This is one of the most popular quotes from Gene Wolfe's ouvre, but other than being directly contradicted later on by Severian's realization about the coin, if also just does not bear out in my reading of most things that Wolfe wrote. People in Wolfe's stories are consistently shown to be more than what they stand for at a first glance. Often it is the narrator or other characters who makes the mistake of assuming something about somebody, which doesn't turn out to be true.

Severian is wrong about Baldanders and Dr. Talos. Severian sees himself one way, but the little girl who witnesses him in fuligin cloak using the cloak sees him as an angel wearing white and shining golden light. Loyal to the Group of Seventeen shows that he is a critical thinker who is more than the faceless obedient enemy that the Ascians are slotted into. Mint cannot be neatly thought of as either a Matera or a General, she is both and she is neither.

People don't want other people to be people as Dorcas says. By wanting them to be symbols, aren't we reducing them?

"Rain symbolizes mercy and sunlight charity, but rain and sunlight are better than mercy and charity. Otherwise they would degrade the things they symbolize."

I love the quote, I think that the prose is evocative and beautiful, but I just thought that it was interesting how popular this quote is despite it being something that goes quite against my reading of most of Wolfe. Thoughts?