Mystery of Ascia

David Duffy · 20 Jan 2011, 22:50 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: davidD at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:50:59 +1000 (EST)
Subject: (urth) Mystery of Ascia
In-Reply-To: <AA527346-C4B6-4AC1-8D7B-53F3B1DF4774 at butcherbaker.org>
References: <AANLkTimmqUjTExJXuOD=m1O+3ED9WV3v57WEaeL9+KBv at mail.gmail.com>
	<AA527346-C4B6-4AC1-8D7B-53F3B1DF4774 at butcherbaker.org>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.1101210847480.27054 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>

On Thu, 20 Jan 2011, Son of Witz wrote:

> On Jan 20, 2011, at 1:03 PM, Andrew Mason <andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Son of Witz wrote: .
>>
>>> Sure, I suppose I can swallow the asian androgeny bit. Severian describes her eyes as "strangely tilted" and her nose as upturned.  I think this is more or less safe to say she is asian or Ascian. The tilt would seem strange to him because they seem novel.
>>
>> She may be Asian, but not Ascian. Wolfe has been quite insistent that
>> Ascians are not Asian - they are North American. Asians are
>> Xanthoderms or from the Xanthic lands.
>
> Hmmm, Frankly, I think the comment is ass-covering in a PC era. North 
> Americans could very well be Asian by the time of the story.

> Clearly, these stand-ins for the "Godless Communists" embodied in 
> Wolfe's life by the asians he combatted.  The description and name seems 
> so asian to me I think Wolfe is just back-pedaling in the interview.
>

Asians do not have freckles, except a few interesting Chinese families. 
Severian comments that racial physiognomy and colour are acquired by 
living on the same continent for long enough.

Cheers, David Duffy.

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