The Solar Cycle's Problem with Women (Spoilers for all books)

I just wrote a wholly unnecessary note to my friend inside the Sword and Citadel I'm giving him, explaining how I don't condone Wolfe's/Severian's perception and treatment of women. I don't twist myself in any kind of loop trying to think my way around it. I think quite simply that Wolfe could have understood and portrayed women much better than he did. His stories are so subjective and often from the POV of a very sick man, sure, but that while that may explain Severian's obsession with a given woman, the Undines didn't need to describe their physiques like that.

I don't think LeGuin's being a fan should be invoked as some end-of-discussion, definitive proof that any criticism of Wolfe's treatment of women is invalid. It seems like she was sufficiently moved by the overwhelming great in Wolfe's writing that even she was fine with choosing to move past his and his character's flaws. She also knew him personally, which most of us didn't.

/r/genewolfe Thread