Thorkild Erling is happy to return to his home on the planet Harbor and, of course, the wind reflects his feelings. Inside, the hearth-fire leaps while its flames dance and chuckle. Outside, the wind whistles and rattles the door while the sea roars. Whistling, rattling and roaring can be threatening but not here. Instead, they complement the leaping, dancing and chuckling. The Thorkilds:
"...sat in a warm dry house and heard the wind singing outside.
"I was happy..." (p. 258)
The wind, our constant companion in Poul Anderson's works, contributes twice in a single paragraph.
"Here was the peace that heals."
-Poul Anderson, "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, December 2010), pp. 333-465 AT 43, p. 460.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And more and more we came to realize Erling was trying to convince himself he was happy!
Ad astra! Sean
Also, things like the wind are not seen in-and-of themselves, but as people -perceive- them.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
True, the wind just IS, it needs people to perceive and think about winds.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: illustrating that data don't have human meaning. They acquire that by interpretation.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! And anthropmorhizing is one of those means of interpreting data.
Ad astra! Sean
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