Hume and Weissmann & Pointsman

[Mark David Tristan Brenchley]

On Tue, 20 Mar 2001, Terrance wrote:

> In her marvelous essay, Kathryn Hume has no difficulty
> identifying the two most repulsive figures in GR, Pointsman
> and Weissmann. 
> 
> 
> Enzian's mission of building a  new mythic consciousness for
> his people forces him to use such verbal powers. His status
> as racial underdog wins reader sympathy, but he is likened
> to a lion, emblematic animal of the Elect, a suggestion that
> we should be wary of taking him as model for actions or
> values. The characters who use such power without scruple,
> Weissmann  and Pointsman, provoke revulsion. 

	Indeed, his very name itself is suggestive of an emblem. It is
presumably a play on Ensign, or standard bearer for an army, (of course it
would be taking it to far to link Enzian with notion of an ENZyme,
surely?). The question is, is he a good ensign, or are we supposed to
reject this very notion of an emblem [look what that did to Tyrone]? It
is pehaps intriguing the Enzian is the very character who seems to see the
conspiracy theory for what it is - not real. Does this make him a person
who we should look to, or is this just another trap.



Mark
"all my life I give you nothing, and stll you ask for more"
		- G & G