "I can't wait to finish this so I can start rereading and figure out what's actually going on"

[@MarkMcCannIreland]

Great conversation. Going to crack open The Wizard Knight again.

[@harrison_williams]

“The first read of a Wolfe novel is painful.” So true. Every subsequent read is increasingly pleasurable though.

[@NealDurando]

Aw sweet. Favorite new podcast guys interviewing one of my favorite X follows!

[@agabrielrose]

Able's admiration for Ravd is like (Eschenbach's) Parsival's fascination with the three knights he encounters.

[@daniel_frazier]

I've been reading this! Parzival is wonderful.

[@agabrielrose]

@@daniel_frazier It's fantastic. My favorite Grail narrative.

[@Turambar29]

I've followed three threads that might be worth considering in the Wizard Knight. 1) The relationship between Mythgarthr and America - it seems that Wolfe was fascinated by the idea of a Germanic chivalric society without Christianity. If that is what Mythgarthr is, Able/Art is the injection of a Christian kid from America to supply the needed Christian element to correct the tyranny of Arnthor. The Real Able is then, in a novel that was never written, just hinted at in the text, the injection of a needed heroic element into America. 2) Able/Art does occupy the roles of Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table; the way he embodies all the knights is by playing the role of Gawain, who becomes the Green Knight - the very title Able comes to be known by in the story. He is the knight who is tested, and becomes the Wizard Knight who tests other knights. He even remembers being the Green Knight testing Gawain, literally, in his time among the Overcyns, and references this again when coming to the fight with Setr in The Wizard. 3) Giants and dragons are behind most of the problems in Celidon. The Osterlings worship dragons, the Aelf and their corrupt worship are driven by dragons, Arnthor is the product of a dragon. Draconic incursions interfere with the primary duties of human beings, to worship the Overcyns and fight the giants.

[@marczwander893]

I loved every minute of this, thank you guys! Contrary to popular belief I found the Wizard to be wildly more entertaining than the knight so I'm patiently waiting for that one :) So many insights into how the wolrd works. Also love Morcaine as just a WILD take on the princess archetype. James nice catch on the Ossir Osiris connection! I still didn't do my reread (into Latro rn) but there might be some Egyptian Kamutef ("bull of his mother") connection, a title of a god (sometimes Min, sometimes Ptah) who fathers himself with his own mother. At least that'S what I'll be looking for who knows if I'll find it lol. Well, thanks again 🙏

[@agabrielrose]

Re: adaptation, a psychedelic animated version of Wizard Knight might be really great. So many scenes that could be so vividly animated in a cool style. Able swimming, Garsecg, Disiri, all the locations. With a great artist or team of artists it could be amazing.

[@FrankOConnor]

Couple of notes on the conversation- Able’s vow to use no sword but Eterne and his vow to never kill Garsecg are identical in both the earnestness and sense of honor they adhere to- as well as Able’s not very subtle, brute force workarounds as he realizes how impractical the vows are in real life. Also the roof of the tower is a garden of Eden allegory complete with forbidden fruit (Durian) and so yeah in a sense the tower roof is the beginning of a new world for garsecg even if not a literal launchpad for invasion (but Arnthor’s dragon dna certainly makes that a serious proposition I think)

[@daniel_frazier]

The garden of eden parallel is really clear and well noted and maybe in some sense Able is a symbol of THAT Able (and always telling everyone to say "may" instead of "can/Cain").

[@marcaramini9794]

Hello! I havent had a chance to listen past the first twenty minutes but here is a link to the writeup. As far as America, in the opening chapters of The Knight Able says he feels like he is all mixed up with another little girl, and later that memories are jumbled like books on the wrong shelf. The memories of America are from his connection to mother, the umbilical cord Parka gives him, and her memories. However, this is all a Jungian dream sent to his mother after the fact, so that she can learn about him (the angel says his mother never knew him, and sends the dream so that, in a way, she and the surviving son can get to know him). In the place of lost loves he learns why he was named Able (Able to be born despite a hard pregnancy), though that event was plagued with things like double headed turtles. In the final chapter he admits, after killing the Cloud dragon that is actually Cloud, the perseverance of the horse, that he is not Able (to be born). When he ponders that he is just a dream in Disiri's mind, he is approaching the truth, as being mixed up with the little girl is both sperm and egg mixing but also his close mixing with mother, living through her and then his brother. docs.google.com/document/d/1CQKj5iyETzrcdS0gq1ZOpug1o-OPH6-X4Y-onvxdRBk/edit?usp=drivesdk

[@UndertowersPodcast]

Thanks for sharing the write up! Will be digging in for sure and this will absolutely inform our upcoming episode on the Wizard.