Robin Hobb writing how there is a history of colonalism that led to the current Coastal vs Inland Duchy divides fascinates me. You can tell that she really thought about this, as beauty standards clearly favor the Coastal "look". Fitz remarks that the bridal gift of a silver and ruby necklace Kettricken gets in AA would suit a darker girl better, but she looks so happy that he can't be upset, which mirrors irl colorist sentiments. Fitz himself is half Mountain and half Buck, and he is often remarked on as looking (and being) just like his father Chivalry. Much like his name, Fitzchivalry, which marks him as Chivalry's bastard, the only stain on the perfect heir's name (the original title of AA was Chivalry's Bastard after all), and denies him an identity outside of that, which he refashions into his own. Even though he seems to be "proper" at first, as with many things about Fitz's life, there is a hidden other side of him that he cannot quite repress. Spoilers for the whole series under the cut
Molly's remark that he can visibly blush, unlike most Buck men (later echoed in Althea's derision that her sister could be attracted to and marry a man who can visibly blush) is a sign that he does not quite fit into the mold of a proper Buck man. He represses his mother, pretending that he does not remember her or the name she gave him, and he sublimates this desire into his attraction towards tall authoritative blondes. The most notable example here is Kettricken, who he does compare to his mother in Farseer (early RA or late AA i think?) before purposefully repressing the comparison. He also compares Kettricken to The Fool, before remarking that she is a "pale beauty", linking these concepts of paleness, foreignness, attraction, and familiarity. The Fool himself acts as a guide to Fitz as well, and compares his duty as a White Prophet to that of a mother raising a child (which has its own implications). Fitz in general romanticizes the maternal bond, and uses his relationships with women to sublimate this desire of his. It is no mistake that Molly marries his foster father, and that he uses the skill to experience Nettle's childhood through her eyes, and therefore experiences her bond with Molly and Burrich (Thank you Hermione for pointing this out!). Jinna herself points this out, and she acts as a surrogate wife and mother to Fitz and Hap, after Starling breaks with Fitz earlier. Both women are either infertile (and later breaks with Fitz more permanently after miraculously getting pregnant), or using birth control that explicitly stops Fitz from performing sexually. Both women also reject Fitz on basis of his inability to hide his dual nature, the Wit or suspected bisexuality. When Fitz listens on Jek and Amber, he explicitly feels abandoned just like when his parents abandoned him. He also feels upset that Amber has a life outside of him, much like a child who feels upset that his mother pays attention to people who are not him. This also parallels Amber's relationship with The Paragon, who she carves into being, and the wizardwood is called wombwood, so there are strong parallels to gestation. The mother-child bond originates in the womb, when both parties share a body. At the end of Fool's Fate, Fitz and Beloved share a body, which Beloved calls "sheltering me inside of your body". It is also generative, as it creates a child, Bee, and also brings Beloved back to life, which in AQ a similar event is called a "gravebirth". Liveships and The Paragon especially also have a dualistic natures as well (Paragon/Pariah, the two dragons making up his plank, and generally liveship/dragon) It is also Desire being a mother that makes Fitz sympathetic to her, even as he discusses her letter that derides him based on his bastardy being an insult to all married women and his Mountain heritage, and Regal and Desire both emphasize their Farseer heritage over their Inland Duchy one, even as they try to use their influence among the Inland Duchies to split the Six Duchies along that same divide. Also, Fitz's conception is conceived of in terms of conquest by Verity, with Chivalry's name and his diplomatic role at Moonseye Fort being punned with him having sex with a Mountain woman as something "Chivved open".
