My instinct, as usual, is to say "keep reading!"
because that issue was definitely not finished with in Chapter One -- but I can still understand the uncertainty. The tricky thing about this, I think, is that speaking aloud isn't a new thing for Tareth. She flips easily between the two -- but only with Severian. Speaking aloud to other people is the thing she hasn't really done before. It's being willing to step outside of her sheltered world that makes her decision a big deal, rather than it being a decision to vocalise.That said, there's way more to the story, and Tareth's preferred method of communication is something that'll come up throughout. To those of you who are sad to see less signing this chapter -- do not worry! It's not done, not by a long shot. This is one of those long, long stories where whole characters and plot threads can fall into the background for a chapter or so and come back later, and without delving into too much explanation of my own story, I feel like this is basically an example of that.
Ultimately, though, my primary concern is the characters, rather than the issues they raise. The story is about them -- not about their deafness, or muteness, or OCD, or bipolar disorder, or anything else that is but one facet of them. I'm not trying to spread an Important Message About Deafness by having a deaf character -- Tareth's circumstances, especially growing up without any Deaf culture to exist in, are very different from someone who is deaf in our world -- though I do understand the danger of generalising "this is the way it should be" with anything like that, and I really don't have any intentions to make such statements as the story continues. So far, Tareth has been encouraged to speak aloud in order to help Severian. But there's more to the story, and to her story, than that.
