Severian's skin color

Andy Robertson · 18 Jun 2005, 00:50 · from 2005-June.txt.gz

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From: andywrobertson at clara.co.uk (Andy Robertson)
Date: Sat Jun 18 00:50:06 2005
Subject: (urth) Severian's skin color
In-Reply-To: <BAY7-F3275BD506EAAA38D566196D7F40 at phx.gbl>
References: <BAY7-F3275BD506EAAA38D566196D7F40 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <E1DjY5R-0007Ds-H3 at oceanus.uk.clara.net>

> So, 
> while I think it may be reasonable to assume that Sevarian may be tale, 
> pale and sunken-cheeked only by the standards of his community and not 
> that of contemporary Europeans, I think it's a bigger stretch to assert 
> one way or another that he or the people of Nessus look like contemporary 
> native South Americans, or any other ethnic group we can imagine. 
> 
> seth

The people of the Commonwealth do look like contemporary south Americans.  
There's a largely European upper class (some of whom have pale/blond hair 
and blue eyes), a lower class of Amerindian "autocthons" with dark skin and 
straight thick dark hair, and a mixed group between. 

In the far South there are people who look like contemporary Scandinavians 
with "pale hair and speckled skin" (ref innkeeper describing the levies as 
he chats to Severian in Nessus). 

I agree this makes zero sense at umpty zillion AD, but Wolfe describes these 
groups quite clearly. 

. 

.

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