tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48332043757892495572024-02-07T15:06:49.094-05:00The Thirteenth Depository - A Wheel of Time BlogWheel of Time reference library, Wheel of Time resources, Wheel of Time maps, wheel of time characters, Wheel of Time information, Wheel of time encyclopedia, wotmania FAQ, WotmaniaDominichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17610557134981958201noreply@blogger.comBlogger1022125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-22439173183258882862022-10-02T19:59:00.009-04:002022-10-02T20:23:48.640-04:00Character Parallels: Moiraine and Thom<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda</a></i><br />
<br />
Moiraine and Thom are a magical duo: one an adept magical user, the other a master of sleight of hand, music and Story. Story and music spellbind their audiences and music is particularly regarded as magical in its effects. Skilled musicians and magicians alike were believed to have sold their soul to the devil—to have links with the underworld. <br />
<br />
Moiraine’s entire career was dedicated to searching for the man who would save the world from the Dark One. Thom was drawn in by his attraction to Moiraine and his desire to help the Emond’s Fielders survive the attentions of an Aes Sedai as he was not able to do for his nephew Owyn. Both were excellent mentors to the young people, mesmerising and inspiring in their knowledge and skills and the way they led by example. Moiraine willingly sacrificed herself to save Rand from Lanfear, knowing she would end up in the Otherworld of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn. Thom was willing to risk his life to rescue her from that Otherworld and guarded the entrance to the underworld of Shayol Ghul while Moiraine went inside to play her part. <br />
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The parallels of Moiraine and then Thom will be discussed in turn. Here is the outline:<br />
<br />
<a href="#moiraine">Moiraine</a><br />
<a href="#marthurian">Arthurian Parallels </a><br />
<a href="#mbluefairy">Fairy</a><br />
<a href="#mgreek">Greek Myth</a><br />
<a href="#mhistory">History</a><br />
<a href="#msymbol">Symbols</a><br />
<a href="#thom">Thom</a><br />
<a href="#tmerlin">Merlin</a><br />
<a href="#tbard">Troubadour and Bard</a><br />
<a href="#torpheus">Orpheus</a><br />
<a href="#ttrickster">Trickster</a><br />
<a href="#tsymbol">Symbol</a><br />
<br />
I’ll start where Jordan started his story: in Arthurian myth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="moiraine">MOIRAINE</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="marthurian">Arthurian Parallels </a><br />
<br />
<b><a name="mgrail">Grail Maiden</a></b><br />
<br />
The Holy Grail or San Greal, the ultimate quest in Arthurian legend, arose from the ancient Celtic sacred objects known as the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, which comprised a crock (earthenware pot), cauldron, dish, hamper, knife, drinking horn, sword, chariot, halter, whetstone, coat, mantle, and gwyddbwll board. Sa’angreal are parallels of the San Greal, and of the Thirteen Treasures, but so are other hallowed objects in the series. In Arthurian myth, a grail maiden often accompanies the San Greal, while in the <i>Wheel of Time world</i> it is the women who are able to use hallowed objects of the power safely—until saidin is cleansed. Jordan’s grail maidens can be grail achievers.<br />
<br />
Moiraine was the only person to find the Eye of the World twice. Much sought after by questers, the Eye was a hallowed place that could appear anywhere in the world if the quester was worthy and their need great. It contained a well of pure saidin, and thus could be likened to the sacred crock of the Celts. <br />
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Regarding the gwydbwyll game board of the Thirteen Treasures, King Arthur and his knights played gwyddbwyll in the Welsh Mabinogion. It is a hunt game rather than a war game like chess. Moiraine is a master of go (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/stones.html">stones</a>), rather than gwyddbwyll (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/sharah-fisher-king-and-their-equivalents.html">sha’rah</a>). Only gamemaster Moridin is a master of sha’rah.<br />
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After helping restore Mat with Vora’s sa’angreal, Moiraine fought in the Stone of Tear and distracted and killed Bel’al so Rand could take the sword sa’angreal Callandor. Callandor is a parallel of Excalibur (also called Caliburn), King Arthur’s sword, itself derived from the sword Caladbolg of Irish mythology and the Celtic sword of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain. As his name indicates, Rand al’Thor is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#arthur">King Arthur</a> and just as Merlin urged Arthur went to the Lady of the Lake to receive Excalibur, so Moiraine urged Rand to take Callandor:<br />
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<blockquote>”You must take Callandor…it is your birthright. Better by far that you knew more before your hand held that hilt, yet you have come to the point now, and there is no further time for learning. Take it, Rand.” <br />
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- <i>The Dragon Reborn</i>, What is Written in Prophecy<br />
<br />
</blockquote>It is no wonder that Rand took Moiraine and her sister grail maiden <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2022/07/character-parallels-nynaeve-and-lan.html#ngrail">Nynaeve</a> with him in his ultimate quest to battle the Dark One (and his own self) and seal the Dark One away. The two Aes Sedai are grail guardians and achievers, having protected the Land and its people with more hallowed objects than any other women.<br />
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After her sacrifices to save the world, Moiraine achieved a strong angreal bracelet by her own efforts.<br />
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Moiraine’s advice to her King Arthur Rand to take the sword that dispels doubts of his birthright shows Moiraine as a strong analogue of King Arthur’s magic-wielding advisor, Merlin.<br />
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<br />
<b><a name="mmerlin">Merlin</a></b><br />
<br />
There were no lack of Merlin figures advising Rand on what he should do, or how: the Amyrlin (A-Merlin), Moiraine and a few other Aes Sedai, Thom Merrilin (see <a href="#tmerlin">below</a>), even Moridin (whose name is derived from the Welsh spelling of Merlin, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#moridin">Myrddin</a>). <br />
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In fact, Rand began his hero’s journey with two Merlin figures guiding him, often in different directions. From the first, Moiraine and Thom recognised each other and respected each other, even feared each other, a little, but they never imagined they would become a duo. But then, unlike King Arthur’s Merlin, who had the gift and curse of prophecy, and knew that he was fated to fall in love with Nimue, the woman who would be his undoing, Moiraine obtains her glimpses of the Pattern from the Prophecies of the Dragon, the ter’angreal rings, the Aelfinn and the Seer Min. It was from Min’s viewings that Moiraine learned that she and Thom would marry—the two Merlins would become as one by the Warder bond—instead of experiencing the foreknowledge of being captive to a Nimue figure as the Arthurian Merlin did. In contrast, Thom was a Merlin who was unconscious of his fate.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkWSGeUCIzMkyH-3kE_f4VEwSPa1lwY4wbC2ur1XioUzizfoR-h_3jKTpo5yXJ83AOQu7NENFRUQRmOb_fvWVd13dQwoWk0vT1H9BCyVu5wKg20ix5MxqohVuTvsRZQrujfKtNT_qq-xW/s1600-h/Merlin+and+vivien.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkWSGeUCIzMkyH-3kE_f4VEwSPa1lwY4wbC2ur1XioUzizfoR-h_3jKTpo5yXJ83AOQu7NENFRUQRmOb_fvWVd13dQwoWk0vT1H9BCyVu5wKg20ix5MxqohVuTvsRZQrujfKtNT_qq-xW/s200/Merlin+and+vivien.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333031988572380194"></a>Moiraine disappeared and “died” as Merlin died, depriving Rand, of her guidance just as Merlin vanished from King Arthur’s court, trapped in a cave from which he could not escape despite his magical powers. Unlike his parallel King Arthur, Rand knew that Moiraine crashed through to an Otherworld, but believed her lost and dead. Rather than Merlin’s fate of being fatally trapped by the woman he desired, Moraine saved Rand from Lanfear, the woman who intended to capture and destroy Rand out of thwarted desire for him. Both Moiraine and Lanfear were trapped in the Otherworld together—this was fatal for Lanfear, and nearly so for Moiraine.<br />
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Interestingly, Merlin was believed to be the child of the devil (or alternatively an incubus) and a nun because he was such a powerful magic wielder, and Aes Sedai have strong parallels to 15‒16th century nunneries and are believed by Whitecloaks to be in league with the devil. About 22‒3% of the Aes Sedai were <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/black-ajah.html">Black Ajah</a>, sworn to the Dark One and working for the Forsaken, who are equivalents of incubi and succubi. Lanfear, whom Moiraine was trapped with, is a classical succubus haunting people’s dreams. <br />
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For the first few books, Nynaeve and the three ta’veren are not sure if Moiraine is a sage advisor like Merlin or a dangerous manipulator like Morgan le Fay because she switches between the two roles, depending on the situation. <br />
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<b><a name="mmorgan">Morgan le Fay</a></b><br />
<br />
By name and by deeds, Moiraine is similar to Morgaine/Morgan le Fay, the sorceress or fairy witch who tried for good or ill to control Arthur for her advantage. Morgan le Fay was the daughter of King Gorlois of Cornwall and Igraine, the half-sister of King Arthur, and the sister of Morgause and Elaine. In later tales, Morgan was the wife of King Urien and mother of the hero Owain. Moiraine is the half-sister-in-law of Morgase and the aunt of Elayne (see family tree in <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/noble-houses-of-cairhien.html#tree">The Noble Houses of Cairhien</a> article). (She is not related by blood to Rand (a parallel of Arthur) but is the sister of the first husband of Rand’s mother Tigraine—a relationship as tangled as any in Arthurian myth!) Owyn was the ill-fated nephew of Moiraine’s love and Morgase’s former lover, Thom. <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3Rox1U0f-H-ZYV9G1NMfm8-f14bH1VMsX_fbAhoj4NiJpqCjhPbmCKp5uof4OZFrIlWa8GXyvniHtzT3D8bE0nKCz9ERqgGPF2KjHguF7uK8lI5_GaBwXOJRr6_EAVJrjHOASMrFpma5/s1600-h/morgan+illusion.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3Rox1U0f-H-ZYV9G1NMfm8-f14bH1VMsX_fbAhoj4NiJpqCjhPbmCKp5uof4OZFrIlWa8GXyvniHtzT3D8bE0nKCz9ERqgGPF2KjHguF7uK8lI5_GaBwXOJRr6_EAVJrjHOASMrFpma5/s320/morgan+illusion.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329313554440244402"></a> After her father Gorlois is killed and her mother Igraine marries Uther Pendragon, Morgan was “put to school in a nunnery, and there she learned so much that she was a great clerk of necromancy” (<i>Le Morte D’Arthur</i>, Book I, Chapter II). Moiraine went to the White Tower to learn the “necromancy” of channeling, and became an Aes Sedai, a person regarded with deep suspicion and fear by many people in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world. <br />
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In the earliest Arthurian tales, Morgan le Fay was described as the chief priestess of a sisterhood of nine ruling the Isle of Avalon. Moiraine was one of the stronger, and therefore important, Aes Sedai in Tar Valon. Morgan used her magic ability to fly and shapeshift, while Moiraine used illusion to make herself appear larger in Baerlon (<i>The Eye of The World</i>, Watchers and Hunters), or the group invisible in the Blight. Both Morgan and Moiraine use their magic to heal others.<br />
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Morgan le Fay had her origin in Celtic and Irish myth: the Celtic mother goddess Modron and the Irish battle goddess Morrigan. Moiraine was the mentor and protector of the Emond’s Fielders. Lan described Moiraine as a warrior in the way she relentlessly fought against the Shadow and its minions (<i>The Fires of Heaven,</i> Fading Words). The dark side of this is seen when she declares:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>“Before I let the Dark One have you, I will destroy you myself."<br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> Choices<br />
<br />
</blockquote>And that she will do whatever necessary for the Shadow to be defeated. She had few qualms about overturning the lives of the Emond’s Fielders, and also that of Lan.<br />
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In later Arthurian tales, Morgan le Fay was malevolent and an enemy of Arthur and Guinevere. In keeping with this theme of the necessity of balance, Jordan has two Morgans in <i>The Wheel of Time</i>, one following the Light and one the Shadow. <br />
<br />
Morgan le Fay tried to force Sir Lancelot to be her lover by kidnapping and imprisoning him. The price of his freedom was the ring he wore but Lancelot refused to give it to Morgan le Fay because it was a gift from his beloved Guinevere. Fortunately, a maiden helped him escape his captivity. Moiraine bonded Lan as her Warder, but was not in love with him. She never asked for Lan’s ring of sovereignty, which he later gave to, rather than received from, his beloved Nynaeve, but she held Lan to his oath despite knowing his feelings until she went into the redstone doorway ter’angreal and then his bond passed to Myrelle. Moiraine transferred Lan’s bond without his consent and got Myrelle to promise to pass the bond on to a younger sister, Nynaeve.<br />
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The Light’s Morgan le Fay confronted the Dark Morgan Lanfear and pushed them both into the Otherworld of the Eelfinn. Both were reduced there: Lanfear by being killed by Moridin so the Dark One could reincarnate her in a smaller body, and Moiraine by having much of her channelling ability consumed by the Eelfinn. <br />
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In some Arthurian tales, it is Morgan rather than Arthur’s half-sister Morgause, who is King Arthur’s lover and who bears his son Modred. One of the futures Moiraine saw in the rings in Rhuidean was sharing Rand’s bed (<i>The Fires of Heaven,</i> A Departure). King Arthur’s son Modred was the ruination of his Kingdom and the cause of Arthur’s death. Moiraine’s surname Damodred—Da-Modred—looks to the above parallel. But Moiraine didn’t go down the path of ruination, just as she rejected her house as unethical and too unscrupulous and avoided becoming an Aes Sedai Queen of Cairhien all those years ago.<br />
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Morgan le Fay, Morgan the Fairy, leads naturally into the Fee, the Fair Folk, one of the major parallels of the Aes Sedai, and Moiraine in particular. <br />
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The Fair Folk are long-lived and other-worldly beings. When interacting with ordinary people they are unpredictable, capricious and manipulative to gain their own ends—dangerous to know. The name Aes Sedai refers to the Aes Sidhe of Irish mythology, who are comparable to fairies or elves. Aes Sedai are long-lived magic users who set themselves as a breed apart. They cultivate inscrutability and are manipulative of others, especially non-channellers. Moiraine is remarkable among even Aes Sedai—regarded as one of the legendary sisters by other Aes Sedai for her achievements, and an archetypal Blue. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="mbluefairy">Blue Fairy</a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEmqsa11t2thALACPspgHcShE73HAPSn1X9N8YNWNmAFzqNPRHu5Y5dU68315wJhScEfE1kR1CLb8h-jveUB0yJ4tmF74KniUdyPWCgVgppEOs6eVRYuWG4nEdaHGUIAn-W7cnnmulGUazaljuk1pqEacXFhhSBccaMiesGCkjra3ZYC_6Vf9VX6tvQ/s1000/blue%20fairy%20book%20p.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="709" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOEmqsa11t2thALACPspgHcShE73HAPSn1X9N8YNWNmAFzqNPRHu5Y5dU68315wJhScEfE1kR1CLb8h-jveUB0yJ4tmF74KniUdyPWCgVgppEOs6eVRYuWG4nEdaHGUIAn-W7cnnmulGUazaljuk1pqEacXFhhSBccaMiesGCkjra3ZYC_6Vf9VX6tvQ/s200/blue%20fairy%20book%20p.JPG"/></a></div>In the late 1880’s, there was a move away from pious, sentimental children’s stories, with the publication of collections of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Of these, Andrew Lang’s <i>The Blue Fairy Book</i> (1889) was the first ground-breaking collection in English. A classic, it is still in print. Diminutive Moiraine, the first of the fairy-like Aes Sedai we meet, is of the Blue Ajah and hearkens to Lang’s very popular <i>The Blue Fairy Book</i>.<br />
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Even only six years earlier, Carlo Collodi’s <i>The Adventures of Pinocchio,</i> while influenced by European folk tales, is as preachy as any typical nineteenth century children’s story. One of the book’s main characters is La Fata Turchina or the Fairy with the Deep Blue Hair, who criticises the puppet Pinocchio’s behaviour and ultimately enables him to achieve his wish of becoming fully human. She is as capricious or ambivalent as any of the Fair Folk or Aes Sedai. Sometimes she is even malevolent to teach Pinocchio a lesson. <br />
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The 1940 Disney animated version of Pinocchio is simpler and far more sentimental than Collodi’s book. The Blue Fairy is entirely benevolent and freely grants his wishes. She is far less mysterious than the Fairy with the Deep Blue Hair. So with the book and the movie, we have two versions of the Blue Fairy, the stern and the sweetly kind, respectively, just as Moiraine seemed ambivalent in the first few books. While Pinocchio had to earn the Blue fairy’s good opinion, Moiraine and Rand had to earn each other’s regard and trust. As Jordan said, “it’s never simple” in <i>The Wheel of Time</i>.<br />
<br />
Pinocchio has picaresque adventures in book and movie and survives assassins and monsters, just as the three ta’veren survive attacks from Darkfriends, Grey Men and Shadowspawn on their treks. The naïve and wilful marionette puppet is as rascally as Mat and was also nearly killed by hanging as Mat was, but he also has elements of Rand—that feeling of literally being a puppet of others and not really his own person—and of struggling with his duty. Initially Pinocchio resists the Blue Fairy’s good advice, then later comes to follow her instruction. <br />
<br />
Rand was the target of Moiraine’s advice far more than Mat or Perrin. She was quick to admonish his bad or risky behaviour, just as the Blue Fairy did for Pinocchio. From the Blue Fairy’s instruction Pinocchio learns what his duties are and to appreciate and respect others. While Pinocchio’s lies have an immediate and adverse effect on his body, making his nose grow, Rand’s sins—such as balefire and denial of other peoples’ rights—have an adverse effect on the Pattern as well as on his health, due to his links with the Land. <i>The Wheel of Time</i> is cosmic in scale, a macrocosm rather than a microcosm. <br />
<br />
Rand felt like a puppet of fate in general and Aes Sedai in particular from the earliest chapters. Justifiably so, although it was quickly seized upon by the Forsaken and used to undermine any relationship between Rand and his blue fairy mentor. Ishamael said to him:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> “What glory or power is there for a puppet?” <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World</i>, The Stag and Lion<br />
<br />
</blockquote>leading Rand to refuse guidance:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>“I am done with Aes Sedai, Egwene. I won't be a puppet for them, not for Moiraine, or any of them." <br />
<br />
- <i>The Great Hunt,</i> The Dragon Reborn <br />
<br />
</blockquote>Puppets and their manipulation are a persistent theme in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> as we see in Egwene’s dream of:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>A woman playing with puppets, and another dream where the strings on puppets led to the hands of larger puppets, and their strings led to still greater puppets, on and on until the last strings vanished into unimaginable heights. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Dragon Reborn,</i> Fires in Cairhien<br />
<br />
</blockquote>And Rand’s thoughts on Moiraine: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>She had kept too many secrets herself, made him follow her on blind trust too often. Let it be her turn. She had to learn that he was not a puppet. I’ll take her advice when I think it’s right, but I won’t dance on Tar Valon’s strings again. He would die on his own terms. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Out of the Stone<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Rand’s determination to be a real adult rather than a boy like Pinocchio earned some respect from Moiraine and she said to Rand: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"It has been more like wrestling with a bear than pulling strings on a puppet. Do you want an oath not to try manipulating you? I give it."<br />
<br />
- <i>The Fires of Heaven,</i> Gateways<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Min foresaw that Moiraine was essential to Rand’s success and therefore to the fulfilment of his wish to live an “ordinary” life after achieving his quest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fKAbDHe_hYDMIqs7MJvIYoUIfXqlUOwt1ktY8eWK23MXfWji5IrQVLW-sNfxexQ8_tW5PJgCc6GjNbR8ao26xz13hf1hDBnVARvvEcNwdU4S_CCTjWqEiOZnrh6msAMJAEK4bWZ_rs-lRDCU9QWOmLRY3VxRREAekWUZOJ4QR8TThwyGMVn_eqb_JQ/s1085/Blue%20Fairy%20death%20Pinocchio.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1085" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fKAbDHe_hYDMIqs7MJvIYoUIfXqlUOwt1ktY8eWK23MXfWji5IrQVLW-sNfxexQ8_tW5PJgCc6GjNbR8ao26xz13hf1hDBnVARvvEcNwdU4S_CCTjWqEiOZnrh6msAMJAEK4bWZ_rs-lRDCU9QWOmLRY3VxRREAekWUZOJ4QR8TThwyGMVn_eqb_JQ/s200/Blue%20Fairy%20death%20Pinocchio.jpg"/></a></div>It was Pinocchio’s grief and guilt at the Blue Fairy’s apparent death that eventually led him to more positive behaviour, which in turn made him worthy in the Blue Fairy’s eyes of being granted his wish to be a real human boy. Likewise, Rand’s grief and guilt at Moiraine’s death was a turning point for understanding that the Last Battle wasn’t all about him, that he couldn’t win alone, and that he must also respect the right of others to make their own sacrifice. <br />
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Even Mat, who was negative to channellers and to anyone who impinged on his fun, realised how much they owed the Blue Fairy:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>She was the one who had started this all. He had hated her at times. He also owed her his life. She was the first one who had meddled, yanking him this way and that. Yet—looking back—he figured that she had been the most honest about it of anyone who had used him.<br />
Unapologetic, unyielding. And selfless.<br />
She had dedicated everything to protecting three foolish boys, all ignorant of what
the world would demand of them. She had determined to take them to safety. Maybe
train them a little, whether they wanted it or not. <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> The Light of the World<br />
<br />
</blockquote>The Blue Fairy and Morgan le Fay were both skilled at shapeshifting and illusion, while the <i>Wheel of Time</i> magic system limits channellers to using only illusion in the waking world. Greek Mythology also had a master shapeshifter.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mgreek">Greek Myth</a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a name="mproteus">Proteus</a></b><br />
<br />
Proteus was the Ancient Greek god of bodies of water who embodied change. He knew all things past, present, and future, but strenuously avoided answering questions or telling what he knew. Those who wanted answers from the god had to seize him unawares when he came ashore, and even then Proteus would try to escape by rapidly changing into a variety of forms. His would-be interrogator had to hold on to the god until he wearied of shapeshifting and returned to his own form. The god would then finally answer the question and plunge into the sea. <br />
<br />
Moiraine is one of the major agents of change in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> series and she represents knowledge to the Emond’s Fielders and the reader until her disappearance in Cairhien: crucial in discovering the Dragon, starting the Emond’s Fielders on their adventures, removing Forsaken, and intervening at Merrilor. She was very sparing with her answers to the questions of the Emond’s Fielders and they became distrustful of her and very frustrated because she was so uninformative. Rand thought that Moiraine “had kept too many secrets” and Perrin thought she told too little (<i>The Dragon Reborn,</i> Wolf Dreams). When Perrin tried to get more information, he was told: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>“Do not question me,” she said coldly. “You do not know which questions to ask, and you would comprehend less than half the answers if I gave them. Which I will not.”<br />
<br />
- <i>The Dragon Reborn,</i> Daughter of the Night<br />
<br />
</blockquote>The Aes Sedai never considered that the Emond’s Fielders’s questions might inspire a different perspective. Reconsideration can be useful.<br />
<br />
Moiraine drew heavily on the Prophecies of the Dragon and on Min’s viewings and thought she knew the likely course of events or shape of the Pattern to a degree. However, the theme of misinformation and false knowledge is important in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> and Moiraine’s ideas—even for the seemingly most straightforward of prophecies—were often profoundly wrong.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1fbtBYhoulcbPAtlgIZ-HX6eRlsQXjV8jf3h8aEilXtl3B5x2qsUdr6Y41L0kyXZUT0ptqJ9wkueNqmhDj6-G_VXlzpTSAaBWimzbvBe3wNDbYhSQT9GJYQp6MK-1P4pOWBTgDRWFObZ/s1600-h/moirai.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 124px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1fbtBYhoulcbPAtlgIZ-HX6eRlsQXjV8jf3h8aEilXtl3B5x2qsUdr6Y41L0kyXZUT0ptqJ9wkueNqmhDj6-G_VXlzpTSAaBWimzbvBe3wNDbYhSQT9GJYQp6MK-1P4pOWBTgDRWFObZ/s320/moirai.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329312853381281250"></a>
<b><a name="mmoiraie">Moirae</a></b><br />
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As her name indicates, Moiraine has parallels to the Moirae or Moirai, the three Fates of Greek mythology, who allotted to every person their destiny, and directed their steps along the path from birth to death. Their dictates could only be circumvented with great difficulty. From the beginning, Moiraine tried to control the three ta’veren, Egwene, and, to a lesser extent, Nynaeve, and direct their development and deeds. Each had to circumvent her control and found this difficult. It was important for them to do so, however, since ironically Moiraine had assigned their fates wrongly. <br />
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Moiraine even warned the Emond’s Fielders that if they, or other people met along the way, acted counter to her plans against the Shadow she would have them killed. Crossing the goddess of fate can be fatal.<br />
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<b><a name="mmentor">Mentor</a></b><br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9i424NJMifzX8xRSSPj6JwSyBdb7tbDENI05tq8DfLpLBIDsN3x-e_dNuq3bu3FWilOVGMYwtYfL1zLMRCSwotzjnBcGvb8pXrmRRyoE8Txa0SEMzB2fqrrS_DMLWH9QF2R7GlKHjRI/s1600-h/Odysseus_and_Calypso.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9i424NJMifzX8xRSSPj6JwSyBdb7tbDENI05tq8DfLpLBIDsN3x-e_dNuq3bu3FWilOVGMYwtYfL1zLMRCSwotzjnBcGvb8pXrmRRyoE8Txa0SEMzB2fqrrS_DMLWH9QF2R7GlKHjRI/s320/Odysseus_and_Calypso.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315157715196941586"></a>
With her knowledge and battle skills, Moiraine has some similarities to the Ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, particularly when Athena disguised herself as Mentor.<br />
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When Odysseus was tricked into leaving his island kingdom of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan war, he left his wife, Penelope, and his infant son, Telemachus, in the care of Mentor, his old retainer. Twenty years later, after great heroism in the war and dramatic adventures trying to return home, Odysseus was imprisoned in a cave on the Ogygian island by the goddess/nymph Calypso, who was greatly enamoured of him. She wanted to make him immortal and keep him with her forever, but she was forced to let him go. Odysseus’ now adult son Telemachus (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#odysseus">Rand</a>), also landed on Calypso’s isle while searching for Odysseus. Calypso fancied him too, and offered him immortality if he would stay with her. However, Athena, who had accompanied Telemachus disguised as the family retainer Mentor, encouraged him to repel her advances. When they couldn’t stop Calypso, Mentor and Telemachus leaped from a cliff into the sea and swam to a ship (<i>Bulfinch’s Mythology</i>).<br />
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Lanfear was enamoured of both Lews Therin Telamon and Rand; she offered the latter immortality and to rule the world at her side. In order to prevent Lanfear from enslaving or killing Rand, Moiraine, his mentor, leaped upon Lanfear and drove them both through the redstone door ter’angreal. <br />
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<b><a name="mhistory">History</a></b><br />
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<b><a name="mdamocles">Damocles</a></b><br />
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As well as referring to Arthur’s son and nemesis Modred as described <a href="#mmorgan">above</a>, Moiraine’s surname, Damodred, is also a combination of Damocles and dread. Damocles was: <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc2-O5gJPS7Q9ZCLnQxoqoPxS-PVzOj0NkJqHCHtI8A76qA-h_kIZgMYBMd5qguZm-FZ0t4ESvn0pbIFwRqWUjrrAq5yU3KO9M_nZM8S13yBtU1GjPhGOjbtREvvuqVww7AGt27C8PO4r/s1600-h/Sword_of_Damocles_painting.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc2-O5gJPS7Q9ZCLnQxoqoPxS-PVzOj0NkJqHCHtI8A76qA-h_kIZgMYBMd5qguZm-FZ0t4ESvn0pbIFwRqWUjrrAq5yU3KO9M_nZM8S13yBtU1GjPhGOjbtREvvuqVww7AGt27C8PO4r/s320/Sword_of_Damocles_painting.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329313037421466050"></a><blockquote>a courtier of Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse, in Sicily, tyrant from 405 to 367 BC. The courtier is known to history through the legend of the “Sword of Damocles.” <br />
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According to the legend, when Damocles spoke in extravagant terms of his sovereign's happiness, Dionysus invited him to a sumptuous banquet and seated him beneath a naked sword that was suspended from the ceiling by a single thread. Thus did the tyrant demonstrate that the fortunes of men who hold power are as precarious as the predicament in which he had placed his guest. The story is related in Cicero's Tusculanae disputationes, 5.61. <br />
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- <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i><br />
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</blockquote>This is basically the history of House Damodred in a nutshell—great power wielded with little appreciation of the consequences of arrogant actions. The dread in the name merely emphasises the deservedly bad reputation of most of the members of this House. Moiraine rejected ruling the House (and Cairhien) because she was not prepared to be so ruthless. <br />
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Moiraine also played a part in changing the historic parallel of the Rand and Lanfear relationship.<br />
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<b><a name="markantony">Mark Antony</a> </b><br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBOBcYhR3TbNMBpDdBO6UxNg1M4RnGpDXkH3AXPpxkavK0kLQfYRVYHtvRuMFrAbyRaTv3SxmStcuEyarZ18aPdTjGe6MH6P0PUXH_l4X1rNwS3Nm9wiR4RecEq1GQabHkUBGyIhPXMs/s1600-h/anthony-and-cleopatra.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBOBcYhR3TbNMBpDdBO6UxNg1M4RnGpDXkH3AXPpxkavK0kLQfYRVYHtvRuMFrAbyRaTv3SxmStcuEyarZ18aPdTjGe6MH6P0PUXH_l4X1rNwS3Nm9wiR4RecEq1GQabHkUBGyIhPXMs/s320/anthony-and-cleopatra.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315152254112546290"></a>Some time after Julius Caesar (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html#caesar">Lews Therin</a>) was assassinated, his lover Cleopatra (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/lanfear.html#cleo">Lanfear</a>) captivated another famous military Roman, Mark Antony, and subtly exploited his unsophisticated and unstable character. Lanfear tried to do the same to Rand, who until his epiphany, was also unstable (due to the taint) and unsophisticated, but thanks to Moiraine, she did not succeed. <br />
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The Lanfear/Cleopatra parallel is an important one, not just in showing how history repeats itself, but also in showing the consequences if events were allowed to take their course. Moiraine saw from the rings in Rhuidean that Rand could end up enslaved by Lanfear, or killed by her. Besotted with Cleopatra, Antony forgot about his wife and his planned military campaign in Parthia and returned: <br />
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<blockquote>as Cleopatra's slave to Alexandria, where he treated her not as a “protected” sovereign but as an independent monarch. <br />
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- <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i><br />
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</blockquote>In this Age, Lanfear was determined to be Rand’s equal or superior. She also wanted to make sure that Rand completely forgot about his role as the Light’s champion and also his love of Elayne and Aviendha (and Min, if she had known). <br />
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After the Roman armies of Octavian (the future Roman emperor Augustus) defeated their combined forces, Cleopatra realized that she and Antony were doomed. She believed that if he could be induced to kill himself for love of her, they would both win undying renown (<i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i>). Lanfear planned to use Rand to obtain ultimate power and immortality for the pair of them. However, Moiraine’s bravery thwarted Lanfear’s early plans and Rand was freed of her influence long enough to grow armour against her wiles. This parallel shows what otherwise might have been. <br />
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<b><a name="mjigonhsasee">Jigonhsasee</a></b><br />
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Rand and Moiraine between them completely changed Aiel history. The Aiel were strongly bound by custom, yet Moiraine broke centuries of tradition and spent time among Wise Ones. She was likely the first Aes Sedai since the founding of Rhuidean to go into the Waste and live among the clans. Previously Wise Ones avoided Aes Sedai, but the Dreamwalkers reached out to Moiraine by letter (also surely a first!) to raise the odds of Moiraine going to the Waste. They knew Moiraine was crucial to Rand’s survival, and therefore the Aiel’s survival, as well as the defeat of the Shadow. Moiraine “needed” to go through the three rings ter’angreal and see that she must push Lanfear and herself through the redstone ter’angreal into the Eelfinn’s world. She also needs to make the national leaders see reason and sign Rand’s peace treaty at Merrilor.<br />
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The Aiel have strong parallels to the American First Nations and for the Aiel and Rand as Car’a’carn, the meeting of nations at the Field of Merrilor was an equivalent of the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Great Peacemaker, Deganawida, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#hiawatha">Rand</a>, met with Jigonhsasee, an Iroquois woman, and described to her his vision to form a confederacy of the warring nations to bring peace. Jigonhsasee agreed with his idea and to help him realise it worked out which men should be assigned to which positions at the peace gathering. She was considered to be a co-founder, along with the Great Peacemaker and the orator Hiawatha, of the Iroquois Confederacy.<br />
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It was Rand who called for all leaders of the nations and influential groups to attend his great meeting at the Field of Merrilor where he would lay out the conditions that were the price for his sacrifice. Moiraine waited outside to gauge the mood and progress of the negotiations—which were not going well. She used the Karaethon prophecy to assign appropriate prophecies to the national leaders to show them that they must agree to Rand’s peace treaty—that prophecy and the Pattern required it: <br />
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<blockquote>"These demands are unfair," Gregorin said. "He requires us to keep our borders as they are!" <br />
"'He shall slay his people with the sword of peace,' " Moiraine said, " 'and destroy them with the leaf.' " <br />
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It's The Karaethon Cycle. I've heard these words before. <br />
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"The seals, Moiraine," Egwene said. "He's planning to break them. He defies the authority of the Amyrlin Seat." <br />
Moiraine did not look surprised. Perrin suspected she'd been listening outside before entering. It was very like her. <br />
"Oh, Egwene," Moiraine said. "Have you forgotten? 'The unstained tower breaks and bends knee to the forgotten sign . . .' " <br />
Egwene blushed. <br />
" 'There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow,' " Moiraine quoted, " 'for the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he one with the land. Soul of fire, heart of stone.' " <br />
She looked to Gregorin. " 'In pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield.' " <br />
To the Borderlanders. " 'He calls upon the mountains to kneel . . .' " <br />
To the Sea Folk. " ' . . . and the seas to give way.' " <br />
To Perrin, then Berelain. " ' . . . and the very skies to bow.' " <br />
To Darlin. " 'Pray that the heart of stone remembers tears .. .' " <br />
Then, finally, to Elayne. " ' . . . and the soul of fire, love.' You cannot fight this. None of you can. I am sorry. You think he came to this on his own?" She held up the document. "The Pattern is balance. It is not good nor evil, not wisdom nor foolishness. To the Pattern, these things matter not, yet it will find balance. The last Age ended with a Breaking, and so the next one will begin with peace—even if it must be shoved down your throats like medicine given to a screaming babe." <br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> A Knack<br />
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</blockquote>Her words—reference to prophecy—spurred rulers to drop their objections by making them seem futile and the impasse in negotiations melted away. Moiraine’s crucial role in the peace treaty at the Field of Merrilor is a parallel of Jigonhsasee’s role in the Iroquois Confederacy. The Wise Ones, led by Aviendha, insisted that the Aiel join the treaty and Rand promised that he would persuade the Seanchan to also sign or else it would be voided. <br />
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<b><a name="mliterary">Literary</a></b><br />
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Writing in the 1980s when all epic fantasy was compared to <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, Jordan deliberately gave the first one or two hundred pages of <i>The Eye of the World</i> a “Tolkienesque” feel. <br />
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<b><a name="mgandalf">Gandalf</a></b><br />
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Moiraine is a parallel of the wizard Gandalf. Both are rather mysterious and powerful magic-using figures who guide the young main characters for the first book. Both work closely with a warrior who is a hidden monarch (Lan/Aragorn). In <i>The Eye of the World</i>, Moiraine uses a staff, as Gandalf does, although unlike him, her staff is an aid to concentration while his is a symbol of office and a device—and Moiraine discards hers. <br />
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Gandalf vanishes before Frodo leaves the Shire and returns in the nick of time to meet him at Rivendell and he dies in truth in the fight with a monster, the Balrog, and is sent back naked to Middle Earth as Gandalf the White, much more powerful, to finish his quest to rally the West for this last battle against Sauron.<br />
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Moiraine leaves Rand’s storyline at the camp east of Falme, and again in Cairhien through the doorway into the land of the Eelfinn and Aelfinn. The latter was seen as a death since her bond to her Warder Lan was broken, and with the melting of the doorway ter’angreal there appeared to be no way back. While in the Otherworld of the Eelfinn and Aelfinn, she lost much of her channelling power and gained a strong angreal to compensate. She was brought back naked to earth to aid Rand in uniting the nations in the Last Battle against the Shadow.<br />
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Unlike Gandalf, who was part of the forces distracting Sauron while Frodo and Sam went to Mount Doom to unmake the Dark Lord, Moiraine joined Rand and Nynaeve in the Pit of Doom to help seal the Dark One away.<br />
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<b><a name="msymbol">Symbols</a></b><br />
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<a name="avendesora">Spreading Tree</a><br />
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The tree of life sigil adopted by House Damodred commemorated the prosperity and power that Cairhien obtained from its pact with the Aiel, who gave them an Avendesora sapling to seal it. As a Cairhienin ruling family, the reward for Cairhien’s kindness in giving aid freely made the Damodreds so prosperous that they became arrogant, which led to their downfall. Yet the Damodreds still keep the sigil representing the tree that they cut down in pride. <br />
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Unlike her Damodred relatives, Moiraine has actually seen Avendesora up close in the Aiel Waste. It’s very telling that this family adopted as their own the image of the Cairhienin nation’s deeds and prosperity even after they butchered the tree the sigil depicts. A truly selfish and oblivious family—they are Cairhien and Cairhien is theirs. <br />
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Moiraine’s Colour Choice<br />
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Moiraine left House Damodred, with its red, green and white stripes, and joined the Blue Ajah. In her mind, blue outweighed red, green and white. Symbolically red is the colour of energy, fire, aggression and war. Green represents nature, growth, fertility, life, and renewal, but is also traditionally associated with money, ambition, greed and jealousy. White symbolises purity, truth and innocence, but on the negative side, it can seem stark, cold, and isolated.<br />
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Most Damodreds express the negative aspects of their House colours—aggression, greed and coldness—which is one reason why Moiraine rejected her house (she tellingly said that her ruling relatives had <i>blackened,</i> made dark, their house name) and exclusively embraced the Blues. She refused to become an Aes Sedai Queen of Cairhien, thinking the divided loyalties and resulting suspicion too difficult to navigate well. In constrast, blue represents infinity, eternity, truth, faith, purity, and spiritual and intellectual life (Jack Tressider, <i>Symbols and their Meanings</i>). It is the most detached and least material colour. <br />
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<b><a name="thom">THOM</a></b><br />
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<b><a name="tmerlin">Merlin</a></b> <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU16xPii_fUvfIV4mhBfFEZbeTfW9W_fBQd2R3sOgGRV-NDCn54xHs3HtXemRh_NuhrmGsB1vPcvVTRSF8DExklOHMouvQibCohXEFpkJ71rZMxO8AXj3dSw84o-sSlPaar5WBV5s5L8B/s1600-h/merlin.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU16xPii_fUvfIV4mhBfFEZbeTfW9W_fBQd2R3sOgGRV-NDCn54xHs3HtXemRh_NuhrmGsB1vPcvVTRSF8DExklOHMouvQibCohXEFpkJ71rZMxO8AXj3dSw84o-sSlPaar5WBV5s5L8B/s320/merlin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326369562573410802"></a> As Thom Merilyn’s surname indicates, Thom has some parallels with King Arthur’s advisor and tutor, Merlin. Thom has been an invaluable teacher and guide to Rand and his companions, particularly in the beginning when they were so vulnerable, much as Merlin was for a young Arthur and his companions, and provided the Emond’s Fielders and the reader with an alternate view and in-world lore when Moiraine seemed too manipulative or cryptic.<br />
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Merlin and Thom were both fated to fall in love with younger women with great skill in magic, Nimue and Moiraine respectively, women who they would have much rather have avoided. <br />
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The important difference is that Thom’s love was returned by Moiraine, whereas Merlin’s desire for Nimue was not, and Thom and Moiraine each behaved very unconventionally as a result. Thom disliked Aes Sedai because they were responsible for the deaths of Thom’s only living kin, his beloved nephew Owyn and his wife. Yet Thom risked his life to help her quest to see Rand reach Shayol Ghul and to rescue his beloved Aes Sedai from an Otherworld. For her part, Moiraine promised to betray to Thom the names of the sisters that broke Tower law in their treatment of Owyn—unheard of for an Aes Sedai, who would much prefer not to shame the Tower, and believe in “benefit of clergy” (separate administration of laws for clerics) for Aes Sedai. <br />
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In contrast, after wearying of Merlin’s persistent attentions, Nimue imprisoned him in an Otherworldly cave from which he could not escape on his own. While Thom rescued Moiraine from an Otherworld that she could not escape on her own, this rescue has perhaps closer parallels to Orpheus (see <a href="#torpheus">below</a>), not Merlin. <br />
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Arthurian myths lead us to the composers and storytellers of such myths: the bards of the Celts and troubadours of the Middle Ages. <br />
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<b><a name="tbard">Troubadour and Bard</a></b> <br />
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Thom taught Mat how to juggle and Rand how to play the flute. With these new skills they were able to earn their keep as wandering performers along the road to Caemlyn. They were far from troubadours, though—perhaps novice jongleurs. <br />
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On the other hand, troubadours were composers and performers of songs in Medieval Europe. They were among the first poets to write in the vernacular languages of their countries so that all their compatriots could understand them, not just those educated in Latin and Greek. Many of the troubadour songs have themes of chivalry and courtly love, including contributions to the Arthurian mythos; others described historical events. More mundanely, these traveling poet-musicians also passed on news and information from town to town. <br />
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In the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world, the equivalent of Classical Latin or Greek would be the Old Tongue, the language of the Second Age, a Golden Age in Third Age eyes. Only the well educated learned it. Performers related their tales or songs in the Third Age language in three different “styles” ranging from highly poetic and imagery rich to mundanely vernacular: <br />
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<blockquote>It was what the gleeman had called Plain Chant, those nights beside the fire on the ride north. Stories, he said, were told in three voices, High Chant, Plain Chant, and Common, which meant simply telling it the way you might tell your neighbor about your crop. Thom told stories in Common, but he did not bother to hide his contempt for the voice. <br />
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- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> Strangers and Friends<br />
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</blockquote>Thom’s disregard of the everyday vernacular as suitable entertainment indicates that he is not a jongleur at heart, even though he disguises himself as one in Emond’s Field and also with Valan Luca’s menagerie. And he does a good job not just of necessity but also out of pride, but he feels it is too limiting. Someone with an experienced eye, like Moiraine, for instance, would see through Thom’s disguise even if he had changed his name. <br />
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Before he adopted the role of gleeman—a medieval term that covers both jongleurs and troubadours—to earn a living in exile while travelling, Thom was a bard. His regard for the harp, and insistence that Rand’s skills were not fit for it, emphasises this fact. <br />
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In medieval Celtic society, a bard was a professional poet, composer, musician, storyteller and oral historian employed by a noble or clan chief. Pre-Christian Celts had no written histories. The bards committed history and notable achievements and events of nation and clan to memory in verse and song and passed this extensive oral tradition from generation to generation. As well as oral archivists, they also celebrated the achievements of their patron and their patron’s family and clan. Bards mastered hundreds of verses and composed their own without writing and their preferred musical instrument was the harp. <br />
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Thom related epic ballads of remote historic events and also knew songs of praise composed to earn patronage:<br />
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<blockquote> He had to see Rand face-to-face, no matter what he had told him about keeping clear. Perhaps no one would think it too odd if a gleeman asked to perform a song for the Lord Dragon, a song especially composed. He knew a deservedly obscure Kandori tune, praising some unnamed lord for his greatness and courage in grandiose terms that never quite managed to name deeds or places. It had probably been bought by some lord who had no deeds worth naming.<br />
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- <i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Strings<br />
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</blockquote>which he ironically considered using to gain unobtrusive access to his former student, Rand, whose deeds would be remembered for Ages to come.<br />
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Thom also was training Dena as his apprentice bard when she was tragically murdered in Cairhien. Like Thom she had excellent, even perfect, recall. Thom has a vast repertoire of oral tradition which struck me as surprising in a world that not only has writing, but even mechanically printed books—but I guess it saves on luggage. And at the end, he is using pen and paper to compose at the entry to Shayol Ghul. <br />
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Thom is an “early modern” bard who recites tales of our distant past as well as our recent history, blurring time lines since time is a wheel in Jordan’s world. The events of the series, that we see an alien historian, Loial, record in writing, appear to be in our future, but have so many references to our past. <br />
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Also looking to modern times, Thom’s enthralling solo performances are contrasted with the new forms of dramatic storytelling arising in Cairhien (theatre) and Andor (opera)—much to Thom’s disgust. <br />
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Bards were revered, even mythologised in some cases: the Welsh bard Taleisin, for instance, who was court bard to three kings and whose life story was blended with legends of Celtic heroes, even that he was a bard at King Arthur's court. In Irish legend, the bard Amairgin could calm a storm with his music, just like Orpheus in Greek myth. <br />
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<br />
<b><a name="torpheus">Orpheus</a></b><br />
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Orpheus was the best musician and poet of Greek mythology—so much so that his music could charm animals, rocks or trees. His preferred instrument was the lyre, an equivalent of the harp, and he was believed to be either a son or student of Apollo. A large amount of Ancient Greek religious poems were attributed to Orpheus. <br />
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Orpheus took part in Jason and the Argonauts’ quest to find the Golden Fleece and was crucial in preventing the sailors from being shipwrecked by drowning out the bewitching song of the Sirens with his playing. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGEv7gkbAiWmYH-vDe4_cTu9S7Mf2xsYUk5hW6-kIooKWSLPFQX2FJOucv-PLGl9WedO-IQuKL_80UB7HKwfZSFfsxEZerNzQoW-QF6O6qMv4GfuvdFqKO7wa6cLgsYuvM9SOWBQIa9dMYI-XeAf3YJ2ws5hTUpgyA85uKGjZlNXiTiZautUN_5uqWQ/s653/Orpheus_hades.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="653" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGEv7gkbAiWmYH-vDe4_cTu9S7Mf2xsYUk5hW6-kIooKWSLPFQX2FJOucv-PLGl9WedO-IQuKL_80UB7HKwfZSFfsxEZerNzQoW-QF6O6qMv4GfuvdFqKO7wa6cLgsYuvM9SOWBQIa9dMYI-XeAf3YJ2ws5hTUpgyA85uKGjZlNXiTiZautUN_5uqWQ/s200/Orpheus_hades.jpg"/></a></div>Orpheus was one of the few Greek heroes to visit the Underworld and return. His music and song even had power over Hades, stern god of the Underworld. When Orpheus’ wife Eurydice was fatally bitten by a venomous snake as she tried to escape a satyr, Orpheus mourned her so movingly with his playing that the gods and nymphs wept. They suggested Orpheus go into the underworld and plea for her return. Orpheus made that perilous journey and his playing so moved Hades and his wife Persephone that Hades relented and permitted Eurydice to follow behind Orpheus back to the earth, with the stricture that Orpheus must not look upon her until both of them were in the upper world. In his excitement at reaching the surface, he impatiently glanced back at Eurydice and she returned to the Underworld forever. <br />
<br />
Thom knows a vast quantity of songs, stories and music, and his preferred instrument by far is the harp. His performances are outstanding, with his listeners able to visualise and feel the events he describes: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>He had heard gleemen, performers and bards. Thom made the entire lot seem like children with sticks, banging on pots. <br />
The flute was a simple instrument. A lot of nobles would rather hear the harp instead; one man in Ebou Dar had told Mat the harp was more "elevated." Mat figured he would have gone slack-jawed and saucer-eyed if he had heard Thom play. The gleeman made the flute sound like an extension of his own soul. Soft trills, minor scales and powerfully bold long holds. Such a lamenting melody. <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> The Seven-striped Lass<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Mat and Ituralde consider Thom to be the best and Mat makes a point of rating Thom’s performances as superior to those of Asmodean (if he had but known who Natael was): <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Natael did a fair job of it; nothing like Thom's sonorous recitals, of course, but the rolling words drew a crowd of Aiel thick around the edge of the fire's light. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Imre Stand<br />
<br />
</blockquote> Asmodean has parallels to the Greek god <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/asmodean.html#apollo">Apollo</a>, and since <i>The Wheel of Time’s</i> Orpheus, Thom, is the better performer, Asmodean continues to not quite live up to expectations.<br />
<br />
The quest to rescue Moiraine from the Otherworld of the Finns is a parallel of Orpheus in the Underworld. Thom’s playing was able to drown out the siren voice of the Eelfinn that tried to lure them into its clutches: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Its voice was hypnotic, soothing. It did make sense. What need had they of fire? It was light enough with that mist. It . . . <br />
"Thom," Mat said. "Music." <br />
"What?" Thom said, shaking a little bit. <br />
"Play anything. It doesn't matter what." <br />
Thorn took out his flute, and the Eelfinn narrowed its eyes. Thomn began playing. It was a familiar song, "The Wind That Shakes the Willows." Mat had intended to soothe the Eelfinn, maybe put it off guard. But the familiar tune seemed to help dispel the cloud on Mat's mind. <br />
"This isn't needed," the Eelfinn said, glaring at Thom… <br />
The creature was obviously trying to lull them again, but its cadence was off, at odds with Thom's playing. <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Gateways<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Not only did his performance charm the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, it helped Mat concentrate on recalling his previous visit to the Eelfinn and thus find a way out. Appropriately, the songs Thom sang during the rescue were of mourning or lamentations, as was Orpheus’ preference after his Eurydice died: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Thom, looking desperate, unhooked his harp from his back. He began to play it. Mat recognized the tune, "Sweet Whispers of Tomorrow." A mournful sound, played for the fallen dead. It was beautiful. <br />
Remarkably, the music did seem to soothe the Aelfinn. They slowed, the ones at the front beginning to sway to the beat of the melody as they walked. They knew. Thom played for his own funeral. <br />
"I don't know how I got out last time," Mat whispered. "I was unconscious. I woke up being hanged. Rand cut me down." <br />
He raised a hand to his scar. His original Aelfinn answers revealed nothing. He knew about the Daughter of the Nine Moons, he knew about giving up half the light of the world. He knew about Rhuidean, It all made sense. No holes. No questions. Except... <br />
Thom began to sing. "Oh, how long were the days of a man. When he strode upon a broken land." <br />
Mat listened, memories blossoming in his mind. Thom's voice carried him to days long ago. Days in his own memories, days of the memories of others. Days when he had died, days when he had lived, days when he had fought and when he had won. <br />
"I want those holes filled . . ." Mat whispered to himself. "That's what I said. The Eelfinn obliged, giving me memories that were not my own." <br />
Moiraine's eyes had closed again, but she smiled as she listened to Thom's music. Mat had thought Thom was playing for the Aelfinn, but now he wondered if he was playing for Moiraine. A last, melancholy song for a failed rescue. <br />
"He sailed as far as a man could steer," Thom sang, voice sonorous, beautiful. "And he never wished to lose his fear." <br />
"I want those holes filled," Mat repeated, "so they gave me memories. That was my first boon." <br />
"For the fear of man is a thing untold. It keeps him safe, and it proves him bold!" <br />
"I asked something else, not knowing it," Mat said. "I said I wanted to be free of Aes Sedai and the Power. They gave me the medallion for that. Another gift." <br />
"Don't let fear make you cease to strive, for that fear it proves you remain alive!" <br />
"And . . . and I asked for one more thing. I said I wanted to be away from them and back to Rhuidean. The Eelfinn gave me everything I asked for. The memories to fill my holes. The medallion to keep me free from the Power. . . ." <br />
And what? They sent him back to Rhuidean to hang. But hanging was a price, not an answer to his demands. <br />
"I will walk this broken road," Thom sang, voice growing louder, "and I will carry a heavy load!" <br />
"They did give me something else," Mat whispered, looking down at the ashandarei in his hands as the Aelfinn began to hiss more loudly. <br />
Thus is our treaty written; thus is agreement made. It was carved on the weapon. The blade had two ravens, the shaft inscribed with words in the Old Tongue. <br />
Thought is the arrow of time; memory never fades. <br />
Why had they given to him? He had never questioned it. But he had not asked for a weapon. <br />
What was asked is given. The price is paid. <br />
No, I didn't ask for a weapon. I asked for a way out. <br />
And they gave me this. <br />
"So come at me with your awful lies," Thom bellowed the final line of the song. "I'm a man of truth, and I'll meet your eyes!" <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> The One Left Behind<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Thom’s performance re-focused Mat’s faded memory and enabled them to escape the Otherworld. Except for one they left behind to buy them time. It was Noal who did not return to the earth, not Moiraine.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBC2PyBFpxynd1rIgE1uzZYoMMAdBUf4IlQv9OsXG55-LUgjqs-DKTJYn9k4xb-DycUjgpbeLHMN4OxufzQEbbzEniN1Yk7p7thcm2KjQYQWmYdflNaCFhhhIM4-Odx_8-rVA8z0TKsQw/s1600-h/maenads+killing+orpheus2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBC2PyBFpxynd1rIgE1uzZYoMMAdBUf4IlQv9OsXG55-LUgjqs-DKTJYn9k4xb-DycUjgpbeLHMN4OxufzQEbbzEniN1Yk7p7thcm2KjQYQWmYdflNaCFhhhIM4-Odx_8-rVA8z0TKsQw/s320/maenads+killing+orpheus2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315156666371837026"></a>
In some legends, Orpheus was attacked by Maenads, followers of the god Dionysus, for concentrating his worship on the sun god Helios. Orpheus’ music was so enchanting that the sticks and stone the Maenads threw at him refused to hit him and so the women tore him to shreds with their bare hands.<br />
<br />
While satyrs are a major source for Shadowspawn such as Myrddraal and Trollocs, the satyr who indirectly cause Eurydice to be killed by a snake represents Lanfear. Maenads are parallels of the Black Ajah, while Dionysus is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/balthamel.html#dionysus">Balthamel</a>, who as Aran’gar instructed the Black sisters with the rebels on how to further the Shadow’s cause. Apostasy, the renunciation of allegiance to the Light (or the Shadow), in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> is a capital offence on both sides for most groups.<br />
<br />
However, Thom did not suffer Orpheus’ fate. He helped fulfill the ultimate quest of the series, by guarding he entrance to Shayol Ghul. His beloved Moiraine went into the Underworld along with Rand and Nynaeve to seal the Dark One away. Thom guarded the entry, not to keep the shades of the dead within as Cerberus guards the gates of the Greek underworld, but to keep the Black Ajah out. He paused in his strumming and composition to knife Black sisters. <br />
<br />
Once the Dark One was sealed away, Moiraine, Nynaeve and then Rand all returned to the surface. It was Moiraine who looked back over Thom’s shoulder at the closing of the Bore and of Shayol Ghul: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Moiraine burst into open air without realizing it, and almost ran off the edge of the path, which would have sent her stumbling down the steep slope. Someone caught her. <br />
"I have you," Thom's voice said as she collapsed into his arms, completely drained. Nynaeve fell to the ground nearby, gasping. <br />
<br />
Thom turned Moiraine away from the corridor, but she refused to look away. She opened her eyes, though she knew that the light was too intense, and she saw something. Rand and Moridin, standing in the light as it expanded outward to consume the entire mountain in its glow. <br />
<br />
The blackness in front of Rand hung like a hole, sucking in everything. Slowly, bit by bit, that hole shrank away until it was just a pinprick. <br />
<br />
It vanished. <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Light and Shadow<br />
<br />
</blockquote>So intent was Moiraine on seeing the closing up of this Underworld that Thom had to save her from a serious, if not fatal, fall. Thom’s role here was to enable his Eurydice’s safe return once she had achieved her quest in the Underworld.<br />
<br />
Thom fell from a high position to become a wanderer, and with a need to be on guard but with little social standing and resources, gets by on his wits—a trickster by necessity.<br />
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<br />
<b><a name="ttrickster">Trickster</a></b><br />
<br />
Trickster figures aspire to enter a social group which excludes them, and use their wiles to do so. While Mat Cauthon is the prime <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/redressing-balance-and-boundaries-wheel.html">trickster</a> in <i>The Wheel of Time</i>, his mentor and fellow trickster Thom taught him some useful skills and supplied him with some useful knowledge. <br />
<br />
Trickster are outsiders in society and are very adaptable in their behaviour. They readily ignore social rules to achieve their aims. Thom is a wandering vagabond minstrel outlawed from his country for shouting at Queen Morgase. He is skilled at disguising himself and is able to imitate the conventions and manners of any nation he is passing through to gain social acceptance and find out what is going on. Thom broke the rules in Cairhien first by ‘breaking cover’ and getting involved too openly with Rand’s group, and then by killing King Galldrian in retribution for Dena’s death. He removed a corrupt king, but started a civil war, which set in motion many critical events of the end of the Age. <br />
<br />
Thom tricked the Tairen nobles with expertly forged notes to make them attack each other rather than plot against Rand. Thom is more the magician type of trickster and is not as rebelliously dishevelled as the other <i>Wheel of Time</i> tricksters. Or rather, he can be scruffy when necessary to blend in, but polishes himself up very well, as we saw at his audience with Elayne: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>How had the man so perfectly transformed from an old scamp of a gleeman into a royal courtier? <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Talk of Dragons<br />
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</blockquote><br />
<b><a name="tsymbol">Symbol</a></b><br />
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<b><a name="fox">Grey Fox</a></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHKLILBIt0LKOeW4VQqtFEqb77CSZNLHfTvOEtIRtAFOHwR-XVGdr2j2TxQqmkzdYQd8ygqHTnBVA9U1cx2F2gf1LELrvj0nSaxXlRY2-SjfxUVjCjjVYFeGmpXVs0mERof00B_1RxtRxIR6VVE4E_uF3f76vpyB3w0PDSt_Rl6MImBLtcI8EWrI46A/s256/grey%20fox-xxl.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHKLILBIt0LKOeW4VQqtFEqb77CSZNLHfTvOEtIRtAFOHwR-XVGdr2j2TxQqmkzdYQd8ygqHTnBVA9U1cx2F2gf1LELrvj0nSaxXlRY2-SjfxUVjCjjVYFeGmpXVs0mERof00B_1RxtRxIR6VVE4E_uF3f76vpyB3w0PDSt_Rl6MImBLtcI8EWrI46A/s200/grey%20fox-xxl.png"/></a></div><br />
<br />
According to Moiraine, Thom Merrilin was known as the Grey Fox (<i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Deceptions). The fox is one of the most cunning creatures of world mythology, a trickster who may aid or harm mankind. Thom is knowledgeable and manipulative; a skilled player of the Great Game not above a little forgery to help the Dragon Reborn.<br />
<br />
In Zoroastrian myth: <br />
<br />
<blockquote> the fox has unusual powers including the ability to frighten off demons…[and] in Japan the fox is associated with shapeshifting, trickery and the power to subdue ghosts and vampires. <br />
<br />
- John and Caitlin Matthews, <i>Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures </i><br />
<br />
</blockquote> Thom is skilled in disguises and other trickery. He fought a Myrddraal with just a pair of knives and used his skills as a musician and bard to enchant the Eelfinn.<br />
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While Thom was named the Grey Fox because he is elderly, it also represents the knowledge and experience he has gained through age. Grey is the colour of neutrality, compromise and negotiations—and more negatively, moral ambiguity. Thom thought he wanted to stand aside and stay out of the way of Aes Sedai and of the Dragon Reborn but was drawn in and used his skills, even his morally ambiguous ones such as forging, to help:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> He was glad that he'd not been able to escape, that his attempts to leave Rand, Mat and the others behind had failed. <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Two Craftsmen<br />
<br />
</blockquote>The colour grey also has connotations of depression and loss, and Thom carries these due to the death of his nephew, Owyn, whom he was not able to help. <br />
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<br />
Separately and together this magical duo, Thom and Moiraine, mentored a great magus, Rand, and helped him fulfill his Opus to save the world.<br />
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_________________________________________<br />
<br />
<i>Written by Linda, October 2022 </i><br />
<br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-34784188408193872252022-07-24T06:35:00.028-04:002022-10-06T02:18:31.564-04:00Character Parallels: Nynaeve and Lan<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda</a></i><br />
<br />
One of the most iconic love stories of the series is that of Lan and Nynaeve: the kingly paramount Knight, who was wedded to his quest and bonded to a fairy princess who had renounced her royalty, and the powerful and protective hedge-witch considered too young and rebellious for her role.<br />
<br />
It began in mutual respect and rapidly deepened. They had quite a bit in common. Both were orphaned while young. Both were given heavy responsibilities while young. Separately and together, both fought hard against the Shadow and to support Rand and his duty to die saving the world. Lan’s abilities were thoroughly trained and honed, and always recognised and respected. Until Moiraine, he thought he knew his ultimate fate. Nynaeve also thought she knew her fate, although she did not know her abilities and would have been appalled if she had. Partially trained, mostly by herself, she was reluctantly respected. <br />
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And their relationship? In one way, the result is that the perfect knight who is emotionally crippled and chronically depressed due to a geas laid on him at birth is given just the medicine he needs by a young witch with a chip on her shoulder; in another, a well-educated warrior widens the horizons of a powerful small-town witch to encompass a national and then universal world view, and she rises to heal and protect the world. Balance. And change. Two major themes of the series. <br />
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Their stark but healing reversals were facilitated by Moiraine. As is typical for Moiraine, one of the major agents of change in the series, neither party could appreciate all that she did—the necessity for the changes she wrought—until the climax of the war. <br />
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<br />
The parallels of Nynaeve and then Lan will be discussed in turn. Here is the outline:<br />
<br />
<a href="#nynaeve">Nynaeve<br />
<a href="#narthurian">Arthurian Myth Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#nhealing">Healing Goddesses</a><br />
<a href="#nmother">Mother Goddesses</a><br />
<a href="#nhunt">Battle and Hunt Mythic Figures</a> <br />
<a href="#nhistoric">Religious Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#nhistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#nsymbol">Symbol</a><br />
<a href="#lan">Lan<br />
<a href="#larthurian">Arthurian Myth Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#lfairytale">Fairy Tale Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#lgod">Battle Gods</a><br />
<a href="#lhistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#lliterary">Literary Parallel</a><br />
<a href="#lmandrake">Lan’s Surname</a><br />
<a href="#lsymbols">Symbols</a><br />
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<b><a name="nynaeve">NYNAEVE</b><br />
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<br />
<a name="nmythic">Mythic Parallels </a><br />
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<a name="narthurian">Arthurian Myth Parallels</a><br />
<br />
The Wheel of Time is deeply rooted in Arthurian mythology—was based on it in the early drafts—and Nynaeve has aspects of three Arthurian figures: Nimue, the Lady of the Lake and the Grail Maiden. <br />
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<b><a name="ngrail">Grail Maiden</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdRRZaA3tPwI9zVDZB5KrarQGBxcMrJk75_Jcw2cdHqKsS5AvQ94EUvj_euYtWrx6EI37kYpt4uQWrcdKxN9A46zL1Y-IpGZ8QOoWEVjI5iR76lq4jJZOehkxnxOGPNQDRWIsd8NLVqItNaT9qEZeyCxjr5rGpfC8Olr_ZrQEHXhGhbK8ERTAkoSeFg/s480/Sangreal.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdRRZaA3tPwI9zVDZB5KrarQGBxcMrJk75_Jcw2cdHqKsS5AvQ94EUvj_euYtWrx6EI37kYpt4uQWrcdKxN9A46zL1Y-IpGZ8QOoWEVjI5iR76lq4jJZOehkxnxOGPNQDRWIsd8NLVqItNaT9qEZeyCxjr5rGpfC8Olr_ZrQEHXhGhbK8ERTAkoSeFg/s200/Sangreal.jpg"/></a></div><br />
The San Greal or Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, is the ultimate quest for the knights of King Arthur’s court. A closely-related sacred object in Celtic mythology is a magical cauldron that can miraculously feed and heal. In Arthurian tradition, a Grail Maiden is often seen accompanying the Holy Grail whenever it makes itself manifest, usually as the bearer of the vessel. <br />
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Sa’angreal, prized objects which can grant a select few access to the greatest amounts of the One Power, are parallels of the San Greal. They are hallowed objects for channellers. The Sea Folk’s hallowed object, the Bowl of Winds ter’angreal, is a reference to the Celts’ sacred cauldron. Nynaeve is the only person who has participated in the use of all these hallowed objects of the Power: the Bowl of Winds to undo the Dark One’s distortion of the seasons and to heal and restore the Land, the Choedan Kal to cleanse saidin, and Callandor to seal the Dark One away. <br />
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The female Choedan Kal is the sa’angreal, the San Greal vessel, that provides the ultimate amount of the feminine half of the Source, but Nynaeve herself is a hallowed vessel for saidar, since she provides the link and access to that source and Heals to a miraculous degree. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>She was acting as a conduit for far more of saidar than the entire White Tower could have handled using every angreal and sa'angreal the Tower possessed. <br />
<br />
- <i>Winter’s Heart</i>, With the Choedan Kal<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Nynaeve enables Rand to remove the taint from saidin so that male channellers could once again be equal partners in using magic to fight the Shadow and aid humanity. A paramount Grail Maiden. <br />
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<br />
<b><a name="nlady">Lady of the Lake </a></b><br />
<br />
The Lady of the Lake is the title used by several fairy-like figures in Arthurian myth that made important contributions to King Arthur’s life: providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Sir Lancelot after the death of his father King Ban, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. <br />
<br />
The Lady of the Lake taught Lancelot du Lac about courtly love and the duties of a true knight. In Arthurian myth, Lancelot got his epithet from his foster-mother the Lady of the Lake, whereas in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world, it is the other way around—Nynaeve married Lan, the Lord of the Thousand Lakes. Nynaeve’s surname al’Meara is similar to the words “of the mere”, of the lake, linking her to the Lady of the Lake as well as foreshadowing her married title of Nynaeve, Lady of the Thousand Lakes. <br />
<br />
Nynaeve taught Lan to love: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>”You have made a place in my heart where I thought there was no room for anything else. You have made flowers grow where I cultivated dust and stones.” <br />
<br />
- <i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Leavetakings<br />
<br />
</blockquote>When Morgan le Fay stole Excalibur from Arthur, and gave the magical sword to her lover, Accolon of Gaul, it was the Lady of the Lake who rescued the king when he was losing his duel with Accolon by knocking Excalibur out of Accolon's hand with her magic. Nynaeve rescued Rand from Rahvin by distracting the Forsaken, and when Moridin killed Alanna and seized Callandor (equivalent to Excalibur) from Rand in the Pit of Doom it was Nynaeve who kept Alanna alive long enough for the Green sister to release Rand’s bond so he did not go insane. <br />
<br />
The Lady later became the guardian of Excalibur, when the dying Arthur returned the sword to the lake. It was Cadsuane rather than Nynaeve who took this role at the end of <i>Winter’s Heart</i>, ‘securing’ Callandor. However, Nynaeve and Moiraine helped Rand trap Moridin to use it against the Dark One in the Pit of Doom, which is a lake of lava. After the Dark One was sealed away, no one knows what became of Callandor. Presumably it remained there beside the lava lake in the cave. <br />
<br />
The Lady of the Lake was one of four ladies who took the dying Arthur on a boat to be healed in Avalon. However, in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> <u>three</u> women are prophesied to be on a boat with Rand: Elayne, Aviendha and Min (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/foretellings.html#nicola">Foretellings</a> article). <br />
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For more information on Arthurian parallels see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time.html">Matter of Britain: Arthurian Myth Parallels</a>
and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html">Arthurian Who's Who</a> essays).<br />
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<b><a name="nnimue">Nimue</a></b><br />
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Nynaeve also has parallels to Nimue (also spelled Niniane, Viviane, Nyneve and similar variants) of Arthurian myth, a budding enchantress who takes on the role of Lady of the Lake at Avalon after her predecessor is slain at the hands of Sir Balin le Savage. In Arthurian legend, Nimue mistrusts the scheming and morally ambivalent Morgan le Fay and looks to expose her machinations. She also has problems with Merlin, who falls in love with her and wants her for his mistress. Nimue convinces Merlin to teach her magic and then uses it against him when she grows weary of his advances, sealing him in a cave from which “he came never out for all the craft he could do” (<i>Le Morte D’Arthur</i>, Book IV, Chapter I). At first, Nimue’s ethics are just as questionable as those of Morgan le Fay and of Merlin. Having removed Morgan and Merlin from Arthur’s life, she then uses her magic for good, especially to aid Arthur and his knights. <br />
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Nynaeve has problematic relationships with Morgan le Fay’s parallel Moiraine and with Merlin (in this case, Merlin’s equivalent is the Amyrlin). The positive Merlin figure, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#thom">Thom Merrilyn</a>, who is NOT keen on Aes Sedai when the story begins, she respects. His future wife, though…<br />
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In the beginning, Nynaeve was very suspicious of Moiraine, and took her to task for leading the young Edmond’s Fielders away from their village with her and placing them in danger. At this stage, Moiraine was both a Morgan le Fay and Merlin figure (and also an abducting fairy) in their lives, protecting and guiding them, but in a secretive and morally ambivalent way (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#moiraine">Moiraine in Arthurian Who’s Who</a> essay). Moiraine taught Nynaeve that she was a magic user also and could become one of the despised Aes Sedai, and Amyrlin Siuan goaded Nynaeve to openly channel “on screen” in a way that could not be passed off as something natural (<i>The Great Hunt,</i> The White Tower). Nynaeve wanted to use what Moiraine and the Aes Sedai had taught her against them (<i>The Great Hunt,</i> The Dragon Reborn). From this low point in her behaviour, Nynaeve eventually comes to understand and accept the necessity of Moiraine’s actions and to appreciate, even if reluctantly, what she was trying to accomplish in the War against the Shadow. <br />
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Nynaeve admired Moiraine’s self-sacrifice for Rand’s sake and publicly embraced her at Merrilor, to Moiraine’s surprise, when Moiraine “returned from the dead”. In Nynaeve’s mind, Rand’s care and protection was always paramount. And Nynaeve and Moiraine together enter the dark cavern of Shayol Ghul with Rand, leaving the Merlin figure Thom Merrilin to guard the entrance, and find a dark Merlin, Moridin/Myrddin already within. <br />
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Nimue intervenes to save Arthur from sorceresses on three different occasions. Nynaeve directly intervened on Rand’s behalf during his battle with Rahvin in Caemlyn, and her positive support helped save him from annihilating himself and everything when he became extremely dark after accidentally linking to Moridin, as Rand acknowledged. The third time was at Shayol Ghul, where Nynaeve kept Alanna alive to prevent Rand from going mad from Alanna’s death. Three times makes a charm. <br />
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Another parallel between Nynaeve and Nimue is an episode involving Nimue, the Lady Ettard, and Sir Pelleas. <br />
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Sir Pelleas, who later becomes a Knight of the Round Table, loves the Lady Ettard almost beyond reason, but the Lady Ettard does not return his feelings, and in fact actively dislikes him and treats him contemptibly, even though Sir Pelleas is a fine, honorable knight. When Nimue learns of Sir Pelleas’ plight, she throws an enchantment upon the Lady Ettard while she sleeps which causes her to awaken loving Sir Pelleas as deeply as he did her. She also throws an enchantment upon Sir Pelleas while he sleeps which causes him to awaken hating the Lady Ettard as much as she did him. In the end, the Lady Ettard gets a full taste of her own medicine and eventually dies of a broken heart, and Nimue takes Sir Pelleas as her knight champion/consort. <br />
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While this works for Nynaeve, Moiraine, and Lan only on a very superficial level as a parallel for Nimue and Nynaeve both winning a champion/consort from another woman, it more closely fits Myrelle as the Lady Ettard. Myrelle held Lan’s bond for a time, and wanted to keep him as her own, even though Lan had absolutely no interest in her whatsoever, and had not agreed to his bond being passed to Myrelle. Unlike the Lady Ettard, however, Myrelle had promised Moiraine not to keep her Sir Pelleas Lan, but to pass him on to an Aes Sedai in need of a Warder, and was thus able to reconcile herself to his loving another woman and to giving him up to her. Just as well, since the moment Nyaneve passed her test for the shawl she confronted Myrelle outside the Black Tower and insisted on having Lan’s bond passed to her (<i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Choice). <br />
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<a name="ngoddess">Goddesses</a><br />
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As a major character who is one of the most powerful channellers, Nynaeve has parallels to important goddesses of healing and also of motherhood and dominion. <br />
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<a name="nhealing">Healing Goddesses and Gods</a><br />
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<b><a name="nisis">Isis</a></b> <br />
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Originally an obscure goddess who lacked her own dedicated temples, Isis became one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. Her cult subsequently spread throughout the entire Roman Empire and she is still revered by pagans today. Isis's reputation as a compassionate deity, concerned to relieve human suffering, contributed greatly to her appeal. Nynaeve rose from obscurity to heal the world by helping to restore the seasons, cleanse saidin and seal the Dark One away. Rand commended her caring and compassionate nature and asked her to never suppress it. <br />
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Isis was married to her brother, the divine king Osiris, but he was captured and killed by his jealous brother Set and his corpse dismembered. Isis and her sister Nephthys searched for the pieces of their brother's body and reassembled it. Isis is the epitome of a mourning widow. Her and Nephthys's love and grief for their brother helped restore him to life, as did Isis's great skill with magic. Nynaeve’s care of Rand and of his supporters helped keep Rand sane after he was corrupted by his link with Moridin. She mourned at Rand’s bedside as his body lay dying. In a way, she was his chief mourner, since Elayne, Min and Aviendha knew he was not dead.<br />
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Isis was believed to help the dead enter the afterlife as she had helped her husband Osiris, and she was considered the divine mother of the pharaoh, who was likened to her son Horus. She restored the living to health and the souls of the dead to wholeness as she had done for Osiris, and also acted as a mother in the living world and the afterlife/world of the dead, providing protection and nourishment. Isis's actions in protecting Osiris against Set became part of a larger, more warlike aspect of her character, and inspired Kings to call upon her powers of protection against human enemies. Nynaeve’s determination and skill to Heal almost anything and to fight to protect the Light is paramount but she was also the only person with the courage and protective instinct to call out Rand for committing the atrocity of large-scale balefire, thereby contributing to his epiphany and saving the world from annihilation. She was there with Rand at the entrance to the Dark One’s underworld and helped Rand do his task of saving the world even though he would die from it.<br />
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As mourner (see illustration right), she was a principal deity in rites connected with the dead; as magical healer, she cured the sick and brought the deceased to life; and as mother, she was a role model for all women. We have seen Nynaeve undertake all these roles<br />
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In Ptolemaic times Isis was believed to influence the entire cosmos. Over the series, Nynaeve grows to this level. Jordan split Isis between Nynaeve (powerful magic user who protects Osiris, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#osiris">Rand</a> and Heals all) and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#isis">Tuon</a> (divine Queen/Empress as well as mother of her people who has the potential to channel—perhaps even powerfully). <br />
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In many spells in the Pyramid Texts, Isis and Nephthys help the deceased king reach the afterlife. The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead describes Isis as protecting deceased souls as they face the dangers in the Duat, the realm of the dead. Likewise, Nynaeve and Min help Rand face the psychological danger of the taint and his link with Moridin; and Nynaeve and Moiraine help Rand face the dangers of the Dark One at the underworld of Shayol Ghul. <br />
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Using her magical powers, Isis was able to make Osiris whole, and neither living nor dead—a mummy. Nynaeve’s Healing skills were regarded as “almost miraculous” by other Aes Sedai, but she didn’t transmigrate Rand’s soul. Nor did any other channeller. Transmigration is an example of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/theme-of-wrongness.html">Wrongness</a> in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world unless both parties want it. (Rand and Moridin each desired their fates and the Creator personally undertook their mutual transmigration as a concession.) But Nynaeve protected and aided Rand in staying alive at Shayol Ghul, and in subjugating Moridin/Set. Rand/Osiris is also both alive and dead: his soul and mind are alive, but his body is dead. <br />
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Isis was the most powerful magic user of the Egyptian deities. Several narratives rate her magical powers as stronger than those of Osiris. She was frequently invoked to help the sick, and, with the goddesses Nephthys (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-faile-and-berelain.html#nephthys">Berelain</a> in this context as she ran the field hospital in Mayene during the Last Battle) and Neith (this arrow-bearing goddess is a parallel of Birgitte, who helped Elayne and Nynaeve from the land of the dead Heroes) she protected the dead. Isis became known, like other fierce goddesses in Ancient Egypt, as the “Eye of Re” and was equated with the Dog Star, Sirius. Nynaeve’s surname also links her with Sirius (see <a href="#nmaera">below</a>). <br />
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<b><a name="nsekhmet">Sekhmet</a></b> <br />
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Another Egyptian goddess who was regarded as an “Eye of Ra”, a protector of the chief god’s realm and dispenser of vengeance, was Sekhmet, a warrior goddess as well as a goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness and protected the pharaohs and led his forces in warfare. After their death, Sekhmet continued to protect the pharaohs, bearing them to the afterlife. <br />
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When Lan professed his love for Nynaeve, he accurately described her as a lioness due to her fierce protective nature (<i>The Eye of the World,</i> The Blight). <br />
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Sekhmet was appealed to for protection against disease, but also had her dark side. She was blood-thirsty and was believed to cause plagues. In Nynaeve, the positive aspects of Sekhmet, the protection and healing, are uppermost, although she does have a tendency to bully others, whereas <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html#sekhmet">Semirhage</a> embodies Sekhmet’s negative aspects, bringing pain and torture as a price for her healing. <br />
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<b><a name="naesclepius">Aesclepius</a></b> <br />
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Asclepius is an Ancient Greek hero and god of medicine. The son of the sun god Apollo, he was educated in medicine by the centaur Chiron and become so proficient that he surpassed both his teacher Chiron and his father, Apollo. He was therefore able to evade death and to bring others back to life from the brink of death or beyond. Nynaeve is largely self-taught, and surpasses the Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah. <br />
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The daughters of Asclepius are Hygieia (the goddess of hygiene, cleanliness—Nynaeve insisted on cleaned hands when attending the injured after Winternight), Aegle (the goddess of good health—Nynaeve uses herbs as well as Healing), Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy—the One Power is like an <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/the-tao-of-pattern.html#life">elixir of life</a>, especially its Healing weaves), Aceso (the goddess of the healing process—Nynaeve rediscovered and developed Healing with five powers), and Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness—Nynaeve’s five powers Healing requires less recuperation than regular Aes Sedai Healing). <br />
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In some myths Asclepius was among those who took part in the Hunt for the Calydonian Boar, a fierce animal that was ravaging Calydon in central Greece with lightning. The Hunt was remarkable in Greek myth because among the heroes was a woman, the huntress Atalanta, a proxy for the goddess Artemis. Artemis sent the boar in the first place to punish the Calydonians…playing both sides of the board, just like the Shadow (some of whom have parallels to Ancient Greek gods and goddesses). Some of the men in the Hunt were outraged a woman was among them, especially when she outperformed them; and refused to fight because she was present and then tried to take the prize from her after she earned it. It all degenerated into in-fighting. The division of male and female Aes Sedai over battle plans in the war against the Shadow carries over into the Third Age in the form of unproductive antagonism between male and female channellers and between rival groups of channellers and is actively promoted by the Shadow. <br />
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After telling Nynaeve she was a fool for trying to Heal beyond what standard Aes Sedai Healing and knowledge could do, the Yellows then criticised her technique after they manipulated her into demonstrating to them: <br />
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<blockquote>Finally Nynaeve understood. Finally everything came together. The Yellow sisters' presence. Sheriam and Myrelle believing, then not believing, threatening her, snapping at her. It was all apurpose, all to make her angry enough to work her Healing on Siuan and Leane, to prove herself to the Yellows. No. By their faces, they were here to see her fail, not succeed…<br />
She had believed that nonsense, even the barrel! They had manipulated her
like a puppet!... <br />
The rest of the room was staring at Nynaeve. The shock shining through all that Aes Sedai serenity was quite satisfying, and the disgruntlement too. Shanelle's eyes, pale blue in a dark pretty face, seemed about to fall out of her head. Nisao's mouth hung open, until she saw Nynaeve looking at her and snapped it shut. <br />
"What made you think of using Fire?" Dagdara asked in a strangled voice that sounded entirely too high for such a big woman. "And Earth? You used Earth. Healing is Spirit, Water and Air." That opened the floodgate, questions from every throat, but they were all the same question really, just phrased differently. <br />
"I don't know why," Nynaeve replied when she found an opening. "It just seemed right. I've almost always used everything." Which produced a round of admonitions. Healing was Spirit, Water and Air. It was dangerous to experiment with Healing; a mistake could kill not only you but your patient. She said nothing in reply, but the warnings died off quickly in rueful glances and smoothed skirts; she had not killed anyone, and she had Healed what they said could not be Healed…<br />
A murmur rose among the Yellows, and Nynaeve prepared to bask in their compliments. She would accept their apologies gracefully. Then she heard what they were saying. <br />
"... used Fire and Earth as if she were trying to bore a hole through stone." That from Dagdara. <br />
"A smoother touch would be better," Shanelle agreed. <br />
"... see where Fire might be useful in problems with the heart," Therva said, tapping her long nose. <br />
Beldemaine, a plump Arafellin with silver bells in her hair, nodded thoughtfully. <br />
"... if the Earth were combined with Air just so, you see...." <br />
"... Fire woven into Water...." <br />
"... Earth blended with the Water..." <br />
Nynaeve gaped. They had forgotten her completely. They thought they could do what she had just showed them better than she could! <br />
Myrelle patted her arm. "You did very well," she murmured. "Don't worry; they will be all praises later. Right now, they are still a little taken aback." <br />
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- <i>Lord of Chaos,</i> To Heal Again<br />
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</blockquote>This situation is a blend of Asclepius and Atalanta. <br />
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The original Hippocratic Oath taken by medical practitioners began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ...". <br />
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<b><a name="nhippocrates">Hippocrates</a></b> <br />
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Hippocrates is the Greek physician of antiquity who is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine: <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatPuXbfYGOefa4SJUjrQOVdZyL_nifNoYoehXV6uidav_UQaRkwB_WggF6lVQmuJxRxip0-axqFJGk1ca1IbtfTej2u4YpPEv97s0V9ADvNPSgnJP3yYpiwJ-Vqtt4Pf16vzXXp6O-VQ/s1600-h/hippocrates+and+oath.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 85px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatPuXbfYGOefa4SJUjrQOVdZyL_nifNoYoehXV6uidav_UQaRkwB_WggF6lVQmuJxRxip0-axqFJGk1ca1IbtfTej2u4YpPEv97s0V9ADvNPSgnJP3yYpiwJ-Vqtt4Pf16vzXXp6O-VQ/s320/hippocrates+and+oath.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313711154903422834"></a><blockquote>Throughout his life Hippocrates appears to have travelled widely in Greece and Asia Minor practicing his art and teaching his pupils, and he presumably taught at the medical school at Cosquite frequently. Undoubtedly Hippocrates was a historical figure, a great physician who exercised a permanent influence on the development of medicine and on the ideals and ethics of the physician. <br />
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- <I>Encyclopaedia Britannica</I><br />
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</blockquote>Nynaeve moved around the nations, not waiting in the White Tower for people to come to her. She had a huge influence in redeveloping Aes Sedai Healing knowledge and skills, even surpassing Age of Legends Healers by restoring stilled channellers’ ability to channel—giving them back their lives, according to Siuan. She has taught her weaves to the current Aes Sedai and brought about a huge expansion of Aes Sedai healing knowledge and skill: <br />
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<blockquote>"This truly is Nynaeve's most remarkable discovery," Myrelle said. "The Yellows are taking what she has done and making their own marvels, but she began it." <br />
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- <i>Lord of Chaos</i> Journey to Salidar <br />
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</blockquote>In the Hippocratic Oath associated with his name, physicians pledge to prescribe only beneficial treatments to the best of their abilities and judgment; to refrain from causing harm or hurt; and to live a model personal and professional life. Nynaeve personifies the Hippocratic Oath, doing her utmost to Heal people and protect them, while her dark opposite, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html#hippocrates">Semirhage</a> represents those physicians who violate their Hippocratic Oaths that they should have followed. <br />
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<a name="nmother">Mother Goddesses</a><br />
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<b><a name="nnana">Nana</a></b> <br />
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During her journey with Elayne to hunt the Black Ajah, Nynaeve used the alias of Nana. Nana was an ancient Mesopotamian and Central Asian mother-queen goddess who was conflated with the similarly named Inanna/Ishtar in some eras and also with the Greek goddess Artemis. She annually mourned the death of her divine lover, the vegetation god, who died a martyr. Her tears were instrumental in his rebirth. For the Assyrians, Nana was queen of the world and giver of life. <br />
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No wonder Nana was furious at having to attend to the ‘Lady Morelin’s’ needs! Nynaeve is the queen of Malkier, a prominent leader and Healer in the war against the Shadow, and one of the most powerful of the queenly Aes Sedai. She has given many their lives back. Nynaeve was unable to Heal Rand, the Creator’s champion who was one with the Land and sacrificed himself for the world. Nor was she aware that Rand’s soul was transmigrated into Moridin’s body and mourned his passing. <br />
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In the Pakistan-Afghanistan area in the second century CE, Nana was depicted as a seated martial goddess with a lion alongside, and was associated with fertility, wisdom and rivers. Nynaeve, a lioness among women, was Wisdom in the Two Rivers…<br />
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Nana became one of the venerated females of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html#zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a>. In Zoroastrianism, a religion originating in Persia prior to 600 BC, the benign god of light, Ahura Mazda or Ohrmazd, and his angels contend throughout time with the god of darkness, Angra Mainyu or Ahriman (Ahura Mazda’s evil twin) and his demons. Ahura Mazda appears with three masculine archangels on his right, and three feminine archangels on his left, while he himself is both father and mother of creation (<i>Omens of Millennium</i>, Harold Bloom). The idea of the supporting angels and demons also occurs in the <i>Wheel of Time</i>’s theology: there were three masculine beings with extraordinary powers rallying the Light’s forces (Rand, Mat and Perrin). A trio of feminine ‘angels’ crucial in the Light’s victory at the Last Battle was Egwene, Nynaeve and Moiraine. Nynaeve and Moiraine helped the Creator’s champion seal the god of darkness away and restore the Pattern. Egwene patched over the most damaged areas of the Pattern. <br />
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<b><a name="nguanyin">Guanyin</a></b> <br />
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Guanyin is the Buddhist mother goddess who is revered as the goddess of mercy, compassion and kindness. She has miraculous powers to aid others, as does Nynaeve. Guanyin is sometimes depicted standing atop a dragon. Egwene and many Tower Aes Sedai thought that Nynaeve had been with the Dragon too long, and was too influenced by him. However, her assertion that the Dragon had asked her to be with him when he faced the Dark One in Shayol Ghul made them realise that such honour would reflect on the White Tower also… and that if they failed Nynaeve and she then helped Rand sealed the Dark One away, they would not have that reflected honour.<br />
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Rand advised and encouraged Nynaeve to be true to her compassionate nature and not be detached like most Aes Sedai. It was good advice, unlike the Sitters’ criticism of Nynaeve’s lack of composure and calm when she exerted herself trying to save people during her test for the shawl. So while Nynaeve has done her best to support Rand, he has also given her confidence to gain the shawl as herself and not try to conform to White Tower stereotypes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="nhunt">Battle and Hunt Mythic Figures</a><br />
<br />
<b><a name="nmaera">Maera</a></b> <br />
<br />
While Nynaeve’s surname al’Meara is a real-world surname, it also has a few mythological parallels: <br />
<br />
In Greek mythology, Maera was the hound of Icarius, and was turned into the Dog Star, Sirius. Icarius was a follower of the wine god Dionysus and was killed by shepherds while on his travels. His daughter Erigone was worried about her father, and set off with Maera to find him. Maera led her to his grave, and both were so overcome with grief that they each killed themselves. Dionysus placed them in the sky as the constellations Virgo (Erigone), Boötes (Icarius), and Sirius (Maera). Nynaeve was one of Siuan’s three hounds hunting the Black Ajah. Min had a viewing of Nynaeve <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/mins-viewings.html#grief">grieving over a corpse.</a> This was Rand’s body in which Moridin’s soul had died. <br />
<br />
Another Maera in Greek mythology was the daughter of Proetus and a companion of the virgin goddess of the Hunt Artemis. When Maera became Zeus’ lover, Artemis killed her because she was no longer a virgin. Nynaeve has excellent woods-craft skills, befitting a friend of the goddess of the hunt. (These skills are also consistent with the hound Maera). Zeus is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#zeus">Rand</a> and Artemis here represents the cloistered White Tower. Nynaeve was considered by Egwene and the White Tower to have spent too much time with Rand, who asked her to keep her strong, caring emotions when she re-joined the Aes Sedai, and she nearly failed her test for the shawl for showing these same emotions. <br />
<br />
Many of Nynaeve’s mythological parallels are linked with Artemis, the Ancient Greek virgin goddess of the Hunt. Nynaeve never expected to marry: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"A Wisdom seldom weds." She paused to take a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "But if I go to Tar Valon, it may be that I will be something other than a Wisdom." <br />
"Aes Sedai marry as seldom as Wisdoms. Few men can live with so much power in a wife, dimming them by her radiance whether she wishes to or not." <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> The Blight<br />
<br />
</blockquote>not because she was against marriage, but because she hadn’t met a man she loved and respected in the Two Rivers and who returned that love and respect. As Lan told her, Aes Sedai seldom marry also. Currently, only one Ajah actually permits marriage. Nynaeve ended up being one of the first, if not the first, Yellow sister to marry. <br />
<br />
Maera was also an alternative spelling for Mara, the demon in Buddhist teachings who tempted Buddha with illusions. Mara personifies unskilfulness and distraction from the spiritual life. Nynaeve greatly objected to the way Aes Sedai scheme, manipulate and mislead others (<i> The Great Hunt,</i> The Dragon Reborn) instead of using their skills to help people. Had the Sitters been stupid enough to fail her test for the shawl, as they nearly were, Nynaeve’s exclusion would have highlighted the Tower’s inadequacies. Egwene stepped in and subtly pointed this out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="neir">Eir</a></b> <br />
<br />
With Rand having parallels to the Norse god Thor, some of the women characters battling the Shadow are like Valkyries (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/horn-of-valere.html#birgitte"> Birgitte</a>, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-s.html#siuan">Siuan</a>, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-faile-and-berelain.html#valkyrie"> Faile and Berelain</a>) or Norse goddesses (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#freyja">Tuon</a>, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#msif">Min</a>, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esif">Elayne</a>, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-faile-and-berelain.html#sif">Faile and Berelain</a>). Eir is a Norse goddess or Valkyrie associated with medical skill. Her name means help, protection or mercy. The Valkyries are female supernatural figures who guide the souls of the deceased Nordic warriors either to Freya’s afterlife or to Odin’s Hall of Valhalla. They are brave and loyal and dedicated to helping, qualities that Nynaeve has. Most Valkyries chose who died in battle, but Eir chose who would live and return to health. Nynaeve hates people to die unless it is in their bed at the end of a long life. She is highly protective as well as dedicated to healing every ill that people suffer.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="nhistoric">Religious Parallels</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="nmary">Mary</a></b><br />
<br />
When Nynaeve was introduced to Masema in his role of the Prophet announcing the advent of the Dragon, he immediately proclaimed her blessed among women for her role: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>“This is Nynaeve al’Meara,” Uno said quickly into the first pause for breath. “From Emond’s Field, in the Two Rivers, whence the Lord Dragon comes.” Masema’s head turned slowly to the one-eyed man, and she hastily took the opportunity to re-do the shawl as she had had it. “She was at Fal Dara with the Lord Dragon, and at Falme. The Lord Dragon rescued her at Falme. The Lord Dragon cares for her as for a mother.” <br />
Another time, she would have given him a few choice words, and maybe a well-boxed ear. Rand had not rescued her—or not exactly, anyway—and she was only a handful of years older than he. A mother, indeed! <br />
Masema turned back to her. The zealous light that had burned in his eyes before was nothing to what was there now. They almost glowed. <br />
“Nynaeve. ‘Yes.” His voice quickened. “Yes! I remember your name, and your face. Blessed are you among women, Nynaeve al’Meara, none more so save the blessed mother of the Lord Dragon herself, for you watched the Lord Dragon grow. You attended the Lord Dragon as a child.” He seized her arms, hard fingers biting in painfully, but he seemed unaware of it. “You will speak to the crowds of the Lord Dragon’s boyhood, of his first words of wisdom, of the miracles that accompanied him. The Light has sent you here to serve the Lord Dragon.” <br />
<br />
- <i>Fires of Heaven</i>, Encounters in Samara<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Masema is a parallel of John the Baptist, although a very dark version, who preached about the Lord Dragon, a <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#messianism">Messiah</a> figure with some parallels to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#christ">Christ</a>. As much as Nynaeve hated to admit it at that stage, Rand did also return Nynaeve’s aid, and even gave her useful advice. Masema recognised that Nynaeve played a motherly or protective role to Rand. She very much does protect and support him as the series progresses. <br />
<br />
Nynaeve is blessed with her channelling strength and skills, and heals others almost miraculously as even Aes Sedai concede. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="nhistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="nvalerian">Valerian </a></b><br />
<br />
Moghedien’s threat to Nynaeve that she would use her as a live mounting block: <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMF-KrZtQ8nzbjy8GRIVNA4UGzbY3OkFuQtUZTcNsPR9l4RTrKBUhynOSAIRMYCGWA27eXR19L8-nB_Y9JKPRC1mx4IgnVKmiqcCNQ5m8H7YyCcz0GUH00Uktio6eIBrZlXg9Fap4XRC0R4UkQLHbAU9D-_2Mgc18RqspCjRWTo0vMHprS-1WK6G1dQ/s836/Valentinian%20Humiliation.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMF-KrZtQ8nzbjy8GRIVNA4UGzbY3OkFuQtUZTcNsPR9l4RTrKBUhynOSAIRMYCGWA27eXR19L8-nB_Y9JKPRC1mx4IgnVKmiqcCNQ5m8H7YyCcz0GUH00Uktio6eIBrZlXg9Fap4XRC0R4UkQLHbAU9D-_2Mgc18RqspCjRWTo0vMHprS-1WK6G1dQ/s320/Valentinian%20Humiliation.jpg"/></a></div>
<blockquote>“Oh, I do mean to make you pay for that, Nynaeve al'Meara. This has been such a cozy hiding place, and those blind women have a number of very useful items in their possession even if they do not—" She shook her head, lips peeling back to bare her teeth in a snarl. "I think I will take you with me this time. I know. I shall keep you for a live mounting block. You will be brought out to kneel on all fours so I can step from your back to my saddle.” <br />
<br />
- <i>The Shadow Rising,</i> Into The Palace<br />
<br />
</blockquote>has an historical precedent. The Roman emperor Valerian (~195–260 or 264 CE) was captured by the Persian Emperor, Shapur I, the first Roman emperor to be made a prisoner of war, to the great shock of the Roman Empire. He was believed to have been in slavery for some years and was humiliatingly forced to kneel to provide a mounting block for Shapur to step on to mount his horse. <br />
<br />
The Utopian Age of Legends has some parallels to the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/age-of-legends.html#organisation">Ancient Roman Republic</a>, which was regarded as a Golden Age up until modern times. Correspondingly, many enemies and notorious figures of Ancient Rome are parallels of the Forsaken (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/the-three-strands-common-to-forsaken.html#rome">Ancient Rome parallels for Forsaken</a>) as Moghedien is here. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="nsymbol">Symbol</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="nlioness">Lioness</a></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIgQIAy3FEFLQTlP2HyiyQSo60sR3vb5LB5zUhZAgfB1qCgg2zt0EnCejhdVtPlaWFDm1wv8JS47UaFxf0huDhbAQvPM5QAPq0GOy3vKIBIm8eUSvGkL-lI3n0736g8x8KOL5C3i-6xY/s1600-h/Lion.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIgQIAy3FEFLQTlP2HyiyQSo60sR3vb5LB5zUhZAgfB1qCgg2zt0EnCejhdVtPlaWFDm1wv8JS47UaFxf0huDhbAQvPM5QAPq0GOy3vKIBIm8eUSvGkL-lI3n0736g8x8KOL5C3i-6xY/s200/Lion.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315473130520982850"></a><br />
<br />
Lan described Nynaeve as a lioness: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>“You are a remarkable woman, as beautiful as the sunrise, as fierce as a warrior. You are a lioness, Wisdom." <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> The Blight<br />
<br />
</blockquote> an animal regarded as fiercely protective of the young. Nynaeve’s motivation for leaving the Two Rivers was to protect the four young Emonds Fielders from Moiraine’s machinations. Lions were believed to sleep with their eyes open and thus symbolise vigilance. They also represent fortitude, dignity and courage, qualities admired in Nynaeve by her companions, although most characters were wary of Nynaeve’s fierce temper. <br />
<br />
Negative qualities associated with the lion are pride, ferocity and tyranny. Nynaeve has a ferocious temper and is a bully at times, especially in the early books. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lan">LAN</a></b><br />
<br />
Lan was Rand’s mentor in the early books, and his abilities elevated him above the Emond’s Fielders and indeed above most people. This, plus his unfulfillable duty, made him remote and intimidating. The Uncrowned, who denies he is a king because his kingdom is dead, is the king of forlorn hope that fights on anyway. His situation is closest to that of Rand and illustrates best to Rand what to become and what not to become. The horror of the Shadow’s corruption of Rand is that in his darkest days, Rand abandoned his mentor. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="lmythic">Mythic Parallels </a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="larthurian">Arthurian Myth Parallels</a><br />
<br />
Just as Rand’s closes parallel from the first draft of the first book was King Arthur, (indeed, the series was mainly Arthurian in plot outline well into the drafts of the first two books) so Lan is a parallel of Sir Lancelot du Lac.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="llancelot">Lancelot Du Lac</a></b> <br />
<br />
Sir Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine but was raised by the Lady of the Lake from whom he obtained his epithet of du Lac (of the lake). He was the paramount Knight of the Round Table, the best fighter and swordsman there, yet willing to serve others, and he never failed in chivalry or courage.<br />
<br />
Lan is also peerless in his fighting prowess. He is the best of the Warders and one of the top Blademasters:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>If you must enter the Blight, and with only a few, there is no man better to take you there, nor to bring you safely out again. He is the best of the Warders, and that means the best of the best. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World</i>, More Tales of the Wheel<br />
<br />
</blockquote>At the Last Battle, Lan’s forces and Lan himself, saw more fighting than anyone else. It is their fighting above all other abilities for which Lan and Lancelot are prized.<br />
<br />
Many of Lan’s life events are similar to those of Lancelot:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Both Lan and Lancelot are of royal birth; Lan the son of King al'Akir and Queen el'Leanna of Malkier, Lancelot the son of King Ban and Queen Elaine of Benoic, but were carried off to be fostered by others. Lancelot's father died of sorrow after his seneschal betrayed him to the King of the Wastelands, who usurped his kingdom and took his cousins hostage. Lan's parents and kingdom were betrayed by Darkfriends and lost to the Shadow. Malkier became part of the Blight, the Shadow’s wasteland, and its people were dispersed. Lan’s young cousin Isam was taken to the Town in the Blight. </li><br />
<br />
<li>Lancelot was fostered and raised in Avalon by a sorceress, the Lady of the Lake, ignorant of his identity; he was known only as King’s Son. Lan was fostered and raised in Shienar in the royal palace and denied his royal title for many years. He was called the Uncrowned as a result. By binding himself to an Aes Sedai sorceress of Tar Valon as her Warder, Lan moved further away from being a king. Rather than being his foster-mother, Nynaeve, Lady of the Thousand Lakes, is his Aes Sedai, wife and queen. Lancelot gained his epithet from his foster-mother, whereas Nynaeve gained her title from marrying Lan. </li><br />
<br />
<li>Lancelot was given a ring by the Lady of the Lake, his fairy foster-mother, which allowed him to remove any magic (Chretien de Troyes, <i>Le Chevalier à la charrette</i>). Lan gave Nynaeve his ring of kingship so that she could obtain aid if she needed it (<i>The Great Hunt,</i> The Dragon Reborn), and she used it to rally the Borderlands to Lan. When he went to fight Demandred, Lan took a medallion that negated direct magic weaves that Berelain sent to him to return to Mat Cauthon. </li><br />
<br />
<li>Both Lan and Lancelot are associated with unrequited or illicit love: Lancelot had a long-term adulterous affair with his lady Queen Guinevere, the wife of his king and liege lord, no less, and was in turn loved hopelessly by Elaine the Fair Maid of Astolat who tended him when he was seriously wounded, and by Elaine of Corbenic, the daughter of the Fisher King, who tried everything she could think of to get Lancelot to love her and eventually deceived him into making love to her by disguising herself as Guinevere. Lancelot and Guinevere’s relationship was a major contributor to the fall of Arthur’s kingdom, and the death of many, which is why a deeply penitent Guinevere left Lancelot and joined a convent.<br />
<br />
Lan was loved and pursued by many women when younger, and was nearly sucked into marrying the daughter of his first lover in <i>New Spring</i>. He considered himself unworthy to marry Nynaeve because he was bonded to Moiraine and to his fight against the Blight and had nothing to offer Nynaeve except pain and grief. Myrelle nursed Lan through his mental illness after his Warder bond was broken by the destruction of the redstone doorway. The transfer of Lan’s bond from Moiraine to Myrelle was illicit, since his permission was not asked, although Moiraine did eventually inform him that it would happen if she were killed. Lan felt tricked and betrayed by Moiraine over this. Myrelle wanted to keep Lan as her Warder, but was bound by her promise to Moiraine to pass his bond on to another Aes Sedai in need of a Warder. Nynaeve determined she would be that Aes Sedai, since she had already married Lan, the only Yellow Sister to marry that we know of, and her husband Bonded as a Warder to another woman at the time. She turned up at Myrelle’s tent straight after she was raised to the shawl threatening her with violence (including with the One Power) if she did not pass his Bond over. The White Tower has parallels to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs.html#politics">15‒16th century Catholic convents</a>, despite Tar Valon having an Arthurian name. <br />
<br />
Try as they might—and they are mighty men—Lancelot and Lan cannot suppress their feelings, especially when their knightly code of chivalry requires them to submit to the wishes of their ladies. Guinevere gives Lancelot her ring, Lan gives Nynaeve his ring. In New Spring, we see that Malkieri social customs are similar to the high medieval chivalric code. (On the other hand, Shienar, where Lan was raised, follows bushido, the Japanese samurai code, <a href="#lsamurai">below</a>).</li> <br />
<br />
<li>Both men are held against their will by women. In Malory's <i>Morte d'Arthur,</i> Morgan le Fay was in love with Lancelot, and imprisoned him to try and force him to become her lover, but he refused and managed to escape. She and three other queens kidnapped Lancelot. Moiraine, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#moiraine">Morgan le Fay</a>, bonded Lan as her Warder, but was not in love with him. She knew that Lan and Nynaeve loved each other, but would not release the bond until she had achieved her quest or died in the attempt. She altered Lan’s bond without his knowledge or consent so that it would automatically transfer to Myrelle upon her death. Myrelle would love to have kept Lan as a Warder but had promised Moiraine she would pass his bond on to a young Aes Sedai in need of a Warder and she was bound by the Three Oaths to keep that promise. Nynaeve pressured Myrelle to transfer Lan’s bond to her.</li><br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-sDpZ01-bzh_-m5Klmq4iNvM2dFdEJ-1BJ25H82uUX6QMRxuEWlsWzGGESYcMKPdZLWPTbS1sG0xZnQCOwkfFpMAkv-_dONJusCnwEZwNqX12LFPQrDjAk7CUFdikQqUQZ8HT2N59wPP/s1600-h/Lancelot.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-sDpZ01-bzh_-m5Klmq4iNvM2dFdEJ-1BJ25H82uUX6QMRxuEWlsWzGGESYcMKPdZLWPTbS1sG0xZnQCOwkfFpMAkv-_dONJusCnwEZwNqX12LFPQrDjAk7CUFdikQqUQZ8HT2N59wPP/s320/Lancelot.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326351037106983650"></a>
<li>Lancelot and Lan rescue their beloved from deadly situations. Lan pulls Nynaeve from the river after Moghedien balefired the boat carrying her, and Lancelot pulls Guinevere out of the fire when she is condemned to burn at the stake for committing adultery with him. Lancelot also rescues Guinevere from Meleagant, who abducted her, crossing the perilous Sword Bridge to Meleagant’s castle do so. The <i>Wheel of Time’s</i> <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#arthurian">Meleagant</a>, Demandred, did not capture Nynaeve, Lan’s Guinevere, but he did order two other Guinevere figures, Egwene al’Vere and Elayne, to be killed. Lancelot fought Meleagant three separate times before killing him and this is paralleled by the three “Arthurian” knights who attempted to kill Demandred, with Lan the ultimate and successful duellist to face Demandred. For Lan, the Sword Bridge to Meleagant’s castle is represented by the ring of Shadowspawn surrounding Demandred’s command post—so many blades to dodge. Lan crashed through the gap in the Trolloc wall that the Two Rivers arrows of fire made to reach Demandred and kill him. Meleagant manipulated Lancelot into granting him an advantage: he would only fight their third and final duel if Lancelot removed his helmet and his left side body armour and had his left hand tied behind his back. Lan felt very disadvantaged against an almost immortal and strong channeller (even with his weave-breaking device) when he was so tired from fighting all day and had some strength drained by Healing. In contrast, Demandred had his fatigue eased by his Sharan channellers and by meditating at spare moments. </li><br />
<li>Both win a duel with a ruthless Knight against extreme odds. Meleagant knew very well who he was fighting, but Demandred did not. This has its parallel in Lancelot’s quest to kill another villainous knight, the Copper Knight Brandin of Dolorous Gard, early in his career, when Lancelot did not know his own true identity. Brandin felt that he was invincible since any challengers had to singlehandedly defeat ten knights at the first wall and ten at the second before they duelled with Brandin. To counter such unfair tactics, the Lady of the Lake sent three shields, each of which gave increased strength, to Lancelot via a maiden. With these magic devices, Lancelot was able to defeat the knights at both walls and free Dolorous Gard from the Copper Knight. The castle was renamed Joyous Gard and claimed by Lancelot as his own. Lan was at a disadvantage to Demandred in having fought hard all day prior to their duel, although he had obtained a ter’angreal via Berelain that protected him from direct weaves, and his Warder Bond to Nynaeve, Lady of the Thousand Lakes, increased his strength and endurance. The immense losses inflicted at the Field of Merrilor and the Heights upon the Light’s armies by Demandred’s forces qualify the area as the Dolorous Gard, but the Blight is even more dolorous. Lan’s victory over Demandred gave Rand the heart to battle on against the Dark One, and, just as important, insight into the true nature of that fight. This had the immediate effect of easing the Blighting of the Land around Shayol Ghul.<br />
<br />
Lan’s own nation was consumed by the Blight when he was a baby, but after the Dark One was sealed away he could live joyously with Nynaeve in the restored Malkier, just as Lancelot changed the name of Dolorous Gard into Joyous Gard when he defeated its evil lord.</li><br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxTLyLqfy_4eHI0X0I-7MsyktVOF7zX-3gg2AhNWrZJsDXkd10oGgHuSzxNzbv05p8FHpbRk0mXYQ4jZzexitI0yPnTL-cfkI1OnI-FYoPb66Vz3BvwKk9ejfT1JbW2cQq739-10bLDtS/s1600-h/Lan+bleak.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxTLyLqfy_4eHI0X0I-7MsyktVOF7zX-3gg2AhNWrZJsDXkd10oGgHuSzxNzbv05p8FHpbRk0mXYQ4jZzexitI0yPnTL-cfkI1OnI-FYoPb66Vz3BvwKk9ejfT1JbW2cQq739-10bLDtS/s320/Lan+bleak.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326351192759012738"></a>
<li>Both men undergo a period of depressive mental illness brought on by women severing their relationship. After Guinevere sends Lancelot away from her when she learned of his relationship with Elaine (but not of Elaine’s deceit) Lancelot wanders the wilderness alone made with grief. Lancelot is healed by Elaine with the Holy Grail. When his bond to Moiraine was snapped, Lan wandered alone towards Myrelle in a severely depressed state, grieving for his former bond-holder. Myrelle helped Lan survive the madness from the breaking of his bond to Moiraine as Nynaeve acknowledges in <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Choice). Lan was also furious at Moirinae’s and Myrelle’s betrayal of him in arbitrarily passing his bond. He already had the heavy mental load of being bound as a baby to an oath he couldn’t fulfill, while Lancelot carried a lot of guilt towards Arthur, whose trust he betrayed, and anger at Elayne’s deceit, despite her help in healing him.</li><br />
<br />
In order to show how myth and legend change over time, Jordan has altered the Arthurian myth: Lan is ugly whereas Lancelot was very handsome; Elaine loves Rand and not Lan; Lan loves Nynaeve, and not Egwene al’Vere, the main parallel of Guinevere (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#egwene">Arthurian Who's Who</a> and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-e.html#egwene">Character Names E</a> article). Lancelot was found unworthy to achieve the quest of the San Greal, the Holy Grail, but Lan achieved the quest to kill the sa’angreal-wielding Demandred in a duel. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="lfairytale">Fairy Tale Parallels</a><br />
<br />
Nynaeve mentions a “very improper” story (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-t.html#talia"><i>Talia and the Sun King</i></a> in <i>A Crown of Swords,</i> Swovan Night) where Talia is awakened from a year-long sleep by the Sun King’s kiss (and then presumably to his love-making) and that is appropriate for Nynaeve, who remained unmarried probably longer than most village women, but who also awakened Lan to love. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="lgod">Battle Gods</a><br />
<br />
Much of Lan’s life has revolved around battle and sword fighting, with the emphasis on the latter, since for most of his life he was reluctant to lead men into battle. He did not want to be responsible for leading soldiers to their deaths. However, pitting himself against other swordsmen was another matter. There was none compared to him for sword-fighting but, while well-versed in battle tactics and strategy, Lan was not the Light’s leading general. Yet Lan was an inspiring leader of troops when he did put aside his reluctance. <br />
<br />
There are many gods of war, but few that are deified for their great prowess with sword-fighting. <br />
<br />
Sword gods are associated with invasion—usually undertaking the invasion or at least subduing a populace. Lan’s country was lost to invasion and at the Last Battle the whole <i>Wheel of Time</i> world was under threat from another major incursion. Lan defended the Land against invaders and those who would betray nations to the Shadow. The country which reveres swordsmanship to the extent of deifying swordfighters is Japan. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lfutsunushi">Futsunushi</a></b> <br />
<br />
In Japanese mythology, Futsunushi is the god of swords, martial arts, and conquest, while Takemikazuchi is a god of thunder and swords. Because they often worked together, they were conflated with each other in some accounts. The two gods were sent as emissaries to Japan to demand the earthly deities of the Japanese submit to the rule of the deities of High Heaven. They slew all who refused to submit.<br />
<br />
Another account relates that Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi killed the malevolent star god Amatsumikaboshi in heaven first before they descended to the lands of Japan. In Japanese mythology, the god of stars is depicted as a rebellious god who should be brought to submission. Amatsumikaboshi’s name means “Dread Star of Heaven”, or “August Star of Heaven”, and he was also called Amenokagaseo meaning “Scarecrow Male of Heaven” or “Brilliant Male”—surely a good description of Demandred (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#amatsumikaboshi">Demandred</a> essay). Lan, the Wheel of Time’s sword god, slew Demandred, that brilliant but dread apostate war god. <br />
<br />
Lan was intensively trained in martial arts as well as the sword, so he fits Futunushi very well. In fact, he learned martial arts first: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>For himself, at eight he had been learning the ko'di and what he would face when he first entered the Blight. Beginning to learn how to kill with hands and feet. Let Diryk have a happier childhood before he had to think too closely on death.
<br />
<br />
- <i>New Spring</i>, Keeping Custom<br />
<br />
</blockquote>before the sword. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lmyoken">Myōken</a></b> <br />
<br />
Myōken is a Buddhist deity revered as the deification of the North or Pole Star, a god of the north and of war. The Pole Star and also the Big Dipper are prominent constant constellations in the Northern Hemisphere around which the other stars appear to revolve. They were crucial to navigation and so much used by the military and merchant sectors, who therefore venerated them. In particular, the easternmost star of the Big Dipper, Alkaid, was regarded as a war star, and worshipped for success in battle. The veneration of Myōken as a war god is believed to derive from this practice. Alkaid is known in Chinese as the “Broken Army” or the “Destroyer of Armies”. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-M8lqgOdLtHarHkiW3KPZIH0GIv44ClILez8eiaD--PnIFHEnqWwz_0qOfym1WeeRArI-yz7JHjZmOQVJxsrSPJX8doLyktSbHdO1uPkuBzK9EUQsqqLch3QB2n5M6BYeANa1gTVYfBKrUtcf1hMo5CwuZ_eVErB_0bE157dpsToPUHHm_eL091-Rg/s1024/Myoken.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-M8lqgOdLtHarHkiW3KPZIH0GIv44ClILez8eiaD--PnIFHEnqWwz_0qOfym1WeeRArI-yz7JHjZmOQVJxsrSPJX8doLyktSbHdO1uPkuBzK9EUQsqqLch3QB2n5M6BYeANa1gTVYfBKrUtcf1hMo5CwuZ_eVErB_0bE157dpsToPUHHm_eL091-Rg/s200/Myoken.jpg"/></a></div>Myōken is sometimes portrayed as a youth, or as an armored, stern-faced figure gripping a sword above his head. He is variously shown standing or sitting on a cloud, a dragon or a tortoise (a tortoise symbolising the north in Chinese cosmology).<br />
<br />
Lan is the revered blademaster king of the northernmost nation in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world. He is the paramount representative of the North and northern nations in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world—what the northern nations once were and what they are now, as they constantly fight to the utmost to hold back the Shadow’s Blight:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Neither food nor lodging entered Lan's thoughts, despite the distance they had traveled. His head kept swinging north. He remained aware of everyone around him, especially those who glanced his way more than once, aware of the jingle of harness and the creak of saddles, the clop of hooves, the snap of wagon-canvas loose on its hoops. Any sound out of place would shout at him. He remained aware, but the Blight lay north. Still miles away across the hills, yet he could feel it, feel the twisted corruption.<br />
<br />
Just his imagination, but no less real for that. It had pulled at him in the south, in Cairhien and Andor, even in Tear, almost five hundred leagues distant. Two years away from the Borderlands, his personal war abandoned for another, and every day the tug grew stronger. He should never have let Bukama talk him into waiting, letting the south soften him.<br />
<br />
- <i>New Spring</i>, Into Canluum<br />
<br />
</blockquote>His geas and his training have made him cold and hard, as sharp as the northern winter represented by the god Xuanwu. <br/ >
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lxuanwu">Xuanwu</a></b><br />
<br />
The Taoist deity Xuanwu or Zhenwu (“true warrior”, “perfect warrior” or “true valiant”), has a similar role to Myoken and is also venerated as the god of the north. Also known as the Dark Warrior, he is the guardian of the north, and is associated with winter and the colour black, and is capable of great magic. <br/ >
<br />
Xuanwe is depicted in various ways, although usually as an intertwined tortoise and snake. The tortoise symbolises north in Chinese thought. In the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world, the snake is the Shadow. The Shadow has literally Blighted the north, and Lan was, and is, dedicated to freeing the north from the Blight. In the Last Battle, he was the leader of the combined northern forces. <br/ >
<br />
Xuanwe may be shown dressed in dark imperial robes and armour, seated on a throne with his right foot stepping on a snake and left foot on a tortoise. He grips his sword tightly, as though he is unable to release it. <br />
<br />
Lan prefers dark or black coat and breeches: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>He had one white silk shirt that did not show too much wear, a pair of tight black silk breeches that showed almost none, and a good black silk coat embroidered along the sleeves with golden bloodroses among their hooked thorns. Bloodroses for loss and remembrance. Fitting. <br />
<br />
- <i>New Spring</i>, Keeping Custom<br />
<br />
</blockquote>and he has cold, blue eyes that reflect his northern origins and his wintriness. Moiraine observes Lan’s coldness and austerity:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>There certainly was no fire in those eyes. She wanted to step back. No fire, but death seared cold. That black coat suited him with its cruel thorns and stark gold blossoms.<br />
<br />
- <i>New Spring</i>, When to Surrender<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Xuanwe’s tight grip on his sword could apply to both Lan and Demandred. Neither man could let go of their quests.<br />
<br />
The Buddhist goddess Guanyin, a parallel of Nynaeve (see <a href="#nguanyin">above</a>), helped Xuanwe cleanse himself of negative feelings of guilt and regret, just as Nynaeve helped Lan break his emotional block and dare to love and feel happy again. He, in turn, was there for Nynaeve when she finally broke her own block about channelling.<br />
<br />
The Last Battle ended when Lan, the Light’s Sword God, killed the Shadow’s War God <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#war">Demandred</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="lhistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lsamurai">Samurai</a></b><br />
<br />
Lan was raised in Shienar, a country with strong Japanese influences. Always at war with the Blight, Shienaran leaders are similar to samurai, the military officers and warrior nobles of medieval and early-modern Japan. Samurai were bound by a code of honour, bushido, just as European knights followed the code of chivalry. Both codes evolved to make their warriors more patient and responsible, and more likely to consider the consequences of violence, thus reducing the threat they posed to the general populace and encouraging them to aid those less powerful than themselves. Apart from mastery of martial arts and military strategy, a samurai was supposed to exhibit loyalty, honour and sincerity and live frugally. There was an emphasis on duty to the point of self-sacrifice. <br />
<br />
All Lan’s actions show how closely he follows bushido to the utmost degree. His great honour highlights the lack of honour shown by the Aes Sedai, who are mandatorily bound by their Oaths to reduce the threat they pose to others but literally only pay lip service to them. His ultimate disillusionment came when, after twenty years of honourable service, his own Aes Sedai treated him with scant respect, even though his social standing and skills were as great and respected as her own. This alongside the obvious selfish politicking of the Aes Sedai during a global crisis. The man who was reluctant to lead men into battle to their deaths in the Aiel War was disgusted at the flagrant way Aes Sedai used people up to further their own ends: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>“So you [Egwene] are the Amyrlin now. Myrelle told me they had raised one, but not who. It seems you and I have a good deal in common.” His smile was as cold as his voice, as cold as his eyes…<br />
On the point of turning away, he paused, lifting his free hand as if to touch her stole. "I apologize for ever helping you leave the Two Rivers. You, or Nynaeve." <br />
<br />
- <i>A Crown of Swords,</i> A Mourning of Victory<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Lan believed that Egwene and Nynaeve did not have to leave the Two Rivers, but it was the duty of the three ta’veren to do so, so he did not regret helping them leave. <br />
<br />
He also was prepared to sacrifice himself in Far Madding to help Rand and again in the Last Battle to kill Demandred. <br />
<br />
Samurai were expected to be cultured and literate and we saw Lan quoting poetry in the Shienaran fortress of Fal Dara: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"The rose petal floats on water," Lan recited softly. "The kingfisher flashes above the pond. Life and beauty swirl in the midst of death." <br />
"Yes," Agelmar said. "Yes. That one has always symbolized the whole of it to me, too." The two men bowed their heads to one another. <br />
Poetry out of Lan? <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> Fal Dara<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Lan has some similarities with Samurai swordmasters of legendary skill. Here are the main examples. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lmusashi">Miyamoto Musashi</a></b> <br />
<br />
Musashi (1584–1645) is foremost of these, fighting and winning his first of 61 duels at 13, eschewing settling in one place or marrying, he wandered Japan duelling any warrior who challenged him. Prior to being bonded by Moiraine, Lan preferred to wander the Blight rather than lead men into battle. Lan joined Moiraine on her long and relentless quest to find the Dragon Reborn. For years he sparred with other Warders, beating all competition. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lbokuden">Tsukahara Bokuden</a></b><br />
<br />
Tsukahara Bokuden (~1489‒1571) is the archetypal wandering swordsman who left home at 17 to test himself against other warriors. He was the paramount swordsman of his era and is said to have killed some 200 men in single combat and in battle. In later years, his desire to test and prove himself waned and he realised that there is also honour in avoiding violence and killing—a novel idea in his time. <br />
<br />
Lan was recognised as almost unbeatable in swordsmanship and, having nothing left to prove, stopped duelling other swordmasters: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Sleete carried a heron-mark blade and was near-legendary in the White Tower for his prowess. He was said to have bested even Lan Mandragoran twice out of seven bouts, back when Mandragoran had been known to spar with other Warders. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> An Offer and a Departure<br />
<br />
</blockquote><br />
<b><a name="lyoshitsune"> Minamoto Yoshitsune </a></b><br />
<br />
Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159‒1189) was the son of the head of a powerful samurai clan. When his father was defeated and killed by the rival clan leader Taira Kiyomori in 1159, the infant Yoshitsune was placed in a monastery to be trained as a Buddhist priest. At the monastery he studied all he could, then ran away to join his half-brother Yorimoto fighting against the Taira. He proved to be a military genius and engineered many of the victories, including annihilating the Taira in a naval battle, that helped his half-brother Yoritomo gain control of Japan and establish the first shogunate. <br />
<br />
Unsurprisingly, Yoshitsune was celebrated for this, and Yotimoto became very jealous. He accused Yoshitsune of being overbold to the point of insubordination, who raised a rebellion against him, but lost and fled. Yoshitsune wandered Japan for several years, often in the guise of a monk, before taking refuge with a powerful independent lord in northern Japan. When this lord died in 1187, his son sent soldiers to surround Yoshitsune and force his suicide, to curry favour with Yorimoto. <br />
<br />
Lan’s life and kingdom were blighted by jealousy: Breyam’s jealousy that her husband, Lain was not as acclaimed as his brother Akir, who was elected king, and also Cowin Fairheart’s jealousy of Akir. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>”On a dare, Lain Mandragoran, the King's brother, led his lances through the Blight to the Blasted Lands, perhaps to Shayol Ghul itself. Lain's wife, Breyan, made that dare for the envy that burned her heart that al'Akir had been raised to the throne instead of Lain. The King and Lain were as close as brothers could be, as close as twins even after the royal 'al' was added to Akir's name, but jealousy wracked Breyan…<br />
Lain died in the Blasted Lands with most of those who followed him, men Malkier could ill afford to lose, and Breyan blamed the King, saying that Shayol Ghul itself would have fallen if al'Akir had led the rest of the Malkieri north with her husband. For revenge, she plotted with Cowin Gemallan, called Cowin Fairheart, to seize the throne for her son, Isam. Now Fairheart was a hero almost as well loved as al'Akir himself, and one of the Great Lords, but when the Great Lords had cast the rods for king, only two separated him from Akir, and he never forgot that two men laying a different color on the Crowning Stone would have set him on the throne instead. Between them, Cowin and Breyan moved soldiers back from the Blight to seize the Seven Towers, stripping the Borderforts to bare garrisons…But Cowin's jealousy ran deeper." Disgust tinged Agelmar's voice. "Fairheart the hero, whose exploits in the Blight were sung throughout the Borderlands, was a Darkfriend. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> More Tales of the Wheel<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Jealousy and strife between brothers and sword-brothers destroyed Malkier and Lan’s family. <br />
<br />
Lan learned all he could about warfare and the Blight in his childhood and youth in Shienar and as a young man wandered in the Blight and led troops in the Aiel War. He played an important role in the Last Battle in strategy as well as physically fighting. In his duel with Demandred he chose a suicidal move—to impale himself on Demandred’s sword—so that Demandred could not escape Lan’s killing blow. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lnobutsuna"> Kamiizumi Nobutsuna </a></b><br />
<br />
Kamiizumi Nobutsuna was a renowned samurai in 16th-century Japan. His fighting style was more defensive, with a low stance, protecting the body while looking to make the one blow that could finish the duel. Nobutsuna is credited with inventing a practice sword made from split-bamboo in a leather sleeve and with the innovation of taking into account and adapting to the opponent's weaponry, rather than imposing dominance without taking into account the opponent. "Move with the mind, in order to move with the body" is one of the school’s main teachings. <br />
<br />
In Lan’s first lesson on the sword to Rand he told him: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"Moving the blade is not enough," Lan said, "though some think it is. The mind is part of it, most of it.” <br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World,</i> Choices<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Lan is the first to use practise swords (bundles of thin staves) on screen in the books—in a scene where the Shadow tries to kill Rand by pushing him into Lan’s practise sword during Rand’s training session. <br />
<br />
Lan’s ultimate duel was with Demandred. Lan took into account his opponent’s weaponry, and modified his fighting technique because Demandred was a channeller as well as less tired than he. He was at one with the terrain and also read Demandred’s intentions accurately. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>He did not fight as he had trained Rand to fight. No careful testing, no judging the terrain, no careful evaluation. Demandred could channel, and despite the medallion, Lan couldn't give his enemy time to think, time to weave and hurl rocks at him or open the ground beneath him…<br />
Deep within the void, Lan felt the stone coming. It was an understanding of the fight—one that ran deeply into him, to the very core of his soul. The way Demandred stepped, the direction his eyes flickered, told Lan exactly what was coming…<br />
Lan burrowed deeply into the void, allowing instincts to guide him. He went beyond lack of emotions, burning away everything. He did not need to judge the terrain, for he felt the land as if it were part of him. He did not need to test Demandred's strength. One of the Forsaken, with many decades of experience, would be the most skilled swordsman Lan had ever faced. <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
<br />
</blockquote>He put Demandred off balance and fought off or dodged his attacks, waiting for that one chance to strike home and kill Demandred. This was his sole aim; he did not plan to survive the fight. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>I've only time for one last lesson . . . <br />
<br />
"I have you," Demandred finally growled, breathing heavily. "Whoever you are, I have you. You cannot win." <br />
"You didn't listen to me," Lan whispered.
<br />
One last lesson. The hardest . . . <br />
<br />
Demandred struck, and Lan saw his opening... <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Demandred, in contrast, asserted dominance. He did want to know “who” Lan was—mostly to know whether he was fighting Lews Therin or not—but had no idea. More importantly he didn’t consider “what” he was and what he intended. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="ltibet">Tibet</a></b><br />
<br />
Lan’s lost kingdom, Malkier, located on the frontier with the Shadow has similarities with Tibet in the 1950s as it resisted the encroaching People’s Republic of China. The country was weakened, then betrayed to the invaders, with the young ruler, the Dalai Lama, escaping with his bodyguards via an arduous and dangerous route and living in exile. The infant Lan was sent out of Malkier with 20 bodyguards to Shienar while his parents went to die fighting the Shadow after Darkfriends betrayed Malkier. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lliterary">Literary Parallel</a></b><br />
<br />
Due to the huge influence of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> on fantasy novels in the nineteen eighties and nineties, Jordan deliberately made the first one to two hundred pages of <i>The Eye of the World</i> reminiscent of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> to make readers feel at home. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="laragorn">Aragorn</a></b><br />
<br />
Lan is a literary parallel of Aragorn, the Ranger and King of Gondor. Both men are hidden monarchs who work closely with the magic-wielding mentor of the world saviour. Lan is the Uncrowned King of Malkier, a Borderland dedicated to fighting the Shadow, and Aragorn is "the crownless again shall be king", of Gondor, which guards against and fights Mordor. In <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Lan accepted his place and duty as a monarch and rallied the Borderlands to fight. He played a major role as a general <u>and</u> a soldier in the Last Battle. In <i>The Lord of the Rings,</i> the battles were a diversion to keep Sauron from noticing Frodo and the ring creeping through Mordor. In <i>The Wheel of Time</i>, the military battles and Rand’s psychological and theological battle were equally important, had one or the other been lost, the Shadow would not have been vanquished and the Land would not have been healed.<br />
<br />
Aragorn and Lan are very good with a sword and help protect the main characters. Both also have issues regarding the one they love; Aragorn is forbidden to marry Arwen until he gains the thrones of Gondor and Arnor, Lan refused to marry Nynaeve on the grounds that he has nothing to offer her apart from his unwinnable fight with the Shadow. However, Arwen obeys her father and waits for Aragorn to become a king, while Nynaeve refused to wait for her king to be crowned. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lmandrake">Lan’s Surname</a></b><br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZfLK18yarIogKGV6FQTedpGLR312CqmYfiY4Ny2b5hXoXa133WMsoN2JCPMiGO_GadzfyaQpEEQjBz4q_5vrsm3Vi-luokBy5fwm3mm8sdRnIY9I8fUTzgar0l-2Yhnx0zMKi4iyusWp/s1600-h/Mandrake.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 125px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZfLK18yarIogKGV6FQTedpGLR312CqmYfiY4Ny2b5hXoXa133WMsoN2JCPMiGO_GadzfyaQpEEQjBz4q_5vrsm3Vi-luokBy5fwm3mm8sdRnIY9I8fUTzgar0l-2Yhnx0zMKi4iyusWp/s200/Mandrake.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328444986390071074"></a>Mandragoran refers to Mandragora officinarum (mandrake), a very poisonous plant: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>The mandrake has long been known for its poisonous properties. In ancient times it was used as a narcotic and an aphrodisiac, and it was also believed to have magical powers. Its forked root, seemingly resembling the human form, was thought to be in the power of dark earth spirits. <br />
<br />
- <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i><br/>
<br />
</blockquote> This plant is also likely to be the real-world plant on which forkroot was based and is one to be treated with respect. Lan is one of the most deadly fighters in the Wheel of Time world. Note that drake is another name for dragon and Lan has been intimately connected with finding and aiding the Dragon for twenty years. <br />
<br />
The dried roots were also believed to be able to harbour a demonic spirit—the pre-scientific explanation for its powerful toxic effect. Dried mandragora roots were thought to be given to sorcerers by the Devil so that they could summon and consult the spirit in a time of need. Over time, a mandragora became the name for a familiar in the form of a little beardless man. Lan was linked to Moiraine, then Myrelle and now Nynaeve (as Aes Sedai, they are witches/sorceresses) by the Warder bond, and his Aes Sedai can locate him as she wishes and also Compel him to do her bidding. She can use his vitality at great need, even up to his death. In that sense, he could be described as her familiar. As far as Myrelle is concerned, very familiar. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name="lsymbols">Symbols</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="lcrane">Golden Crane</a></b>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycRUOgNVSBRLzqjz24El31k9M52anoWpRxbVwZGVDbWA15JP5QjqBFO3IbhuARjSaceblwM1QcUhfRsymNlqAYVkDZCyn0NV6qIcVdP4JjjsG6Rb3_xI3XviTSwECAWzSDT7QNMAUdo8/s1600-h/Crane.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 79px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycRUOgNVSBRLzqjz24El31k9M52anoWpRxbVwZGVDbWA15JP5QjqBFO3IbhuARjSaceblwM1QcUhfRsymNlqAYVkDZCyn0NV6qIcVdP4JjjsG6Rb3_xI3XviTSwECAWzSDT7QNMAUdo8/s320/Crane.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315469095927753522"></a>
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The golden crane is the symbol of Malkier and thus of Lan, its king.<br />
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The crane is noted for its courtship dance. It generally mates for life and is a symbol of loyalty. Lan was wed to his duty to Malkier and then Bonded to Moiraine, and fully expected to die while fulfilling these duties in his exemplary manner. Instead, after a reluctant courtship, Lan married Nynaeve in a Sea Folk ceremony, which is remarkably different to mainland ceremonies, and is a devoted husband.< br />
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In Western art the solitary crane personifies vigilance, diligence and patience, whereas in China, the crane is an auspicious symbol, representing happiness, honour and luck. Lan was the epitome of honour, vigilance and diligence, and with his virtues and luck has found happiness after long abandoning such hopes. <br />
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<blockquote>Christian tradition accords the crane with the status of a cleric or monk because it stands unmoving, and thus it represents the watchfulness, obedience and loyalty of a good monk. <br />
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- John and Caitlin Matthews, <i>Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures</i><br />
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</blockquote>It kills snakes and thus, in Christian symbolism, the envoys of Satan. All his life, Lan dedicated himself to his oaths to continue to fight the Shadow and avenge Malkier. Like most Borderlanders and Warders, he knew the watch against the Shadow was not done and furthermore said that he would only rest when he was dead. He would have fought his battle with the Shadow alone in the Blight if he could, as Moiraine was well aware and prevented. When he was Bonded to Moiraine, Lan gave an oath of obedience. Lan rode off by himself to fight the Shadow’s general, Demandred.<br />
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In Chinese mythology the crane flies between Heaven and Earth as a messenger of the gods. Its role is to carry the souls of the deceased to the Western Paradise and thus it represents immortality (John and Caitlin Matthews, <i>Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures</i>). It has wisdom and knowledge to impart. Lan’s role has been to educate the three ta’veren (especially Rand) as well as protect them.<br />
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The migration and return cycle of the crane suggested regeneration. The crane is sacred to Apollo as the bird of Spring and is sometimes used as a resurrection symbolism in Christianity. It is believed to be a weather forecaster who tells farmers when to plant their fields. We saw the Blight near Malkier driven back and Spring finally come across the lands after the victory at the Eye of the World in which Lan participated. In <i>New Spring,</i> there were abortive attempts to revive Malkier. Thanks to Nynaeve, the Golden Crane banner flew again and the Malkieri flocked to join Lan under the banner for Tarmon Gai’don (<i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Epilogue). The flag of Malkier acted as a banner for all the Borderlands (<i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle). The land of Malkier will live again, just as its monarchy has been restored. <br />
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<b><a name="lone">One</a></b><br />
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Lan’s name among the Aiel, “Aan’allein, ‘One Man,’ shows his close association with the number one. Aan'allein means “one alone” in the Old Tongue and is similar to those words. <br />
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In a political sense, One refers to monarchs, especially absolute monarchs. Lan denies being a monarch, but he is the sole remaining representative of Malkier’s nobility and thanks to Nynaeve and his own prowess, united the Borderlands to fight the Shadow’s armies in another example of One. <br />
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Rand was conscious of this symbolism: <br />
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<blockquote>That <u>one</u> you have tried to kill many times, Rand said, that <u>one</u> who lost his kingdom, that <u>one</u> from whom you took everything…<br />
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Lurching, bloodied from the sword strike to his side, the last king of the Malkieri stumbled to his feet. Lan thrust his hand into the air, holding by its hair the head of Demandred, general of the Shadow's armies. <br />
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That man, Rand shouted. That man still fights! <br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Those Who Fight<br />
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</blockquote>Using the <u>One</u>ness helped Lan stay alive as well as fight brilliantly. Aan’allein was <u>the</u> one to kill Demandred: <br />
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<blockquote>One rider burst from the ranks of their soldiers, galloping toward the Trolloc right flank. Mat would not be happy about that. One man, alone, would die. Loial was surprised that he could feel sorrow for that man's life lost, after all of the death he had seen. <br />
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That man looks familiar, Loial thought. Yes, it was the horse. He'd seen that horse before, many times. Lan, he thought, numb. Lan is the one riding out alone. <br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
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</blockquote> Alone, unique, and paramount are features of One that Lan exemplifies. The King as paramount and entire representative of his people. <br />
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_________________________________________<br />
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<i>Written by Linda, July 2022 </i><br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-52478010080937486382020-09-25T22:41:00.081-04:002020-09-28T06:11:25.691-04:00Character Parallels: Egwene and Gawyn<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
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Egwene is the first female character we see in the series. Forthright, active and enterprising, she sets the standard for all the women. The inn-keeper’s daughter was originally expected to marry her childhood sweetheart, Rand the shepherd, but both became powerful magic users and world leaders, rivals that must remember their original ties of love and friendship, and have faith in, and respect for, each other, for the world to be saved.<br />
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With a name sounding very like Guinevere, Egwene al’Vere might be expected to be prone to capture like any Arthurian damsel—which she is—but she is also a witch and does not bestow sovereignty on a champion. (In fact, her champion Gawyn’s problem is that he wanted sovereignty and not a supportive role, as we see in his character section <a href="#gawyn">below</a>). As Amyrlin, the Mother is sovereign in herself, and not encouraged to have a marital consort. Her channelling strengths are in Spirit—manifesting in a Talent for Dreaming—and Earth. These are very similar to Perrin’s non-channelling affinities, and it is hardly surprising that the Pattern pushed these two Emond’s Fielders into the wild together early in the series. Egwene was a seeress and literally an earth and mother goddess who sacrificed herself to save the Land from balefire.<br />
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<b>Egwene</b><br />
<a href="#earthurian">Arthurian Myth</a><br />
<a href="#eearthgoddess">Earth Goddess</a><br />
<a href="#emothergoddess">Mother Goddess</a><br />
<a href="#ewarrior">Warrior Goddess, Warrior Priestess</a><br />
<a href="#emoongoddess">Moon Goddess</a><br />
<a href="#edreamgoddess">Dream Goddess</a><br />
<a href="#ehistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<a href="#esymbols">Symbols</a><br />
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<b><a href="#gawyn">Gawyn</a></b><br />
<a href="#garthur">Arthurian Myth</a><br />
<a href="#twins">Castor or Pollux?</a><br />
<a href="#gsymbol">Symbols</a><br />
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<b>EGWENE</b><br />
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<a name="emythic">Mythic Parallels </a><br />
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<a name="earthurian">Arthurian Myth Parallels</a><br />
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<b><a name="eguinevere">Guinevere</a></b><br />
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As her full name clearly implies, Egwene al’Vere is a Guinevere parallel. From the time they were small children it was assumed that Egwene and Rand (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#arthur">King Arthur</a>) would marry. But as Min told Rand at the start:<br />
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<blockquote>“She loves you too, but she’s not for you, or you for her. Not the way you both want.”
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- <i>The Eye of the World</i>, Strangers and Friends<br />
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</blockquote>Merlin tells Arthur not to marry Guinevere, because she will cause the fall of Camelot (<i>Le Morte D’Arthur</i>, Book III, Chapter I). At Falme, Egwene told Min that she and Elayne were also pulled to Rand, and then reminded Min that Rand was not safe to marry: <br />
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<blockquote>Egwene did not come any further into the room. "I — I felt him pulling at me. Needing me. Elayne felt it, too. I thought it must be something to do with — with what he is, but Nynaeve didn't feel anything." She drew a deep, unsteady breath. "Elayne and Nynaeve are getting the horses. We found Bela. The Seanchan left most of their horses behind. Nynaeve says we should go as soon as we can, and — and . . . Min, you know what he is, don't you, now?"<br />
"I know." Min wanted to take her arm from under Rand's head, but she could not make herself move. "I think I do, anyway. Whatever he is, he is hurt. I can do nothing for him except keep him warm. Maybe Nynaeve can."<br />
"Min, you know . . . you do know that he cannot marry. He isn't safe . . . for any of us, Min.<br />
"Speak for yourself," Min said. She pulled Rand's face against her breast. "It's like Elayne said. You tossed him aside for the White Tower. What should you care if I pick him up?"<br />
Egwene looked at her for what seemed a long time. Not at Rand, not at all, only at her. She felt her face growing hotter and wanted to look away, but she could not.<br />
"I will bring Nynaeve," Egwene said finally, and walked out of the room with her back straight and her head high.<br />
Min wanted to call out, to go after her, but she lay there as if frozen. Frustrated tears stung her eyes. <u>It's what has to be. I know it. I read it in all of them. Light, I don't want to be part of this.</u> "It's all your fault," she told Rand's still shape. "No, it isn't. But you will pay for it, I think. We're all caught like flies in a spiderweb. What if I told her there's another woman yet to come, one she doesn't even know?”<br />
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- <i>The Great Hunt,</i> First Claiming<br />
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</blockquote>Yet Egwene remained one of Rand’s Guineveres until she told him she no longer loved him, upon which <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#3guineveres">Aviendha</a> was pulled to him, as fated. Rand and Egwene were eventually brought together for a brief alliance as leaders, only to be sundered for this life.<br />
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In the mid-13th century Latin romance <i>The Rise of Sir Gawain</i>, Guinevere was a powerful sorceress as well as Arthur's wife and had the ability of foretelling. Egwene was a powerful channeller who had prophetic dreams. After the battle of Camlann, where Arthur and Modred fatally wounded each other, Guinevere finished out her life in a convent as a nun, instead of returning to Lancelot, and eventually became the convent’s abbess. In contrast, Egwene chose to enter the White Tower early in her life to become Aes Sedai, an organisation with strong parallels to 15th‒16th century convents, and eventually became Amyrlin (equivalent of abbess) herself. While Rand fought Moridin at Shayol Ghul, Egwene did not flee or wait passively as the Arthurian ladies usually did, but fought in the Last Battle (an equivalent of the battle of Camlann), where she fell.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAluDJ0y5k7Y_M7I-jlQa_FX27OL71prxG-GTH5Ho6-wj0CIqadZ0y-UOTqTl5QS8Tr9XUpTsnvYse4YuXCVAPhc4hLifcm0_XDNMVMnqqf2If0qqNId6iFL9r93wMAb_by9vwSHQU36c/s1600-h/rescue-guinevere.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAluDJ0y5k7Y_M7I-jlQa_FX27OL71prxG-GTH5Ho6-wj0CIqadZ0y-UOTqTl5QS8Tr9XUpTsnvYse4YuXCVAPhc4hLifcm0_XDNMVMnqqf2If0qqNId6iFL9r93wMAb_by9vwSHQU36c/s320/rescue-guinevere.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312922656806090754"></a> In the Arthurian stories, Queen Guinevere, as a Sovereignty figure, is abducted at least twice, and confined against her will more than once, including by Arthur himself after he learns of her infidelity with Lancelot, from where she is rescued in dramatic circumstances by her knight champion (see painting right). The villainous knight Meleagant was another of Guinevere’s abductors, and Demandred, his <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#arthurian">darker parallel</a>, ordered M’Hael to destroy Egwene al’Vere. Egwene was rescued twice from the Seanchan and once from Demandred’s Sharan channellers <u>by</u> a Seanchan. Gawyn, rather than Lancelot, is Egwene’s champion, and he rescued her from assassination by Bloodknives as her body lay abed while her mind was in the dream, prior to his ill-fated duel with Demandred.<br />
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In <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Rand and Egwene were widely separated in their opinions regarding Rand breaking the remaining Seals, just as Arthur and Guinevere were apart. Arthur had doubts about Guinevere’s faithfulness. Rand accused Egwene of being obstructionist and undermining him, while Egwene doubted Rand’s sanity. <br />
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<b><a name="eragnelle">Ragnelle, Sir Gawain’s Loathly Lady</a></b><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOWmKy1FLaNLG3mamQVWOf7R3zoUpLvDe38IsajlC4PVVF2UKyz0kZbKGsRKvBh7d6_adQdIaqPuA4cZJaH5dXJuHiejerTj4nuI4EEz0j-ro3StYG_tTKGdLm9iQSSoAf_7vyyxcgu72/s579/Loathly_lady.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOWmKy1FLaNLG3mamQVWOf7R3zoUpLvDe38IsajlC4PVVF2UKyz0kZbKGsRKvBh7d6_adQdIaqPuA4cZJaH5dXJuHiejerTj4nuI4EEz0j-ro3StYG_tTKGdLm9iQSSoAf_7vyyxcgu72/s200/Loathly_lady.jpg"/></a></div>
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Egwene and her unconventional marriage to Gawyn is a parallel of the marriage of Sir Gawain to Ragnelle, the loathly lady. She had arrived at King Arthur’s court offering to answer the question “what do women most desire?” that had been posed to King Arthur on pain of death, and her price was to marry Sir Gawain. To save the life of his liege lord, Gawain agreed to marry her and on his wedding night was surprised to find that the hag-like lady was a beautiful young woman under a spell. She asked Gawain to choose whether she should be hideous by day and beautiful at night, or vice versa. Gawain could not decide and asked the lady to choose. Since sovereignty, the right to make their own decisions, is what women most desire, his answer broke the spell and she remained beautiful.<br />
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Channelling—weaving magic—slows aging, greatly delaying an aged appearance, and the magic of the Oath Rod ter’angreal forces an ageless appearance. People fear and distrust Aes Sedai due to their channelling and the way they work around their three oaths, so they are loathly ladies. Egwene wanted sovereignty because she is a sovereign. (Furthermore, any man who becomes a Warder grants sovereignty in the relationship to his Aes Sedai.) Gawyn wanted to marry Egwene because he loved her, not as a sacrifice to save someone, but didn’t take her position seriously or want to support her, and she admonished him over it. In fact, Gawyn felt granting his wife sovereignty and supporting her was a great sacrifice. His dereliction of duty in leaving her side to find honour on the battlefield cost both of them their lives.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uTJ0G4YjWeGHFQI-9-75XxfCVCm3r8D4visyT4J0l-XE7BQU0cEx-eJz6Bdwonhf5I8bRq3oUJUVzTvFMz_-HCwg8haJNAqs9FaVFh9o5fXMtELrF3oClFaQ-AS03q2gf4NZiNRlvJ7a/s640/Lyones+and+Red+knight.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uTJ0G4YjWeGHFQI-9-75XxfCVCm3r8D4visyT4J0l-XE7BQU0cEx-eJz6Bdwonhf5I8bRq3oUJUVzTvFMz_-HCwg8haJNAqs9FaVFh9o5fXMtELrF3oClFaQ-AS03q2gf4NZiNRlvJ7a/s320/Lyones+and+Red+knight.jpg"/></a></div><b><a name="elyones">Lyones in the Castle Perilous</a></b><br />
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When the Lady Lynet came to Camelot in search of a knight to rescue her sister Lyones from the besieging tyrant Sir Ironside the Red Knight of the Red Lands, Gareth volunteered for the job. Lynet criticised him constantly, but he bore it well and acted chivalrously towards her, and earned her respect. Gareth Bryne followed the sharp-tongued Siuan to Salidar and ‘volunteered’ for the job of besieging Tar Valon and ousting the usurper Elaida of the Red Ajah (a parallel of the tyrannical Red Knight) in favour of Amyrlin Egwene. Egwene was captured by Elaida’s Aes Sedai and held in the White Tower. Gareth treated Siuan less chivalrously than Sir Gareth did Lynet, but earned Siuan’s respect. <br />
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When Gareth and Lynet came to the Castle Perilous where Lyones was besieged, Gareth fought the Red Knight immediately even though Lynet counselled him to wait. The fight was long and terrible, but the Red Knight finally yielded. Gareth fell in love with the Lady Lyones, and she claimed to return his love, but she insisted that he wander another year. Upon his return, Gareth married Lyones and his brother Gaheris married Lynet. The notable difference in this parallel is that Bryne loved Siuan (Lynet) and Gawyn (who was also Gareth’s brother in Arthurian myth) loved Egwene (Lyones), and it was Gareth and Siuan who delayed their marriage, not Gawain and Egwene. The Castle Perilous is an apt metaphor for the White Tower, wherein the Red Amyrlin held Egwene captive. Egwene told Gareth not to attack the Tower without her order and he gave his word that he would not. After she was captured, it was Siuan and Gawyn who pressed for a rescue attempt until Gareth reluctantly agreed. <br />
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<a name="eearthgoddess">Earth Goddess</a><br />
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Egwene was remarkably strong in Earth for a woman and was able to move the land on a large scale and find ores, but also checked the health of the land by sensing underground animals and searching for green shoots in the dying grass. This affinity with the natural world is why the Pattern sent her into the Wild alongside Perrin as part of her early development. It was in the wild that she channelled unsupervised for the first time in the appropriately named chapter A Path Chosen. As an archetypal Green, which is the colour of life and nature, Egwene saved the Land from balefire, using herself up in the process.<br />
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<b><a name="eceres">Ceres</a></b><br />
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Egwene has parallels to Ceres, the Ancient Roman earth and agriculture goddess, who had the power to fertilize and multiply plants and animals and taught humanity agriculture. Ceres protected all phases of the agricultural cycle and also all phases of a woman’s life from girlhood through to old age. A plebeian goddess, she was the protector of plebeian rights and laws, so that the patricians could not run roughshod over the plebs. Over time, the Romans connected Ceres with a couple of other Roman goddesses: Libera (Freedom) and Tellus. <a name="eterra">Tellus, also called Terra Mater,</a> was a rather stern ancient Roman earth mother goddess who was offered sacrifices, notably the holocaust, which were animal sacrifices wholly consumed by fire.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_M-GWR5pgXbzhDPeQ-HK9Kb77TBaDqUfSk0hC_75IiJ7Pq_hR96nDWDAUyB4PcLznYpcFGbR84hjebV9O2jlU_gEXGB60Q5ECE96wY85bxZPIA_OJrPgrPVvh_c74Zjm3wi8UmQ1A_3JA/s487/Demeter.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_M-GWR5pgXbzhDPeQ-HK9Kb77TBaDqUfSk0hC_75IiJ7Pq_hR96nDWDAUyB4PcLznYpcFGbR84hjebV9O2jlU_gEXGB60Q5ECE96wY85bxZPIA_OJrPgrPVvh_c74Zjm3wi8UmQ1A_3JA/s320/Demeter.png"/></a></div>Ceres’ ancient Greek equivalent <a name="edemeter">Demeter</a> was goddess of the harvest and agriculture, particularly cereal crops, and also as Mother Earth presided over the natural order and the cycle of life and death. When these were violated, Demeter was implacable in her desire for justice and retribution.<br />
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Egwene’s origins as the daughter of a village innkeeper were plebeian, though that does not count against a woman in the White Tower. Even under duress she stood up against tyrannical leadership, and sternly pulled the Sitters into line, insisting they obey the spirit of the law and also that they should be ashamed of the way they let Elaida tyrannise the Tower. The Hall agreed to her proposed law to prevent secret meetings of the Hall. She also faced down the Empress over the enslavement of damane and called her out for her lies as well as for her unjust laws. Egwene was a highly protective Amyrlin—she protected the novices and Accepted as well as the Aes Sedai when the Seanchan attacked the Tower, and avenged those lost. <br />
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<blockquote>She'd fought. She'd been glorious and destructive, the Amyrlin of judgment and fury, Green Ajah to the core.<br />
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- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> A Fount of Power<br />
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</blockquote>Then she purged the Black Sisters from her Aes Sedai and executed them. <br />
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Just before the Last Battle, the Mother saw how time-worn the Land looked in Tel’aran’rhiod, how dire its need of renewal was after being Blighted by the Dark One. In ancient Roman times, such renewal was initiated by sacrifice to Tellus and Ceres. In <i>The Wheel of Time</i> world, this sacrifice is that of the Dragon and also the blood sacrifice of those fighting for the Light. The Land and the Mother want vengeance for the Shadow’s damage of the natural order and of the health and fertility of the Land: <br />
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<blockquote>In that moment—maiming, destroying, bringing death upon the enemy—she felt as if she were one with the land itself. That she was doing the work it had longed for someone to do for so long.<br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> What Must Be Done<br />
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</blockquote>Appropriately, she uses Earth to kill Shadowspawn. These feelings of vengefulness and union are foreshadowing of Egwene’s sacrifice as she unleashes a healing holocaust to counter the Shadow’s destruction and balefire. <br />
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Ceres sought all over the earth for her daughter Proserpina, who had been seized by the Roman underworld god Pluto, and the ancient Greek earth goddess Demeter instituted harsh weather and neglected the cycle of the seasons as she mourned the violation and loss of her daughter Persephone/Kore by Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Faced with the death of all life on earth, an agreement was made to appease Ceres and Demeter with each mother allowed to meet up with her daughter for months every year. <br />
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Egwene was just as vengeful of her daughters and mourned those that were lost. Prosperina/Persephone/Kore is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#kore">Tuon</a>, whom Egwene met to make an agreement about their borders and sovereignty over female channellers. It is interesting that the ancient Romans officially combined their Spring Maiden goddess Proserpina with the freedom goddess Libera, just as freedom for women to channel is an issue with Tuon and Egwene. Tuon and Egwene should have been akin since Tuon has the potential to learn to channel, but the seizure and enslavement of channellers separated them.<br />
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The main theme in the Ancient Greek Eleusinian mysteries was the reunion of Persephone with her mother Demeter, when the cycle of the seasons was renewed. These mysteries gave the initiate a connection to the natural world and higher hopes in this life and the afterlife.<br />
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Egwene had deep feelings for the Pattern and the cycle of time and rebirth:<br />
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<blockquote> In that moment, Egwene felt a peace come upon her. The pain of Gawyn's death faded. He would be reborn. The Pattern would continue.<br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
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</blockquote>When her daughter Sheriam was being executed for apostasy, the Mother expressed her own devout view of the Pattern:<br />
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<blockquote>Perhaps the Pattern would be kinder to her [Sheriam] next time she was allowed a thread in its great tapestry. But perhaps not. <br />
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- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> The Tower Stands<br />
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</blockquote><br />
<a name="emothergoddess">Mother Goddess</a><br />
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As Amyrlin, Egwene is the mother of the Aes Sedai. However, Jordan considered making Egwene a biological mother and fight in the Last Battle while pregnant with Gawyn’s child (Robert Jordan, <i>Galad notes</i>). This idea was dropped, but Egwene takes her motherly responsibilities seriously.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaB9vftG9Acz1IGaYGUg0gxZJFva7md0ey0BvQEmkNQdAuSQJ2hRoqQRfagxgzJA17bVmbhYbbkZ-b-qX3A9qq445fWF_18xM20JC7hrgqL3GYuVldyAVvyJjsl5587LRjsjhKmbqfxd-/s1364/Vesta.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaB9vftG9Acz1IGaYGUg0gxZJFva7md0ey0BvQEmkNQdAuSQJ2hRoqQRfagxgzJA17bVmbhYbbkZ-b-qX3A9qq445fWF_18xM20JC7hrgqL3GYuVldyAVvyJjsl5587LRjsjhKmbqfxd-/s200/Vesta.jpg"/></a></div><b><a name="evesta">Vesta</a></b><br />
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Vesta is the Ancient Roman goddess of the hearth and family and in her temple on the Palatine Hill the sacred fire of the Roman state was kept burning by her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins. The Vestals held some of the few full-time clergy positions in Ancient Roman and, even more atypically, lived at her temple, reflecting the importance of Vesta and the necessity of tending her fire. They were selected from the patrician class as young girls and were legally emancipated from their father’s authority when they joined. Each Vestal swore a vow of chastity for 30 years, at the end of which they retired with a pension and were free to marry, although most chose not to so they could keep their independence. <br />
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The flame represented Vesta herself and the Roman state. The goddess was portrayed as a stern woman, wearing a long dress and with her head covered and a sceptre in her hand (see photo right). Her seniority was such that she had precedence in veneration and offerings over all other gods. Vesta was the only Roman goddess who was in any way connected with the fasces and the axe, the symbol of sovereign power in Rome. Her priestesses attended and blessed most important government functions and had right of way on the streets and reserved boxes at the arenas and theatres. Every Roman had the right to freely enter Vesta’s temple, although men were strictly barred from her house at night.<br />
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In such a patriarchal society, Vesta was paradoxical: she was the most chaste of the gods, but was addressed as mother and had honorary fertility. Her priestesses were dressed as married women, not unmarried, yet they wore the headdresss of a Roman bride. Each Vestal <br />
<br />
<blockquote>was a consecrated virgin, married to the state, who ensured fertility. She was a woman with the legal status of a man. The Vestal was considered capable of mediating between the human and the divine precisely because she was poised in transition between all permissible social roles—she was simultaneously maiden, wife, and man, sterile and fertile, virgin and phallic.<br />
<br />
- Jeanne L. Schroeder, <i>The Vestal and the Fasces</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>Aes Sedai also have far more freedom than do any other people in <i>The Wheel of Time</i> mainland. By strong custom, each sister is largely able to do what she wants, apart from direct orders from the Amyrlin or their Ajah Head. Sisters have no job as such, no farm or house to tend, no realm to rule, no business to run. They live apart from people in their White Tower, although every person has the right to enter the Tower to make petitions. Outside of Tar Valon, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs.html#tv">Rome</a>, Aes Sedai hold themselves above monarchs. They rarely marry and even more rarely have children. Their mission was to keep alive knowledge from earlier times and the fight against the Shadow throughout the Third Age. <br />
<br />
Like Vesta, the Amyrlin is Mother, yet she is not a mother. As Jordan usually does, he adds a negative role for the priestess-like Aes Sedai. They are regarded as untrustworthy, even though they take an Oath against lying and against using the Power as a weapon. Such ambivalence arises from combining the power and authority of earth and mother goddesses with the trickiness of the fairy folk and the machinations of the Renaissance Papacy (see <a href="#ehistoric">below</a>). <br />
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One of the Amyrlin’s titles is Flame of Tar Valon, as though she is the flame, saidar. Egwene embodied this title more than any other Amyrlin because of her weave that held the Pattern together long enough for it to heal after balefire. Vesta’s sceptre is represented by Vora’s sa’angreal, the strongest sa’angreal the Tower had, which Egwene used to make this weave destroy an army of channellers.<br />
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The Vestals presided over the rites of Bona Dea, the Good Goddess, who had a mystery cult in ancient Rome. At her rites, women were allowed to use strong wine and blood sacrifices, which they were forbidden elsewhere. Men were barred from her mysteries—the premises were ritually cleansed of everything male, including animals and portraits before the ceremonies.<br />
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The initiation of women into the mysteries of channelling (for so long forbidden to men) supervised by senior sisters is also a parallel of Bona Dea’s rites, which the Vestal Virgins presided over. During important ceremonies, including that of raising an Amyrlin, the Aes Sedai present all prove that they are not men. After Sierin Vayu was raised Amyrlin, she promptly dismissed all male clerks from the Tower (<i>New Spring,</i> Changes). As Amyrlin, Egwene could be likened to Vesta’s head priestess (see <a href="#highpriestess">High Priestess tarot card</a>) as well as the goddess Vesta and Vesta’s flame. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LwDcSbrpeGAkPpcS4tGm3hrYIXoQYGd8EF9_zbCvUlSpU8ui-YI0Em0ToMOxfb7z-VWRpKH6twsz0fcjKfhyphenhyphen-BKcD55LeMLmvsrAHp_LKTHDLVSTRVgKH2TDoWWv7Et8UdfTJVM33vR5/s1485/Nekhbet+watching+over+Pharaoh.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1485" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LwDcSbrpeGAkPpcS4tGm3hrYIXoQYGd8EF9_zbCvUlSpU8ui-YI0Em0ToMOxfb7z-VWRpKH6twsz0fcjKfhyphenhyphen-BKcD55LeMLmvsrAHp_LKTHDLVSTRVgKH2TDoWWv7Et8UdfTJVM33vR5/s200/Nekhbet+watching+over+Pharaoh.jpg"/></a></div><b><a name="enekhbet">Nekhbet</a></b><br />
<br />
Nekhbet was a city goddess in Ancient Egypt who evolved in importance to become protectress and mother of the pharaoh. She was usually depicted as a white vulture, hovering over the pharaoh with wings outspread and clutching a shen symbol (a loop of rope knotted to form a circle representing infinity or eternity) in her claws. The Ancient Egyptians believed that white vultures were all female and reproduced asexually because the species lacks sexual dimorphism—males and females appear identical. Nekhbet’s shrine was the oldest oracle in Egypt where people went to have their fortunes told. Her priestesses were called muu (mothers) and thus Nekhbet was titled Mother of Mothers.<br />
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The Amyrlin is the mother of the Aes Sedai and rules the city of Tar Valon—one of the oldest in the mainland—as well as the White Tower. All Tower initiates are female and they wear a ring of a snake eating its tail, a symbol of eternity. Egwene had the gift of foretelling the future from dreams. As her Talent manifested, she watched over Rand (Pharaoh) in her dreams. Many of Egwene’s dreams were about threats to Rand.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuzQxDTc17ZI11HuYG1egd8TMRh_mBuEqvu_e09W9Z7DBKt7mhtkRpRXOCcMqX7f_cX31b0tXOue58L2zhlPCQjDSgFAaBI5BpZuiVOKwI7N5O-8pUvd4Zu1qCoTO08KV036Bh_7don7z/s1062/Durga+killing+demon.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="752" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuzQxDTc17ZI11HuYG1egd8TMRh_mBuEqvu_e09W9Z7DBKt7mhtkRpRXOCcMqX7f_cX31b0tXOue58L2zhlPCQjDSgFAaBI5BpZuiVOKwI7N5O-8pUvd4Zu1qCoTO08KV036Bh_7don7z/s200/Durga+killing+demon.jpg"/></a></div><b><a name="edurga">Durga</a></b><br />
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Durga is the vengeful incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess Parvati, who was consort of Shiva (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#shiva">Rand</a>, Egwene’s original intended husband). She is a goddess of war who was born to fight demons, and represents the divine positive feminine power that is used to protect people by destroying evil. In this way, she preserves moral order and rightness. Egwene personally fought and overcame two Forsaken—Mesaana and M’Hael—and also used another—Moghedien—to gain knowledge. Some of the Forsaken have demonic parallels.<br />
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Durga is usually depicted wearing a red sari symbolising that she is actively destroying evil and protecting mankind from pain and suffering. Egwene deliberately wore bright red on the day she purged the rebel Aes Sedai of Black Sisters and presided over their executions:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Egwene was all Ajahs. Today, the red symbolized many things to her. The impending reunification with the Red Ajah. A reminder of the division that needed to be righted. A sign of the blood that would be spilled, the blood of good men who fought to defend the White Tower.<br />
The blood of the dead Aes Sedai, beheaded not an hour ago by Egwene’s order…<br />.
Many of the Aes Sedai she passed in the camp gave her looks of respect, awe, and a little horror. After a long absence, the Amyrlin had returned. And she had brought destruction and judgment in her wake.<br />
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- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> The Tower Stands<br />
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</blockquote>Many Aes Sedai thought that Egwene belonged in the Red Ajah (<i>A Memory of Light,</i> Just Another Sell-Sword) even though she had married her Warder. Egwene thought that sometimes an Amyrlin had to be “as vengeful as a Red, when necessary” (<i>The Gathering Storm,</i> Sealed to the Flame), in this case the vengeance of the Light on those who were apostate and committed evil on behalf of their evil god.<br />
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<a name="ewarrior">Warrior Goddess</a><br />
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<b><a name="emadb">Madb/Medb</a></b><br />
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The Amyrlin rules Tar Valon, a city whose name combines the names of two sacred places: Tara and Avalon and links Celtic and Arthurian myth. The Irish goddess of sovereignty, Medb was associated with Tara, and was territorial and forthright. (Some critics think that Madb may also be the original of Shakespeare’s Queen Mab, the fairy queen who helped people birth dreams.) Medb is a minor parallel of Egwene, who was at her best in battle, be it against the Seanchan or the Shadow. The name Aes Sedai was derived from Aes Sidhe, the people of the mound, fair(y) folk in Irish mythology, who defended their territory fiercely, as Egwene did against the Seanchan.<br />
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<b><a name="eminerva">Minerva/Athena</a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ug4S9bV-7zRXVKPjsNeeJPKd05D74nMW18yk6M6tz-afJbghiTRoRoaHWsV1BqRQR037jtobFtCFkJLO30kHCVQNodcO64e4jXYqfnyJB6k-L0CUvfWE4vxDjGEnX21sWaq2D7-3ai6N/s1314/Athena_Parthenos_Harpers.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ug4S9bV-7zRXVKPjsNeeJPKd05D74nMW18yk6M6tz-afJbghiTRoRoaHWsV1BqRQR037jtobFtCFkJLO30kHCVQNodcO64e4jXYqfnyJB6k-L0CUvfWE4vxDjGEnX21sWaq2D7-3ai6N/s200/Athena_Parthenos_Harpers.png"/></a></div>Like close sisters <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eathena">Elayne</a> and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aathena">Aviendha</a>, Egwene has some parallels with Athena the Greek goddess of war, magic, knowledge, education and wisdom and her Roman equivalent, Minerva. Athena was the patron of the strategic side of war and preferred to use wisdom to settle conflict, using violence as the last resort, not the first, while her brother Ares was patron of the violent, bloody side. <br />
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As a damane, Egwene was forcibly trained to use her channelling for warfare at others’ direction. Egwene learned much about the different education methods of channelling groups and as Amyrlin, ruled the training and promotion of Aes Sedai, but reached out to the Sea Folk and Aiel to coordinate training of women channellers.<br />
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Egwene bested the dark Minerva Mesaana by using knowledge to overcome her fear and panic: <br />
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<blockquote>Egwene controlled her fear. It was not easy. Light, but it was hard! But she did it. Her face became calm. She defied the a'dam by not giving it power over her.<br />
Mesaana hesitated, frowning. She shook the leash, and more pain flooded Egwene.<br />
She made it vanish. "It occurs to me, Mesaana," Egwene said calmly, "that Moghedien made a mistake. She accepted the a'dam.”<br />
"What are you—"<br />
"In this place, an a'dam is as meaningless as the weaves it prevents," Egwene said.<br />
"It is only a piece of metal. And it only will stop you if you accept that it will." The
a'dam unlocked and fell free of her neck.<br />
Mesaana glanced at it as it dropped to the ground with a metallic ring. Her face grew
still, then cold as she looked up at Egwene. Impressively, she did not panic. She
folded her arms, eyes impassive. "So, you have practiced here."<br />
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- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Wounds<br />
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</blockquote>After a mental duel in which both women exerted their mental control to the utmost, Egwene destroyed Mesaana’s mind, and not her body. Against M’Hael, the Amyrlin impressively invented the Flame of Tar Valon weave from first principles to patch the Pattern after balefire—the reverse of violent destructive weaves, yet used to win a battle.<br />
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The metalwork of weapons also fell under Athena’s patronage. Egwene had remarkable strength in Earth and was able to find metal ores, and convert iron into cuendillar.<br />
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In the Ancient Greek myths, Athena never consorts with a lover, nor does she ever marry. Aes Sedai are free to have lovers, and a few Greens marry, but Egwene was very atypical in being a married Amyrlin.<br />
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<b><a name="ehippolyta">Hippolyta</a></b><br />
<br />
Egwene was very much shaped by her time with the Aiel, and was pleased that she measured up to them in toughness: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>When Sorilea finally nodded and said, "You are as sound as a Maiden, girl," Egwene was swaying and gulping for air. A Maiden would not have been, she was sure. Still, she felt pride. She had never thought of herself as soft, but she knew very well that before she began living with the Aiel she would have fallen on her face halfway through the test. Another year, she thought, and I will run as well as any Far Dareis Mai.<br />
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- <i>Lord of Chaos,</i> An Embassy<br />
<br />
</blockquote>The Maidens of the Spear have parallels in the Amazons, women warriors of Ancient Greek mythology. The only Amazonian Queen to leave the Amazons to marry, Hippolyta (“unleasher of horses”), is a minor parallel of Egwene. Hippolyta’s younger sister was Penthesilea, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#apenthesilea">Aviendha</a>, who was a close friend, a near sister, of Egwene. It was rare for women to retire from the Amazons to marry, whereas it is the custom of Maidens who wish to marry to leave the warrior society. On the other hand, Egwene is the only Amyrlin we know of who was married. The name Hippolyta is appropriate for a Wetlander “Maiden”, since Aiel rarely ride horses.<br />
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One of the Greek hero Heracles’ twelve labours was to obtain Hippolyta’s girdle. Heracles is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#hercules">Rand</a>, who was prophesied by Elaida to face the Amyrlin Seat—a warrior Amyrlin at that—and know her anger. Nicola foretold that <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/foretellings.html#ninethings">Rand would do nine impossible things</a>, not twelve, but facing the Amyrlin Seat was not one of them.<br />
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<a name="emoongoddess">Moon Goddess</a><br />
<br />
Egwene is a lunar character, as evidenced by her dark hair and eyes and her talent for Dreaming and Dreamwalking. <br />
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<b><a name="eartemis">Artemis</a></b><br />
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The Ancient Greek goddess Artemis was goddess of the Moon, the Wild and the hunt, as well as patron and protector of unwed girls and young women. Egwene went into the wilderness with Perrin, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#wildness">King of the Wild</a>, during <i>The Eye of the World</i> and channelled by herself there. When she was demoted to a novice by Elaida, Egwene helped the other novices and Accepted, giving them advice and showing them how to club together for defence when the Seanchan attacked. Her decision to allow women of all ages be tested for channelling ability resulted in hundreds of novices joining the Tower. Like <a href="#evesta">Vesta/Hestia</a> and <a href="#eminerva">Athena</a>, Artemis chose to never to marry, but Egwene, in a reversal of this, did choose to marry when few Aes Sedai did so.<br />
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<b><a name="eselene">Selene</a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgPRShfDMR4pnZwFpUiWJuvJT_PhT4OY99p4DRr_I6LvkubsI0UdnoHyGelBpoaLnJgGkNZ7tqNKGJ-McBijkZG-oFZ7KjPoYqRTz7IpsFZ5sRm9BhD9QSTDveWTSC3Zjfws-aIvbeClD/s654/Selene_and_Endymion_by_Moritz_von_Schwind.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgPRShfDMR4pnZwFpUiWJuvJT_PhT4OY99p4DRr_I6LvkubsI0UdnoHyGelBpoaLnJgGkNZ7tqNKGJ-McBijkZG-oFZ7KjPoYqRTz7IpsFZ5sRm9BhD9QSTDveWTSC3Zjfws-aIvbeClD/s200/Selene_and_Endymion_by_Moritz_von_Schwind.jpg"/></a></div>In Greek mythology, Selene is the goddess, indeed the personification, of the Moon. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#zeus">Rand</a>), Pan, and the beautiful mortal <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#endymion">Endymion</a>, who she watched over and visited in his dreams while he slept in his cave beside his cattle: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night."<br />
<br />
- Quintus Smyrnaeus, <i> The Fall of Troy </i><br />
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</blockquote><i>The Wheel of Time</i> frequently has more than one version of a mythological figure, and often one of these versions will be dark. Lanfear, daughter of the Night, is the dark version of the goddess Selene and even names herself Selene in one of her disguises when attempting to seduce Rand. However, Egwene as the Light’s Selene watched over the sleeping Rand while the dark Selene was stalking him:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>... she saw Rand sleeping on the ground, wrapped in a cloak. A woman had been standing over him, looking down. Her face was in shadow, but her eyes seemed to shine like the moon, and Egwene had known she was evil. Then there was a flash of light, and they were gone. Both of them. And behind it all, almost like another thing altogether, was the feel of danger, as if a trap was just beginning to snap shut on an unsuspecting lamb, a trap with many jaws." <br />
<br />
- <i>The Great Hunt</i>, Woven in the Pattern<br />
<br />
</blockquote>even though she was at the beginning of developing her Talent, as Ishamael rather patronisingly describes to Rand:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"You find odd followers," Ba'alzamon mused. "You always did. These two [Loial and Hurin]. The girl who tries to watch over you.”
<br />
- <i>The Great Hunt,</i> Kinslayer<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Egwene correctly interpreted a lot of what was happening—more than Rand himself, who was fairly smitten with Lanfear as Selene.<br />
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<a name="edreamgoddess">Dream Goddess</a><br />
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<b><a name="enanshe">Nanshe</a></b><br />
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Egwene has parallels to the Babylonian goddess Nanshe in her role as "interpreter of dreams". Nanshe had the ability to give prophetic messages and determine the future through dream interpretation and granted the ability to interpret and divine from other's dreams to her priests. We see Egwene give messages to others within their dreams and read what is happening in Tel’aranrhiod, as well as divine the future from her own dreams.<br />
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<a name="ehistoric">Historic Parallels</a><br />
<br />
The Amyrlin is elected by the Sitters of the Hall, just as her closest real-world equivalent, the Pope, is elected by the Cardinals of the Catholic Church. This is confirmed in Robert Jordan’s notes, where he writes that:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>People speak of the Amyrlin Seat as the Catholic Church might speak of donning the Shoes of the Fisherman or ascending to the Holy See of Rome.<br />
<br />
- Robert Jordan, <i>General Notes and Thoughts</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>Egwene instigated a new wave of unification and catholicism aimed at having every female channeller attached to and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs-society.html#fas">recognised by the White Tower</a>. Her aim was to increase the prestige of the Tower as well as reform its training and reduce the cloistering of initiates. With the atypical benefit of having seen the best (and worst) of other channelling groups, she was very much a new broom tasked by the Pattern to sweep clean.<br />
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<b><a name="eyoungpopes">Young Popes</a></b><br />
<br />
Normally, Amyrlins are raised at more than 180 years of age, but Egwene was elected Amyrlin at only 18—a tenth of the years. There have been two popes who were about 18 years old when elected: John XII in the 10th century and Benedict IX in the 11th century. Both obtained the papacy through the influence of a powerful parent and were considered entirely unsuitable to be Pope. Egwene was raised Amyrlin by the influence of her tutor and former ‘mother’ of the Aes Sedai, Siuan, and Sheriam’s group, and was considered entirely unsuitable to be Amyrlin. In fact, the rebels elected Egwene precisely because she was believed unsuitable, and was to be a puppet. This is where the similarities between Egwene and the two young popes end, because Egwene was an excellent Amyrlin and diligent in the duties and responsibilities of her position.<br />
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<b><a name="ejuliusii">Julius II (Warrior Pope)</a></b><br />
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Egwene’s career is like that of Pope Julius II, born Giuliano della Rovere, pope from 1503–1513. A beneficiary of nepotism, he was made a cardinal at age 18 by his uncle Pope Sixtus IV (1471–84), who took him under his special charge. As Bishop of Ostia, Giuliano della Rovere consecrated the newly elected Pope Pius III a bishop because he was not one already. This would be the equivalent of making a new Amyrlin an Aes Sedai, just as Egwene was raised Amyrlin without already being Aes Sedai. She swore the Oaths before the rebel Aes Sedai, but never had time to take the test for the shawl.<br />
<br />
The way Egwene was demoted back to novice by Elaida is equivalent to the Borgia pope Alexander VI removing Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere from his benefices without the consent of the cardinals in consistory—and, in fact, in the face of their strenuous objections—on the grounds that he was an enemy of the Vatican. <br />
<br />
In 1503 at age 60, della Rovere was elected Pope after the shortest conclave in history by the unanimous vote of the cardinals, almost certainly by bribery. Egwene was rapidly elected by the rebel Hall at age 18 after some manipulation by Siuan and probably also influential Black sisters like Sheriam, Delana and Moria who saw a chance to weaken the rebel Aes Sedai. She was then taken in charge by Siuan, a former Amyrlin. The Tower Hall rapidly elected her in her absence.<br />
<br />
While Pope Julius II owed his stellar start in the church to his uncle, his actual reign was free from nepotism (<em>Catholic Encyclopedia</em>). Egwene owed her raising to Sheriam’s group, but she eschewed nepotism in her rule, refusing to favour any Ajah, sister or novice.<br />
<br />
Julius II entered his regulations against simony in papal conclaves into canon law so that they could not be put aside, just as Egwene convinced the Hall that there could be no secret deals done in the Hall or decisions made without all Ajahs having full representation and also with the Amyrlin given the opportunity to be present at every sitting.<br />
<br />
Pope Julius II increased his power and that of the Church by playing the nations against each other. He managed to regain control of the papal states, remove French influence from the rest of Italy and reconciled the two powerful Roman houses of Orsini and Colonna.
Egwene played the rebel factions against each other to achieve her plans, reunited the Aes Sedai and purged the White Tower of Black sisters. In <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Lelaine and Romanda (equivalents of the Orsini and Colonna) started to work together—against Egwene (<i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Call To Stand) and then had their machinations shown up by Egwene as foolish politicking during a global crisis. However, Egwene was used by Rand to unite all nations that were opposed to his plans to break the Seals so he only had to persuade her and all dissenting parties would follow.<br />
<br />
Julius II personally led the Papal armed forces to victory at the Siege of Mirandola and, despite great losses at the Battle of Ravenna, ultimately forced the French troops of Louis XII out of Italy with the aid after the arrival of Swiss mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire, thus earning his epithet of the Warrior Pope. Some historians consider the stresses of war shortened the pope’s life and reign. Egwene was on the front line in the Last Battle and fought and destroyed M’Hael and the Sharan channellers, dying as she gained victory.<br />
<br />
One of the most powerful and influential popes, Julius II was a central figure of the High Renaissance and left a significant cultural and political legacy. He was described by Machiavelli in his works as the ideal prince. Siuan used and taught Machiavelli’s tactics to Egwene. Egwene’s life and reign was directly ended by war, but has left a very significant legacy and she is likely to be regarded as a great Amyrlin.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="emartinv">Martin V and the end of the Western Schism</a></b><br />
<br />
The Aes Sedai that gathered in Salidar were in rebellion. Since the rebels still accepted and followed Aes Sedai customs and laws, or dogma, but not Elaida’s leadership, their rebellion was not a heresy, but a schism (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs-society.html#rebellion">Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Society</a> essay). The Shadow used the schism to tie up the Aes Sedai in useless internal conflict to prevent them from making a positive contribution to the war against the Shadow. The very public schism of the Tower Aes Sedai and the rebels is a parallel of the Great Western Schism of the Catholic Church, which lasted 40 years until 1417, and saw two papal courts operating simultaneously: one at Avignon in France and the other in Rome. <br />
<br />
In Salidar, Egwene was elected to be head of a rival Hall—an antipope. Oddone Colonna, a parallel of Egwene, deserted the lawful pope, Gregory XII, in 1409 when the latter reneged on meeting with the antipope to negotiate the end of the Western Schism, and Gregory XII excommunicated him. Six years later upon the death of Gregory, Colonna was unanimously elected as Pope Martin V at the Council of Constance after a conclave of three days, even though he was not a cardinal, but a sub-deacon. On 12 November Martin V was ordained deacon, the next day he was ordained a priest, and then consecrated bishop the day after. His election effectively ended the Western Schism (1378–1417). <br />
<br />
As pope, Martin V faced enormous difficulties, for he had to restore the Western church, the papacy, and the Papal States. He possessed considerable knowledge of canon law, was pledged to no party, and was well-regarded. The buildings and populace of Rome were in a very poor state and when he returned there three years after his election, he set to work establishing order and restoring the dilapidated buildings and infrastructure, and made inroads into reforming the clergy before he died.<br />
<br />
Egwene was raised Amyrlin even though she was not an Aes Sedai, but an Accepted. Thanks to Siuan’s teaching, she had a good knowledge of Tower history and law. The fact that she was from no Ajah was in her favour. Egwene was elected to both rebel and Tower Halls after short conclaves and her election ended the Aes Sedai schism. Once she was elected, she began to restore the Tower and the city after the neglect under Elaida and the damage inflicted by the Seanchan. Her reforms of the Aes Sedai were the purging of the Black Ajah, laws against secret meetings of the Hall, the removal of the narrow age criterion for novices, and the agreements made to exchange advanced trainees with the Wise Ones and Windfinders.<br />
<br />
Martin V wrote to nobles in Bohemia and Moravia demanding they deal with the heresy founded by Jan Hus, and when they refused, declared a crusade against the heretical Hussites. Prior to the cleansing of saidin, Aes Sedai regarded false Dragons and male channellers as <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs-society.html#mchannel">heretical</a>, due to the danger they <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-attitudes-to-male-channellers.html">posed when channelling</a>. Jan Hus, leader of the Hussites, is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#hus">Rand</a>. Egwene united the nations that objected to Rand breaking the Seals on the Dark One’s prison—the potential danger of releasing the Dark One made it a heretical action in her eyes. She also vigorously protested at the general council at Merrilor: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"The seals, Moiraine," Egwene said. "He's planning to break them. He defies the authority of the Amyrlin Seat." <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> A Knack<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Pope Martin V strongly opposed efforts that arose at the Council of Constance to substitute constitutional for monarchical government in the Church and to make the pope subject to a General Council. <br />
<br />
As well as schism in the Catholic Church, the Aes Sedai split also has similarities with the American Civil War. The rebels gathered in the south and the White Tower with all the items of power were in the north. The rebel general Bryne, rode a horse named Traveller, just like Robert E. Lee. Egwene is portrayed as like Lincoln, trying to unite the factions.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="elincoln">Lincoln</a></b><br />
<br />
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) rose from humble origins to become president of the United States until his assassination. Regarded as the greatest US president, he succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery and strengthening the federal government with the careful manoeuvering of factions. He was assassinated just days after the end of the civil war. <br />
<br />
While Egwene’s humble origins as daughter of innkeepers in a remote village don’t matter to Aes Sedai, she was an Accepted when raised rebel Amyrlin and a demoted Accepted when raised to Amyrlin of the White Tower. After manipulating the Salidar factions to consolidate her authority, Egwene united the rebels and Tower loyalists, and promoted dialogue between different Ajahs and even different groups of female channellers.<br />
<br />
No one knew better than Egwene the horrors of slavery: she was an escaped slave who confronted the leader of a slave-using nation from a position of power. At this parley, she contended with the Empress to limit the Seanchan’s access to potential slaves (damane) and encourage their release. One of the greatest Amyrlins, she died late in the last battle after martyring herself to destroy M’Hael and the Sharan channellers.<br />
<br />
<a name="esymbols">Symbols</a><br />
<br />
<b><a name="highpriestess">High Priestess Tarot Card</a></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhotoDlwgKV0M1Y8FnvRimMG9f_kP7CrqpSHRseX3BkS_TwwnbDLVEQZC84Nlglb1C1PXqoLA7Eh5p0mPBu4xJhUryOhFfQnqP59YlbVGu_MHEU1kEnzhcLdSACuDc2S1FUAZjKgCRnV7f/s2048/High+Priestess+RW.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhotoDlwgKV0M1Y8FnvRimMG9f_kP7CrqpSHRseX3BkS_TwwnbDLVEQZC84Nlglb1C1PXqoLA7Eh5p0mPBu4xJhUryOhFfQnqP59YlbVGu_MHEU1kEnzhcLdSACuDc2S1FUAZjKgCRnV7f/s200/High+Priestess+RW.jpg"/></a></div><br />
As the ruler of a secretive group of initiates with arcane knowledge and mysterious powers, the Amyrlin is like the High Priestess tarot card. The High Priestess is a guide to all that is mysterious and mystical and advises gaining deep knowledge before acting—and hopefully wisdom will come with it. As well as arcane knowledge, she represents secret traditions and rites passed down from initiate to initiate, unlike the Hierophant or Pope figure, who represents community faith, traditions and ritual. More mundanely, the High Priestess can symbolise a seeress, a teacher or adept with archaic knowledge, a librarian, or a distant woman with uncanny insights. The Aes Sedai as a whole have secret traditions and rites, with each Ajah their own secrets and traditions, that are passed on to adepts. Aes Sedai are initiated into the mysteries of channelling and the Tower, and have always held themselves apart and above even kings and queens. Egwene was adept at channelling, and had uncanny insights into the future through the medium of dreams and also Tel’aran’rhiod. As Amyrlin she accessed and learned much from the Thirteenth Depository, the Tower’s archive of secret records dating back thousands of years that is only accessible to a select few Aes Sedai. Indeed, only these elect even know of its existence. <br />
<br />
The High Priestess card commonly depicts a woman holding a scroll or book while seated between two pillars that have a curtain suspended between them. In modern decks, she may be crowned with a moon or have a crescent moon at her feet, indicating her lunar character (see Waite-Smith card, above right). She is a low-ranked trump, the first of a quartet of temporal rulers—the Amyrlin is respected, but also feared and distrusted. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwDrCgPpiJJn8SGv7Jrmbg6vASIer53KhfApDzmeN2LLzbzncXDpXkZVfnfILhSfRH-TjdpAbW9rg-qqrqlvHKzcYnPcwEp_FVzKMIBSU3eK-fnXEo9hoOiFHbnykTy3CJ7xEbCKhyrlQ/s2048/High+Priestess+Ancient+Italian.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1097" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwDrCgPpiJJn8SGv7Jrmbg6vASIer53KhfApDzmeN2LLzbzncXDpXkZVfnfILhSfRH-TjdpAbW9rg-qqrqlvHKzcYnPcwEp_FVzKMIBSU3eK-fnXEo9hoOiFHbnykTy3CJ7xEbCKhyrlQ/s200/High+Priestess+Ancient+Italian.jpg"/></a>Some of the oldest decks depict the High Priestess as a Papess, a female pope with a triple-tiered papal crown (see Lo Scarabeo Ancient Italian Tarots card below right). Pope Joan was a notorious figure in medieval miracle plays (which were a source of inspiration for the earliest tarot cards) who spent her adult life disguised as a man and gained her position through her great learning:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Aside from her usurpation of the papacy, an exclusive masculine domain, the church may have considered Joan’s greatest sin to be her learning, represented by the large book<br />
<br />
- Paul Huson, <i>Mystical Origins of the Tarot</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>or scroll that she holds. With men proscribed until recently from utilising any knowledge of channelling due to the danger posed by the taint on saidin, the ceremony for Amyrlin involves each woman present stripping to prove her female gender so that no man may gain the position—no Amyrlin John.<br />
<br />
The High Priestess or Papess and the Hierophant or Pope cards are a duo of knowledge and spiritual life, one hidden and apart, the other open and public. The Whitecloaks are convinced that no Aes Sedai is entitled to know what she knows, that gaining the arcane knowledge of channelling is wrong. Had the Aes Sedai emphasised community service and more of them lived alongside regular people—as the Wise Ones and Windfinders do—they would not be distrusted or hated. But they like the mystique of keeping themselves apart and keeping their errors secret from the populace.<br />
<br />
Ironically, the Amyrlin’s main parallel is the real-world <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs.html#pope">Pope</a>, even though the Amyrlin and her flock of sisters usually prefer the cloistered life. It shows how far the Aes Sedai have gone astray. Those sisters who are most respected or revered—Moiraine, Nynaeve, Cadsuane—have spent most of their initiated life outside the Tower. In perhaps a shift towards the role of the Hierophant tarot card, Egwene’s aim was to link all female channellers with the White Tower with intent to share knowledge between groups and participate in their societies. <br />
<br />
The High Priestess is often seen as an eternal maiden and not as a mother, just as the Amyrlin, while called Mother by the Aes Sedai, does not have biological children, and the last three Amyrlins have been younger and less-experienced than most of their “daughters”.<br />
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<b><a name="moon">Moon Tarot Card</a></b><br />
<br />
The Moon tarot card reveals the land beyond the curtain behind the High Priestess. Typically, the card depicts the moon shining on a mysterious landscape with two canines (either two howling dogs or a dog and a wolf) in front of two pillars (see Tarot of Marseille Moon card and Lo Scarabeo Ancient Italian Tarots card below left and right). The two pillars look more ancient than in the High Priestess card, and the land is dark, wild and strange and has very different rules to the mundane world. Dogs are often heralds to the underworld, while a dog and a wolf would represent the domesticated and the wild landscape—although as Darkhounds, dogs have the potential to be darkly feral. The Moon card represents visions and illusions, mysteries, magic and ancient powers, mental breakthroughs, but also mental illness. It is about inspiration from the unconscious, or from ancient sources, that cannot easily be put into logical sentences. Such insights can be accurate, but also difficult to interpret. Brilliant, but perilous. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFMUyHqDAgzeblVAVDhLBWQO4xbFGWLjpUQBJtG8HRczIAm6yxECbRt41QlnP3pMWbJH1JKXOO_aMdJHplV2XiD12xlgJY__L5ZHXmhfJAprp8n4Pt-qmpd5TaCbCZZYDW0KqAt1i5aFJ/s2048/Moon+Marseille.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFMUyHqDAgzeblVAVDhLBWQO4xbFGWLjpUQBJtG8HRczIAm6yxECbRt41QlnP3pMWbJH1JKXOO_aMdJHplV2XiD12xlgJY__L5ZHXmhfJAprp8n4Pt-qmpd5TaCbCZZYDW0KqAt1i5aFJ/s200/Moon+Marseille.jpg"/></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FKFAJQ0Z9-DJU98Mhg1ljZTT4_WAVKvK44ZqJCvWsvKXk6VA6NrqstSljsiCvA-_2O16f9oRsB1-QgbT0oKu0tTseUFnJIp83agioJTqpRxpgvEBb4vu-6i5MxeVOp_wL1HZ5StwyJnZ/s2048/Moon+Ancient+Italian++%25281%2529.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FKFAJQ0Z9-DJU98Mhg1ljZTT4_WAVKvK44ZqJCvWsvKXk6VA6NrqstSljsiCvA-_2O16f9oRsB1-QgbT0oKu0tTseUFnJIp83agioJTqpRxpgvEBb4vu-6i5MxeVOp_wL1HZ5StwyJnZ/s200/Moon+Ancient+Italian++%25281%2529.jpg"/></a></div><br />
Egwene had a strong Talent for precognitive Dreams and manipulating the world of dreams. Dreams are associated with the moon, and the World of Dreams, Tel’aran’rhiod, that Egwene was skilled at manipulating, has very different rules to the waking world. She had to be taught very sharp lessons to accept that the World of Dreams has its dangerous and nasty side. Egwene’s dreams are reliable in what they portend, yet her interpretation could be unreliable, particularly when it involved visions that triggered her PTSD from when she was enslaved and abused as a damane.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="tower">Tower Tarot Card</a></b><br />
<br />
In Egwene’s role during the attack on the Tower, Jordan neatly combined the symbolism of the Wheel of Fortune and Tower tarot cards. The Wheel of Fortune raises people up and/or casts them down as it turns, but the Tower tarot card is about a sudden breaking or reversal, usually due to a revelation of truth and/or exposure of lies. Something breaks because it is founded on falsehood. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DpGp9IqH2fiJN2zp1_9kfPgm9ooqL5q4Z9EdOKMT06lJQdbg4EdRY3GjJaLDjYFE9dO_M51UGPUEQNlnJ8bePlDpycSGWaCxpINLhN92Ad3ofWIxPaJns28wEjlqunoDoeoVtrE1UlNq/s2048/Tower+Ancient+Italian.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DpGp9IqH2fiJN2zp1_9kfPgm9ooqL5q4Z9EdOKMT06lJQdbg4EdRY3GjJaLDjYFE9dO_M51UGPUEQNlnJ8bePlDpycSGWaCxpINLhN92Ad3ofWIxPaJns28wEjlqunoDoeoVtrE1UlNq/s200/Tower+Ancient+Italian.jpg"/></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6rUiDYXo7OeRi5wM2dtLOmX7lkukQ9KfGf7vTrZDquaZhJPG5FDfP6wVi90WO43vMd0T6WJNYu8wv1v9kQ_KgemqjYCS1xtUXd9a3uGs_mwQPxBfaGZwQn8wVBWsJ-ybGkIanIWsVRfh/s2048/Tower+RW+%25281%2529.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6rUiDYXo7OeRi5wM2dtLOmX7lkukQ9KfGf7vTrZDquaZhJPG5FDfP6wVi90WO43vMd0T6WJNYu8wv1v9kQ_KgemqjYCS1xtUXd9a3uGs_mwQPxBfaGZwQn8wVBWsJ-ybGkIanIWsVRfh/s200/Tower+RW+%25281%2529.jpg"/></a></div>
<br />Early versions of the Tower card show a tower with its battlements on fire, reminiscent of the attack of the Seanchan which broke and burned holes in the walls (see Lo Scarabeo Ancient Italian Tarots card and Waite Smith card above left and right) :<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The White Tower still smoldered, a wide field of smoke trailing up in a ring from the center of the island, shrouding the white spire. Even from a distance, the scars of the Seanchan attack were evident on the building. Blackened holes, like spots of corruption on an otherwise healthy apple.
<br />
- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> The Tower Stands<br />
<br />
</blockquote>The White Tower falsely believed that it was invincible and controlled the mainland, that it was a bastion of knowledge and served mankind and the Light. Under Elaida’s reign it had become controlled by evil people, including a Forsaken, and was more a Tower of the Dark One than one of the Light. Literally a Tower of Lies, a false structure. The attack by the Seanchan proved the Aes Sedai’s belief in their intellectual and moral superiority was false and spurred Egwene to berate the Aes Sedai until they saw and accepted this. This action was crucial in the rebuilding of a much more reliable and functional institution. The shock of the newly-raised, young Amyrlin listing their shortcomings was as great as the shock of the holes in the building and the kidnapping of 40 initiates. Without Egwene’s blast there would be no reforging of any integrity at all.<br />
<br />
So many of the important characters had sudden reversals in Fortune, but Egwene’s life was the one most affected by the breaking of a tower. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="wheel">Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0uhNy3jem4UgTURCT6qSk-kPIKpVw2OSoYhD-kgKfHF-W7rhoCULV8VXnz5nqQF8mEUVQQgYGQKDHBtH4H334XM1vtXTaWFWM16hp5mOoO2dJkQd6czg7U6GZgCec1Z9R9He-98TaS0r/s1867/Wheel+VSf.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1867" data-original-width="1030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0uhNy3jem4UgTURCT6qSk-kPIKpVw2OSoYhD-kgKfHF-W7rhoCULV8VXnz5nqQF8mEUVQQgYGQKDHBtH4H334XM1vtXTaWFWM16hp5mOoO2dJkQd6czg7U6GZgCec1Z9R9He-98TaS0r/s200/Wheel+VSf.jpg"/></a></div><br />
The Prophecies of the Dragon show the changing of fortunes right alongside the Tower breaking:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>“The unstained tower breaks and bends knee to the forgotten sign. The seas rage, and stormclouds gather unseen. Beyond the horizon, hidden fires swell, and serpents nestle in the bosom. What was exalted is cast down; what was cast down is raised up. Order burns to clear his path.” <br />
<br />
- <i>Lord of Chaos</i>, Closing prophecy<br />
<br />
</blockquote>all due to the advent of the Dragon to battle the Shadow. <br />
<br />
The Wheel of Time spins out the Dragon who changes the fortunes and fates of so many. Some are raised up from obscurity—not least of all the Dragon himself—some are thrown down even to the lowest levels. In the Tarot, the Wheel of Fortune card depicts this change (see photo right), though fortunate change is emphasised whereas in the <i>Wheel of Time</i> the necessity of balance—good and bad, positive and negative—is always shown. <br />
<br />
Egwene was raised from her traineeship to be a figurehead, then demoted to novice under the thrall of an Amyrlin who allowed herself to be manipulated into breaking the White Tower from within. Once the Tower was physically attacked from without, Elaida was demoted from Amyrlin to chained slave and Egwene, who fought off the attackers, was raised Amyrlin. Egwene, who had been a former damane, effectively Traded Places with Elaida and then looked the Empress in the eye. Empress Fortuona, as her name suggests, is closely linked to the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#wheel">Wheel of Fortune card</a>. With all her power, does she turn the wheel, or will she eventually be turned into a damane? It was amusing that the Empress acknowledged Egwene as her opposite while Egwene threatened her with her own former fate. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="green">Green</a></b><br />
<br />
Egwene should have been a Green, as the Head of the Green Ajah acknowledges. The Greens’ most important role was to engage in battle against the armies of the Shadow to stop them over-running the land. The colour green symbolises life, fertility, renewal, and the natural environment. Egwene is strong in Earth, an indication that she is an earth mother goddess. In her battle with M’Hael, she was sensitive to the health of the Land: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>The gaps in the land expanded. M'Hael and Demandred's balefire had done its work. The world here was crumbling. Black lines radiated across the Heights, and her mind's eye saw them opening, the land shattering, and a void appearing here that sucked into it all life. <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
<br />
</blockquote>And expended herself to completely neutralise M’Hael and the Sharan channellers and patch reality together with the white Flame of Tar Valon weave.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="whiteflame">White Flame</a></b><br />
<br />
Min had a viewing of a white flame around Egwene in <i>The Great Hunt</i>, New Friends and Old Enemies. The white flame does represent saidar in general, and Aes Sedai, and furthermore their Amyrlin as the Flame of Tar Valon in particular, but the viewing had a deeper meaning. In <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Egwene invented a weave of whiteness to hold reality together after balefire and to destroy M’Hael and the Sharans:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>A fire of her own, a weave of light and rebuilding. <br />
<br />
The Flame of Tar Valon… <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle<br />
<br />
</blockquote>White represents purity, truth, innocence and initiation, and a white flame, a purifying fire, is the ultimate manifestation of a calcination. Calcination is an alchemical operation that tempers or purifies matter or spirit as part of the Great Work of the rescue of human souls:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I will smelt away your dross in the furnace. I will remove all your base metal from you. <br />
<br />
- <i>Isaiah 1:24–25</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>and/or the salvation of the cosmos (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-refining-principle-alchemical.html#calcination">Alchemical Symbolism</a> essay). Egwene used it to counteract the evil calcination of balefire unleashed by the Shadow. It saved the Land from disintegration by holding reality together so it could be healed. The fuel for calcination comes from frustrated desires and rage—in Egwene’s case, it was her rage at Gawyn’s loss.<br />
<br />
And so we turn to Gawyn right where he most disliked being, a step behind Egwene. So much would have changed if he accepted his supporting role to either his sister or his wife. His situation was mirrored in a positive way by Sleete, a brilliant swordsman who is Warder to the low-ranked Green sister Hattori, who suggested Gawyn also become her Warder. Sleete took a “lesser” job—perhaps without realising how low-ranked Hattori was—but made the best of it. He protects her and follows her wishes without having to be pressured, and has her trust as well as a fair measure of freedom to exercise his own judgment.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="gawyn">GAWYN</a></b><br />
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When we first see Gawyn, he is First Prince of the Sword, and is where he should be, at his sister’s side. However, going to the perilous White Tower led him to abandon his duty and to support an Amyrlin who is unjust and tyrannical and sent him on a quest that he was not supposed to survive. Not surprisingly, he developed a dislike for Aes Sedai, but eventually married one, the Amyrlin no less, his very own Loathly Lady. His frustration at being her consort, and not performing renowned deeds like the Dragon, led him to recklessly duel a Forsaken and lose. The death of this fallen prince destroyed the one he loved most, thereby saving the world.<br />
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<a name="garthur">Arthurian Myth parallels</a><br />
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<b><a name="gawain">Sir Gawain</a></b><br />
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As his name indicates, Gawyn’s strongest parallel is Sir Gawain, eldest son of King Arthur’s half-sister Morgause (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#morgase">Morgase</a>) and Lot of Orkney and brother of Gareth (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#gareth">Gareth Bryne</a>), Agravaine and Gaheris, and half-brother of Modred/Mordred (parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#demandred">Galad Damodred</a>). In <i>The Wheel of Time</i>, Gawyn of Andor is Queen Morgase's only son by Taringail Damodred (Da-Modred), and Taringail's second son. Gawyn is brother to Elayne and half-brother to Galad.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10FRJaS8xn0zsw8Pv_zaSBjGzwr8dhbrWxGN678B7rsIeuw9wXylSmM3_jm_nJc3VtJm_rHCgP4Q54WoMltnqVCVMh-ki4WOiKUaNUM7OhJY6YE15ii8FUADWCfEgvFnpB_JB_QwV_BsO/s1600-h/gawain+swearinhg+tb+merciful+and+never+against+ladies.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10FRJaS8xn0zsw8Pv_zaSBjGzwr8dhbrWxGN678B7rsIeuw9wXylSmM3_jm_nJc3VtJm_rHCgP4Q54WoMltnqVCVMh-ki4WOiKUaNUM7OhJY6YE15ii8FUADWCfEgvFnpB_JB_QwV_BsO/s320/gawain+swearinhg+tb+merciful+and+never+against+ladies.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326348356089970514"></a>In the earliest Arthurian tales, Gawain is depicted as an ideal knight achieving heroic deeds. In the later medieval romances, while he continues to be one of Arthur's most loyal and skilled knights, his character is darker, more treacherous and at times brutal towards women. (The painting right shows Sir Gawain swearing to be merciful and never take against ladies. The fact that he feels he should do this—mend his ways?—is telling.) No longer a paragon of chivalry, he is thus supplanted by Perceval and later Galahad (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#galad">Galad</a>) as an ideal Grail knight and hero. Gawyn was never favourably disposed to Rand al’Thor, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#arthur">King Arthur</a>, let alone loyal to him, due to his envy of Rand’s deeds, and his personal belief that Rand killed his mother, despite Egwene, a parallel of <a href="#eguinevere">Guinevere</a>, insisting that he didn’t. In <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> Gawyn was relying on his prowess with the sword to get his own way. He was as violent and impetuous as Gawain of Arthurian myth. <br />
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Many of the tales about Sir Gawain concern chivalry and a knight’s code of honour to do whatever a damsel asks and to keep his word. He is tested to expose the conflict between honour and knightly duties. Gawyn was conflicted over whether to support the White Tower or the rebels, and aided both sides, but above all did not honour his oath and duty to Elayne and Andor. <br />
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When a loathly lady named Ragnelle arrived at King Arthur’s court offering to tell the answer to the question “what do women most desire?” to save King Arthur’s life on condition that Sir Gawain marry her, Gawain chivalrously agreed and was surprised to find out that such an ugly old woman was really a beautiful maiden under a spell. She asked Gawain to choose whether she should be hideous by day and beautiful at night, or vice versa. Gawain did not come to a conclusion and asked the lady to choose. Giving her “sovereignty” in their relationship broke the spell and she remained beautiful (and sovereignty, the right to make their own decisions, is, in fact, what women most desire). Many people hold Aes Sedai in low regard, so in that sense Egwene is a loathly lady. She also needs sovereignty in her marriage. Gawyn wanted to marry Egwene, but did not take her promotion to high office seriously: <br />
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<blockquote>Don't you see what a distrust you have shown me? How can I trust you if you will disobey me in order to feel more comfortable?" <br />
Gawyn didn't look ashamed; he just looked perturbed. That was actually a good sign—as Amyrlin, she needed a man who would speak his mind. In private. But in public she'd need someone who supported her. Couldn't he see that? <br />
"You love me, Egwene," he said stubbornly. "I can see it." <br />
"Egwene the woman loves you," she said. "But Egwene the Amyrlin is furious with you. Gawyn, if you'd be with me, you have to be with both the woman and the Amyrlin. I would expect you—a man who was trained to be First Prince of the Sword—to understand that distinction." <br />
Gawyn looked away. <br />
"You don't believe it, do you?" she asked. <br />
"What?" <br />
"That I'm Amyrlin," she said. "You don't accept my title." <br />
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- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> Sealed to the Flame<br />
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</blockquote>In <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Gawyn had to understand that Egwene needed someone who, as Elayne advised him, not only did what she asked, but could be trusted to do what she would want without needing to be told. Despite his justifiable annoyance at Egwene for not allowing him to guard her, he did race back from Andor to save her from the Bloodknives. His dissatisfaction with his supporting role led to him strike out alone for Demandred; his death at Demandred’s sword hand causing Egwene’s incapacitation and death.<br />
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Gawyn didn’t want to dutifully support his sister the Queen of Andor, and likewise wasn’t keen on supporting the even higher status queen of the Aes Sedai. At least not when it impinged on his desire for personal accomplishment. Not a team player, as they would say in corporate parlance.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfAozkLqYZlGz1GiPCYFJDKfMdPpQV9lIYNRHxMuLjz275DZg2pZrdukINE2N6pbOq0PXkehLIO-2TQOZ8YLXJXG9Sg1bAfT_x8Ho2bhtR8tJhf7F_KIcwP3K9mccNt41VfDOuYJKONIO/s266/green-knight.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfAozkLqYZlGz1GiPCYFJDKfMdPpQV9lIYNRHxMuLjz275DZg2pZrdukINE2N6pbOq0PXkehLIO-2TQOZ8YLXJXG9Sg1bAfT_x8Ho2bhtR8tJhf7F_KIcwP3K9mccNt41VfDOuYJKONIO/s200/green-knight.jpg"/></a></div>Another contentious visitor at King Arthur’s court was the Green Man, who challenged a knight to strike off his head and, in return, travel to the Green Knight’s castle in one year and a day and accept a similar blow in return. Photo right from <a href="https://fairycolumbine.wordpress.com">fairycolumbine.wordpress.com</a>.<br />
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Sir Gawain accepted the challenge and beheaded the Green Knight with one blow. To the court’s surprise, the Green Knight rose to his feet, picked up his head and rode away. A year and a day later, Sir Gawain met the Green Knight at his castle where the Green Knight tried to behead Gawain. He made three attempts, but they were to test Gawain’s courage, not kill him. Gawain was wearing a green girdle that he believed was magical and refused to offer it to the Green Knight in turn as was chivalric custom, but kept it to save himself from death—a failing of morals or faith on his part. <br />
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Gawyn abandoned his duty to support Egwene and went to fight the formidable “knight” <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#arthurian">Demandred</a>. Gawyn wore three bloodknives’ rings to gain an edge in his duel with the Forsaken. Demandred criticised Gawyn for “cheating” with them. Against custom, courtly love and good sense, he had failed to tell Egwene of the ter’angreal rings, telling himself that with them he could keep Egwene safe. Ironically the rings that protected Gawyn also were killing him.<br />
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After Sir Gawain’s battle with the Green Man, King Arthur decreed that all the Knights of the Round Table would wear a green sash in recognition of Gawain’s honour and courage. Gawain founded the Younglings during the White Tower coup and they wore a green coat and carried a green banner with his sigil of the white boar. <br />
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Sir Gawain also supported the true Queen Guinevere against an impostor, feuded with the House of Pellinore, and took part in the Grail Quest. Not understanding the spiritual significance of the Holy Grail, the San Greal, he refused to seek aid through the sacraments, instead relying on his own prowess. He did not attain the Grail. Gawyn supported Elaida as Amyrlin, not knowing that Egwene, a parallel of <a href="#eguinevere">Guinevere</a>, was rival Amyrlin. He led his soldiers on raids against the rebel Aes Sedai. Gawyn was not successful in his quest to kill Demandred, who found and achieved the sa’angreal Sakarnen. <br />
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Sir Gawain berated King Arthur for leaving Guinevere in the unreliable protection of Sir Kay, from where she was kidnapped by Sir Meleagant, and then he and Lancelot set out to rescue her. The two knights were guided to a fork in the road from which two possible paths ran to Meleagant’s castle; one road led to the Underwater Bridge, and the other, more perilous road, to the Sword Bridge. Gawain chose the Underwater Bridge, while Lancelot took the Sword Bridge and was victorious in freeing Guinevere and ultimately killing Meleagant. <br />
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Demandred, as Meleagant, ordered Egwene’s death (although at one point came close to capturing her (<i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Wyld)). Gawyn recognised that Demandred should be killed, and determined to attempt it. Min and Egwene both foretold that Gawyn had a huge fork in his life’s road, and that one road led to his early death, the other to his long life. Both women’s actions influenced Gawyn’s choice. <br />
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Gawyn’s poisoning by the Bloodknives’ rings has parallels in the 13th century Vulgate Cycle: Sir Gawain was captured by Caradoc, Lord of Dolorous Tower, and wounded by Caradoc’s guards. Adding to his pain, Caradoc's mother applied poisonous ointment to his wounds because Gawain killed her brother treacherously. Gawain’s health deteriorated, but a damsel restored him to health and then Lancelot freed him. <br />
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Unlike the Arthurian Gawain, Gawyn applied his poisonous rings himself in an effort to gain an advantage. The poisoning by bloodknives perhaps indicates his wrongness, his unworthiness, to achieve the quest of killing Demandred. His recklessness resulted in his own death and Egwene’s. In the <i>Morte Arthure</i>, Gawain rushed on ahead of King Arthur’s landing forces and singled out Modred and attacked him madly “in a frenzy for fierceness of heart”, “mad as a wild beast” and was killed by Modred. Arthur hurried ashore and searched for Gawain; he found his body face down on the grass. Gawyn was less frenzied than Gawain, but no less reckless, rushing off by himself to duel a Forsaken. It was his brother Galad who found Gawyn lying on the grass after his duel with Demandred, a dark <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html#arthurian">Modred</a>. <br />
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<b><a name="gkay">Sir Kay</a></b><br />
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Jordan included characteristics and actions of Sir Kay as well as Sir Gawain in developing Gawyn. Kay was King Arthur’s hot-headed, sharp-tongued seneschal and foster-brother, and although a skilled knight, was prone to behaving arrogantly to those he considered below him. Likewise, Gawyn behaved in an overweening manner upon arrival at Gareth Bryne’s camp outside Tar Valon. Just as Sir Kay, in his ambition to be Guinevere’s Champion, mistakenly believed he could defeat Meleagant, and thus free Meleagant’s captives, but instead was responsible for the queen’s capture, so Gawyn, Egwene’s seneschal as well as her Champion, went off to fight Demandred, and caused Egwene’s, and his own, death. <br />
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<b><a name="twins">Castor</a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7VeV9qxuALISHYJHX99Sn0TkXf_xP0VG2ajGPk2X1Q4K_A28elSpQg3HwYKWTyAZLlMFSxE2hpwaOBGYd2YbkVItpgrJWaj0bvGztXZwi9gzq-vwEbcIQUNbzyyR4R9C85EmqJup7NPd/s1125/Castor+and+Pollux.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7VeV9qxuALISHYJHX99Sn0TkXf_xP0VG2ajGPk2X1Q4K_A28elSpQg3HwYKWTyAZLlMFSxE2hpwaOBGYd2YbkVItpgrJWaj0bvGztXZwi9gzq-vwEbcIQUNbzyyR4R9C85EmqJup7NPd/s200/Castor+and+Pollux.jpg"/></a></div>One of the parallels of Gawyn’s sister Elayne is <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#ehelen">Helen of Troy</a>, the beautiful daughter of the Spartan queen Leda and the Ancient Greek god Zeus. After being raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan, Leda made love with her husband Tyndareus that same day and laid two eggs, from which hatched Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. Clytemnestra, with her disastrous marriages, has parallels to Elayne’s mother Morgase, and Castor and Pollux, twin half-brothers who were skilled horsemen and fighters, are parallels of Gawyn and Galad. Half these offspring were mortal and half immortal, although the myths are inconsistent as to which of them are which. Usually Castor is the mortal son of Tyndareus, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus. <br />
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Castor and Pollux were regarded as helpers of humankind, intervening during crises to aid those who honoured them. Their fighting and equestrian prowess led them to be considered the patrons of athletes and athletic contests (see illustration, right). We actually see Gawyn and Galad practising their fighting skills in the Warders’ training grounds and then sparring with Mat in an earnest contest.<br />
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In Homer's Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of the city of Troy, where she was taken by Paris, and wonders why she does not see either of her brothers, Castor or Pollux, among the Greeks who came to take her back. It’s because in Homer’s version of this myth both brothers are dead, ie mortal. Likewise, Elayne’s brothers, being non-channellers, do not have her long lifespan, and Gawyn, parallel of Castor, the twin usually regarded as mortal in Greek myth, is already dead.<br />
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Just as in some myths Pollux honourably gave up half his immortality to his mortal brother Castor, so Galad honourably saved Gawyn’s life twice as a child (<i>The Eye of the World,</i> The Web Tightens). It’s an indication of Gawyn’s recklessness that he needed saving twice.<br />
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<a name="gsymbol">Symbol</a><br />
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<b><a name="gboar">Charging Boar</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_t6PkGJbkuGYQQJiVe7oqFkgwfXL46X_YSUUGQTuiQ2-vqmjRx-SMIFf10vGSLVbVQzzoC5HNovLTzX_CJ2_Z9smQMIQdCjh_9Pet1_NjDCjybGRSIGosMwQybk_SdX8wctmXO9nxwUY/s1920/boar+charging.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_t6PkGJbkuGYQQJiVe7oqFkgwfXL46X_YSUUGQTuiQ2-vqmjRx-SMIFf10vGSLVbVQzzoC5HNovLTzX_CJ2_Z9smQMIQdCjh_9Pet1_NjDCjybGRSIGosMwQybk_SdX8wctmXO9nxwUY/s200/boar+charging.jpg"/></a></div><br />
Gawyn’s sigil is a charging white boar symbolising strength, courage and aggression, especially in warfare, qualities that Gawyn displayed, although so often misapplied. He had considerable courage, but often poor judgement due to being reckless or impulsive. <br />
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<blockquote> Light! Gawyn thought. What if I didn't interrupt him listening? What if I interrupted him on his way out? <br />
Gawyn dashed to Egwene's door, fatigue evaporating. Sword out, he tested the door. It was unlocked! <br />
"Egwene!" he cried, throwing the door open and leaping into the room. <br />
There was a sudden explosion of light and a crashing sound. Gawyn found himself wrapped up in something strong: invisible cords, towing him into the air. His sword fell to the ground, and his mouth filled with an unseen force. <br />
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- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> The End of a Legend<br />
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</blockquote>He defended Egwene from the Bloodknives with ferocity and even Sheathed the Sword for her, then he appropriated their ter’angreal rings—powerful talismans that he used to fight Demandred.<br />
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As Gareth Bryne observed: <br />
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<blockquote>"You act with passion. You don't act because of the way you think, but because of the way you feel. In a rush, with a snap of emotion. That gives you strength. You can act when you need to, then sort through the ramifications later. Your instincts are usually good, just like your mother's were. But because of that, you've never had to face what to do when your instincts lead you in the wrong direction." <br />
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- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> The End of a Legend<br />
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</blockquote>That rush is like the boar’s charge. Gawyn’s instincts led him to strike out for Demandred alone, resulting in his death and that of Egwene—but also the deaths of M’Hael and a lot of Sharan channellers. <br />
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In European folklore, the boar’s ferocity and destructive nature aroused horror as well as respect. Gawyn and his Younglings were instrumental in the White Tower coup and helped a tyrannical Amyrlin gain power. He wanted to kill Rand after hearing a rumour from a peddlar: <br />
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<blockquote>True, al'Thor was the Dragon Reborn. But in his heart, Gawyn wanted to meet al'Thor with sword in hand and ram steel through him, Dragon Reborn or not. Al'Thor would rip you apart with the One Power, he told himself. You're being foolish, Gawyn Trakand. His hatred of al'Thor continued to smolder anyway. <br />
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- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Writings<br />
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</blockquote>Boars are associated in myth with endeavours to end tyranny, the elimination of evil customs and the overthrow of old cycles (John and Caitlin Matthews, <i>Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures</i>). The Hindu god Vishnu took on a boar’s form to battle and defeat a demon and to raise the earth from the bottom of the ocean where the demon had submerged it. The story describes the resurrection of the earth from a deluge at the end of a cycle of Ages and the establishment of a new Age cycle. <br />
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Gawyn disapproved of the way Siuan ran the Tower and aided Elaida’s coup by preventing the Blue and Green Warders from freeing Siuan and Leane, yet the Amyrlin he aided was ironically worse than Siuan. He strayed from his duty to Andor, which was corrupted by Rahvin (named after <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/names-of-shadow.html#rahvin">an Indian demon</a>), and ignored its troubles. Gawyn’s dissatisfaction that he was not making an important contribution to the Last Battle at the end of this Age was what impelled him to fight Demandred alone. The loss of Gawyn led to Egwene using herself up fighting M’Hael and the Sharans. <br />
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The boar was sacrificed to Aphrodite, goddess of love, and was also sacred to Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love (John and Caitlin Matthews, <i>Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures</i>). Egwene’s prophetic dreams showed the cost to Gawyn of his love for her (see<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/egwenes-dreams.html#gawyn"> Egwene’s Dreams</a> article).<br />
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What no one foresaw was the cost to Egwene, Galad, Morgase and Elayne. <br />
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Gawyn finally had some insight into his state of mind:<br />
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<blockquote>Much of Gawyn's hatred of al'Thor came from frustration. Maybe jealousy. Al'Thor was playing a role closer to what Gawyn would have chosen for himself. Ruling nations, leading armies. Looking at their lives, who had taken on the role of a prince, and who the role of a lost sheepherder? <br />
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- <i>Towers of Midnight</i>, Darkness in the Tower<br />
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</blockquote>But unfortunately, the insight was fleeting. As First Prince of the Sword, Gawyn would have a higher status and more scope for personal achievement than he did as Egwene’s Warder, and would also be doing what he was trained, and sworn, to do, but he would not rule nations as Rand did. He was sworn to the position of First Prince, but never seems to have really understood it or accepted it. Gawyn was frustrated and discontented with the roles that life offered him. Gawyn was not a lost sheepherder, he was a lost sheep. Galad found him, but was too late. The Andoran Prince was lost for this life in <i>A Memory of Light</i>.<br />
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<i>Written by Linda, September 2020 </i><br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-42261281065268639082020-07-25T21:25:00.002-04:002020-10-06T17:27:50.409-04:00Three Women - Character Parallels for Elayne, Aviendha and Min<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
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<blockquote>
"I've seen this," Min said. "I knew it would come the day I first met him. We three, together, here." <br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Epilogue<br />
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Three witches, three empowering women, three lovers of the Dragon. On one level, the witches—two magic users and a seeress—mutually agree to a polyamorous relationship with the Light’s champion. On an archetypal or alchemical level, the Dragon, who is one with the Land, partners with the Goddess of Sovereignty, also known as the Goddess of the Land or the Mother Goddess, in her three-fold aspect to restore order and balance to the Pattern and fertility and health to the Land by fighting off evil. The women and the world need the Dragon to confront the Dark One, sacrificing nearly everything to seal the deity away; Rand needs their support to endure the world’s suffering and reach that confrontation. <br />
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Jordan’s original story outline was largely Celto-Arthurian (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time.html">Arthurian legend parallels in <i>The Wheel of Time</i></a>), and the Goddess of the Land is intrinsic to Celtic Mythology. Two of her important guises are the three Guineveres of Arthurian myth and the maiden-mother-crone Morrigan of Irish myth. In later drafts of <i>The Eye of the World</i> and <i>The Great Hunt</i>, Jordan expanded his story to a more global mythos and symbolism. Yet triple goddesses or queens as the archetypal feminine are widespread in Western culture: the three Norns of Norse myth, the three Fates and three Furies of Ancient Greek mythology, and also the three Maries in the New Testament. <br />
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<blockquote>
You see there are cycles which I think are archetypical. The trinity, trio, the cycle and multiples of three…These are simply things that, numbers that, turn up again in mythologies in a lot of countries. They have a certain significance that resonates to us.<br />
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- Robert Jordan, Interview<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/it-does-add-up-number-symbolism.html#3">Three is a number of harmony</a>, strength and productivity, and Rand, the Chosen One, draws comfort from the strength of the three women’s emotional support, and also their harmonious relationship with him and with each other. The triplicity of the Goddess as maiden, mother and crone symbolises the waxing, full and waning phases of the moon, respectively, as they reflect the light of the sun, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#sol%20invictus">Rand, Sol Invictus</a>. Each of Rand’s lovers epitomizes one of these roles: Aviendha, former Maiden of the Spear, pregnant Elayne as Mother, and seeress Min as the Crone, since she will age before the others. Yet they are not confined to one role, and as they grow they show aspects of the other phases as is proper for character growth and development.<br />
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Three-fold goddesses, demi-goddesses or legendary queens with parallels to Aviendha, Elayne and Min include:<br />
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<li><b>Badb-Macha-Nemain</b> who comprise the <a name="3morrigan">Morrigan</a>, an Irish sovereignty goddess associated with the fertility, prosperity and protection of the land, fate and war. The sovereignty goddess Macha was called the “sun of womanfolk” and Elayne, queen of two nations, is a very solar character (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esun">below</a>). A couple of legendary Irish women named Macha also have parallels with Elayne (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#emacha">below</a>). Badb is an active participant in war, using magic to cause fear and confusion among soldiers, as is Aviendha, former Maiden of the Spear. In her harbinger of doom aspect, Badb is like Min, especially when she takes the form of an ugly hag and prophesies someone’s death, and also when she is the washerwoman at the ford cleaning the clothes of the doomed: seeress Min was forced to do laundry in Salidar, notably that of Gareth Bryne, whose doom she foretold, and who was indeed a doomed warrior. <br />
The Nemain aspect of Morrigan confounds armies, so that friendly bands fall in mutual slaughter. Elayne’s armies were sabotaged in this way by <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/graendal.html#nemain">Graendal’s</a> Compulsion of the Great Captains. Elayne accepted Mat’s plan to lose ground to the Shadow while waiting for the right moment to take the victory, after he explained to her that the Shadow would see through any false pretences. Min saved the Seanchan’s contribution from being sabotaged by the Shadow by exposing Moghedien, another Morrigan parallel. Jordan depicted both a Dark (Lanfear-Moghedien-Graendal) and a Light (Aviendha-Elayne-Min) version of the Morrigan triad.</li>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpt4wV_rcPUJdw1eSCOyeGsIQ9ikRNryOdNWm2_DRhCkjfR6ycTvwspx83dHP7X7pCmAqDt1Dk2jVC5I5e3Nvzkn7Bp_huh_adPb_265bIFwlTESK6HfQFQT6F7nH17Gnc0YiNWEoIobU/s1600/guinevere+rescue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpt4wV_rcPUJdw1eSCOyeGsIQ9ikRNryOdNWm2_DRhCkjfR6ycTvwspx83dHP7X7pCmAqDt1Dk2jVC5I5e3Nvzkn7Bp_huh_adPb_265bIFwlTESK6HfQFQT6F7nH17Gnc0YiNWEoIobU/s200/guinevere+rescue.jpg" width="200" height="146" data-original-width="933" data-original-height="680" /></a></div>
<li><b>Three <a name="3guineveres">Guineveres</a></b> In the Welsh Triad <i>Trioedd Ynys Prydein,</i> King Arthur was said to have three Guineveres as his three Great Queens, as a three-fold Celtic goddess of sovereignty. In the King Arthur tales, Guinevere was prone to being kidnapped and rescued, and was also unfaithful to Arthur, having a long affair with Lancelot and almost marrying Modred. All three of Rand’s loves are entirely faithful to him, although Elayne encourages people to think that her babies are Hanlon’s for their own safety. Aviendha felt that her love-making with Rand in <i>The Fires of Heaven</i> was illicit, since in her eyes he was tied to Elayne at that time. This was also the only time Aviendha was rescued; and occurred because she did not know how to make a gateway back to Cairhien. More typical of the archetype, Elayne was captured and rescued multiple times: in Cairhien, Tear, Amadicia, Caemlyn and during the Last Battle, while Min was abducted and held twice; once by the Seanchan with Egwene at Falme, and once by the Tower embassy with Rand at Cairhien.</li>
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<br />
<li>The three <b><a name="3horae">Horae</a></b> were originally goddesses of the seasons who over time changed to law and order goddesses. They were worshipped in the cities in Ancient Greece and were half-sisters of the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#3fates">Moirae</a>. The goddesses—Dike, Eunomia and Eirene—guarded the gates to Olympus and represented fertility. Dike personified moral justice and fair judgement based on immemorial custom. Aviendha has a strong belief in the strength and value of Aiel customs and diligently follows honour and obligation. Adikia, injustice, was Dike’s opposite. Dike is depicted on the Chest of Cypselus at Olympia throttling an ugly Adikia and beating her with a stick. Aviendha memorably beat the murderous Lady Colavaere and also fought off ugly Graendal.<br />
Eunomia was the goddess of legislation and good human laws, and is a parallel of Elayne, Queen of Andor, who was brought up to practice good governance and fair judgement. Eirene stood for peace and wealth, and is a parallel of Min, now counsellor to the incredibly wealthy Empress. The Horae provided stability and promoted wealth for mankind. Likewise, the three women provide stability for Rand and as Queen, Wise One and Doomseer are stewards for mankind.</li>
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<br />
<li><b>Qudshu-Astarte-Anat</b> are the <a name="3canaan">Canaanite</a> triple goddess of fertility, sex, love, and war. Qudshu and Astarte were both goddesses of sexuality and fertility and were associated with the lion and the horse. Astarte was the lion-throned goddess, and Elayne holds the Lion Throne of Andor. Elayne and Min were both close to horses—Birgitte said that Elayne spoiled hers, while Min has worked as a stablehand.<br />
Anat was a blood thirsty war goddess, and established peace through war. She gave birth to her brother's child, but continued to be described as a maiden and as "virgin Anat". No stranger to battle, Aviendha, a former Maiden, is prophesied to have four children all at once. Pregnant Elayne was made overall leader of the Light’s forces in the Last Battle and even actively fought in battle for a brief time to inspire her troops.<br />
During the New Kingdom period, Qudshu was adopted into the Ancient Egyptian pantheon as Qadesh, and formed a triad with the deities Min (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmin">below</a>) and Resheph (linked to Anat in some texts). This trio would be the equivalent of Tuon, Min and Semirhage (who used the alias of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html#anath">Anath</a>), since the Seanchan have parallels with Ancient Egypt. </li>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjkFE8_rSMf14bq0REs3nOOFhZiVxrD5OTe5XvchLOrLqflVb5mhcZYA-QT94oRuFY2DUldg4dqVQEBAhO0nmni4oMqnRee0lDu56RgMVRkgRkDwLqz7o8x2snLoM-pTtiiJxSABsqkEN/s1600/Meyers_b11_s0801_b1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjkFE8_rSMf14bq0REs3nOOFhZiVxrD5OTe5XvchLOrLqflVb5mhcZYA-QT94oRuFY2DUldg4dqVQEBAhO0nmni4oMqnRee0lDu56RgMVRkgRkDwLqz7o8x2snLoM-pTtiiJxSABsqkEN/s200/Meyers_b11_s0801_b1.png" width="200" height="155" data-original-width="535" data-original-height="414" /></a></div>
<li>Three <b><a name="3fates">Fates or Moirae</a></b> of Ancient Greece: Clotho (spins thread, spinner), Lachesis (draws out thread, allotter), and Atropos (cuts thread, death). Everyone bows to them, except perhaps Zeus, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#zeus">Rand</a>. These are minor parallels of the three women and a major parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-m.html#moiraine">Moiraine</a> in their positive aspect, and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/names-of-shadow.html#moghedien">Moghedien</a> in their negative. </li>
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<br />
Jordan’s legendary Queens share, rather than bestow, sovereignty. They are not passive, but fight their own battles in the story as well as support the Dragon through his, and earn a champion as much as the Creator’s champion wins them.<br />
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Each of the women has other parallels and they will be discussed in turn. Here is the outline:<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#elayne">Elayne</a></b><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eathur">Elaine of Arthurian Legend</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#epavarti">Parvati</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eathena">Athena</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#ehelen">Helen</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eaine">Áine</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#emacha">Macha</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esif">Sif</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esekhmet">Sekhmet</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eelizabeth1">Elizabeth 1</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eempress">Empress Tarot Card </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esun">Sun Tarot Card </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#elily">Golden Lily </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#ekeystone">Silver Keystone </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#elioness">Lioness </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esword">Sword</a><br />
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<b><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aviendha">Aviendha </a></b><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#awasteland">Queen of the Waste Lands</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aleda">Leda</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aathena">Athena</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#apenthesilea">Penthesilea</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aartemis">Artemis</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aasteria">Asteria</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aminnehaha">Minnehaha</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aborte"> Börte </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#astart">Star Tarot Card </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aspear">Spear </a><br />
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<b><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#min">Min</a></b><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mcassandra">Cassandra</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mpythia">Pythia</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#msibyl">Sibyls and the Sibylline books</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#monmyoji"> Onmyōji and Onmyōdō </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmary"> Mary the Prophetess</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#marthurian">Arthurian myth</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#msif">Sif </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mfrigg">Frigg</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmetis">Metis</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mnephthys">Nephthys</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mwadjet">Wadjet</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmin">Min </a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mhildegard">Hildegard of Bingen</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mflorence">Florence Farr</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mqmin">Queen Min of Korea</a><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmoon">Moon Tarot Card </a><br />
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<b><a name="elayne">ELAYNE</a></b><br />
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When we first see Elayne, she is a sheltered princess who tends sick animals with her first aid kit (a nod to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esekhmet">Sekhmet</a>, the Ancient Egyptian lion goddess of healing) and is about to learn to use magic to become one of the few fairy princesses—the few Aes Sedai who are royalty. During her training, Elayne was a runaway and later a captive princess (Tear, Caemlyn). The other immediately obvious thing about Elayne is her name, which is a variant of Helen, meaning 'bright' or 'shining light', and its strong connections with Greek myth and also Arthurian legend.<br />
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<b><a name="eathur">Elaine of Arthurian Legend</a></b><br />
<br />
There are several Arthurian women named Elaine, and Elayne has parallels with a few of them. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG0ziv74h9ookXwHaLd6GFxu2yJbXeSS8F895H3KKEQpL8J2ljGwItIKmaf0BthMYHw48DzNoNJOQxbvVeB1nGN_y7LvlH-OKAvu1h2Dr6xHxf9sK5cySKNGhn6udUU7zDenaqINO5m76/s1600-h/Elaine+Sangreal+bearer.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324024227559633762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG0ziv74h9ookXwHaLd6GFxu2yJbXeSS8F895H3KKEQpL8J2ljGwItIKmaf0BthMYHw48DzNoNJOQxbvVeB1nGN_y7LvlH-OKAvu1h2Dr6xHxf9sK5cySKNGhn6udUU7zDenaqINO5m76/s200/Elaine+Sangreal+bearer.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 138px;" /></a> Elaine, daughter of Pelles the Fisher King of Corbenic Castle, bore the Grail in procession before the knight Sir Perceval. Her father’s kingdom had become a waste land and his plan was that Elayne should bear a child who would become the Grail Hero and save his kingdom. When Sir Lancelot came to Corbenic Castle, he was given a drug that created a glamour that made him think he was making love to Guinevere rather than Elaine. Elaine conceived Galahad, the perfect knight who achieved the Holy Grail. In <i>The Wheel of Time</i> series, the equivalent of the Grail is the Bowl of Winds, which Elaine and Nynaeve, both Grail maidens, located and used to restore the seasons and heal the Land. It was Rand (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#arthur">King Arthur</a> and also the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#fisher">Fisher King</a>) rather than Lan (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html#lan">Lancelot</a>) who Elayne took for a lover after he arrived at her palace disguised by magic. In <i>Winter’s Heart</i>, Elayne decided not to use contraceptives when she and Rand (the world’s saviour) made love in the hope that she would conceive a child for her kingdom. In fact, she conceived the perfect result: a girl to be queen after her, and a boy to be First Prince of the Sword to his sister. The babies may also be Shivan and Calian, reborn Heroes of the Horn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6njZxgFkNmN5We6evRqmhVnX6nBs1zqgaWSGQwNNOa7DMaIZ2scZkT2fNVwLy2JaNoCSJI41OVAwvorxunzEyhksIjOlVbPLDYHGAzCdHyvpEDPIMsbgt4Q6g8Sduv1LMUDqEcQpNHxm7/s1600-h/Rossetti_Percival's+sister+died.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324025948835432210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6njZxgFkNmN5We6evRqmhVnX6nBs1zqgaWSGQwNNOa7DMaIZ2scZkT2fNVwLy2JaNoCSJI41OVAwvorxunzEyhksIjOlVbPLDYHGAzCdHyvpEDPIMsbgt4Q6g8Sduv1LMUDqEcQpNHxm7/s320/Rossetti_Percival's+sister+died.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 168px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 250px;" /></a>The sister of Sir Perceval was also named Elaine. During the quest for the Grail, she met the Arthurian knights Galahad, Perceval and Bors and told them about the significance of the Sword of the Strange Belt, the magical ship, and the Tree of Life. They all then boarded the ship bound for the land where the Grail was. On disembarking, they came to a castle where the Countess chatelaine was afflicted with leprosy. Each virgin maiden travelling through the land was coerced into filling a dish with her blood because it had been foretold that the Countess would be healed of her leprosy by a virgin’s blood. The three knights fought off the castle soldiers that were coming for Elaine, but Elaine decided to donate all her blood to Heal the Countess even though it would mean her death. The Countess was healed successfully by Elaine’s willing sacrifice, whereupon Elaine’s body was placed on a boat and set adrift. When the knights reached the Holy City of Sarras where the Grail was kept, her body arrived and was buried in the city. Elayne was one of the maidens who found and used a <i>Wheel of Time</i> equivalent of the Holy Grail, the Bowl of Winds ter’angreal. Despite being heavily pregnant, she fought for the good of the Land at the Last Battle. Galad is Elayne’s brother rather than son, and for all that she rejects their relationship at times, she has encountered him more often than she has Gawain since leaving Andor. The Sword of the Strange Belt may refer to Laman’s sword, which was originally in a jewel-encrusted scabbard and is now on Rand’s leather belt with its gilded dragon buckle—a strange setting. Elayne did not pass this information on to Rand, but there was an important knife that Elayne gave to Rand—the artham dagger which hid him from the Shadow while he entered Shayol Ghul to make his own willing sacrifice to Heal the Land. The Trees of Life are parallels of the chora trees, Avendesora in Rhuidean and Avendoraldera, which Laman, owner of the Sword of the Strange Belt, had cut down. So far, a magical ship has not featured, but there is an unfulfilled prophecy of Rand and three women—one of them Elayne—<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/foretellings.html#nicola">in a boat</a>. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQzBa8IdD49DANRzayOFLae1RruSMyUH_ERmeVD7fEnZBuXj5VRsJlF8norojtFS7SLB-tvVhTPhkO_hBqQ1Ob8nKO3joX6MbsNJHFUg4hdk1aJXOBgCYX_8ZfG4zsjLMSnsDm_zigv6-/s1600-h/Elaine-Dixon-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324023910346899458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQzBa8IdD49DANRzayOFLae1RruSMyUH_ERmeVD7fEnZBuXj5VRsJlF8norojtFS7SLB-tvVhTPhkO_hBqQ1Ob8nKO3joX6MbsNJHFUg4hdk1aJXOBgCYX_8ZfG4zsjLMSnsDm_zigv6-/s200/Elaine-Dixon-1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 144px;" /></a>Elaine the Fair, also known as the Lady of Shalott, was the daughter of Bernard of Astolat, and her sigil was a lily. She tried to win the love of Lancelot, and when he rejected her, she died of a broken heart and was brought by boat up the Thames to Arthur's court at Camelot. Elayne’s sigil is a golden lily, but she is in love with Rand (Arthur), not Lan (Lancelot), and is foretold to be on a boat with him and two other women. <br />
<br />
Lastly, there was an Elaine who was the daughter of Igraine, sister of Morgan and Morgause and half-sister of Arthur. She married King Nentres of Garlot. In the <i>Wheel of Time</i> series, Elaine is the daughter of Morgase and Rand is the son of Tigraine, and Rand was relieved to discover that he and Elayne are not related by blood to each other, even though they share a half-brother, Galad. <br />
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<br />
Mythic and Religious Parallels<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_9uvGFwBLHK8K9RgVT-5HPqMlHD_oUR76SN47HJJMCQNhHdH35vSHhlsaDTQSDfgZDv21w2-DTt8918pdxM5mBTxIpO8gHZu-4sGvNxSxtzV55T1TkPG0i3RxuLv9KfhSoNGw42PLLAF/s1600/Parvati.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_9uvGFwBLHK8K9RgVT-5HPqMlHD_oUR76SN47HJJMCQNhHdH35vSHhlsaDTQSDfgZDv21w2-DTt8918pdxM5mBTxIpO8gHZu-4sGvNxSxtzV55T1TkPG0i3RxuLv9KfhSoNGw42PLLAF/s200/Parvati.jpg" width="150" height="200" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="1067" /></a></div><b><a name="epavarti">Parvati</a></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#shiva">Rand</a> has parallels to the Hindu god Shiva the Destroyer, as does <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html#shiva">Lews Therin</a>. Shiva’s first wife Sati, her fiery death, and Shiva’s violent reaction to it, are more typical of Lews Therin and his beloved Ilyena. However, his second wife, the mother goddess Parvati, Sati’s reincarnation, has similarities to Elayne. Parvati is fair, beautiful and benevolent and usually wears a red dress. The voice of encouragement, reason and strength, she encouraged her ascetic husband to participate in the mundane world. The formal dress of the Queen of Andor is red with white lions. She encouraged Rand with her positivity and taught him much about being a leader and ruling. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="eathena">Athena</a></b><br />
<br />
Athena was the Ancient Greek virginal goddess of handicrafts and warfare and protector of cities. Her birth was unconventional: she sprang fully-formed from the head of Zeus, who is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#zeus">Rand</a>. (Athena’s mother, Metis, is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmetis">Min</a>.) As a goddess of war, Athena has parallels to both Elayne and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aathena">Aviendha</a>, who were directly involved in the fighting in the Last Battle, although they are Rand’s lovers rather than his daughters. Elayne has closer correspondences with Athena’s other attributes: she rules two cities, and rather atypically of royalty, likes making things, notably ter’angreal, and respects and notices craftsmen and craftsmanship. Elayne sews very neatly and is a good cook. Athena is associated with war strategy, and Elayne oversaw the Light’s forces in the Last Battle. One of Athena’s important legends involves devising the strategy that enabled the ancient Greeks to win the Trojan War, which was fought over another of Elayne’s parallels.<br />
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<b><a name="ehelen">Helen of Troy</a></b><br />
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The name Elayne is a variant of Helen. In Geek mythology, Helen of Troy was a child of the Spartan queen Leda and the god Zeus. Zeus disguised himself as a swan and raped—or in some myths, seduced—Leda. That same day, she also made love with her husband Tyndareus. The result was that she laid two eggs, from which hatched Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. Half these offspring were mortal and half immortal, although the myths are inconsistent as to which of them are which. <br />
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Clytemnestra, with her disastrous marriages, has parallels to Elayne’s mother Morgase.
Leda’s quadruple birth is paralleled in the quadruplets that Elayne’s sister-wife Aviendha will carry (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aleda">below</a>). From what Aviendha saw in the glass columns, they are of varied appearance due to their mixed heritage (their father, Rand, having changed bodies). Elayne herself is pregnant with twins. <br />
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Helen was abducted by Paris and taken to Troy, which sparked the Trojan War. In Homer's Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of Troy and wonders why she does not see either of her brothers, Castor or Pollux, among the Greeks who came to take her back. It’s because in Homer’s version of this myth both are dead, ie mortal. Likewise, Elayne’s brothers, being non-channellers, do not have her long lifespan, and Gawyn is already dead.<br />
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<b><a name="eaine">Áine</a></b><br />
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Áine, the Irish goddess of wealth, sovereignty and summer, also has parallels to Elayne besides a similarity in name. A solar figure, Áine is also associated with love and fertility. In some tales, she is raped by the King of Munster but maims him in return, thus rendering him unfit to rule by Irish law. Goddesses of sovereignty can remove a man from rulership as well as grant it. In County Limerick, Áine is regarded as Queen of the Fae. <br />
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Elayne is a queen who is also Aes Sedai, and the Aes Sedai have strong parallels to the Fae, the Fair or Fairy, Folk. Her considerable strength in saidar ranks her highly among Aes Sedai. Ruler of the wealthy country of Andor, her golden hair indicates her solar nature. She is carrying the twins of Rand, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#sol%20invictus">Sol Invictus</a>, who was maimed and, after considerable travails, is now no longer a ruler.<br />
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<b><a name="emacha">Macha</a></b><br />
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Apart from the Irish sovereignty goddess, there are two women named Macha that feature in Irish legend with parallels to Elayne. Macha Mong Ruad (red haired), daughter of Áed Rúad (meaning red fire or fire lord, a name of the Dagda, the good god of Ireland, who in turn has parallels to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#dagda">Rand</a>), was the only queen in the List of High Kings of Ireland, according to both legend and tradition. The kingship was rotated between Áed and his cousins Díthorba and Cimbáeth, each ruling for seven years at a time. However, after Áed died, Macha claimed the right to the kingship when Ared’s turn to rule came round again, but Díthorba and Cimbáeth refused to allow a woman to take the throne. Macha and her forces went into battle against those of Díthorba and Cimbáeth and won, and Díthorba was killed and his sons driven into Connacht. Macha pursued the sons, and captured them. The Ulstermen recommended they be executed, but she enslaved them instead and set them to work building a fort. Macha married Cimbáeth and shared the rulership with him. They ruled together for seven years until Cimbáeth died and then Macha ruled a further fourteen years alone before being killed. Andoran rulership is by tradition matrilineal, and the Andorans were outraged when Rand, albeit with good intentions—consistent with the Dagda being the good god —declared himself king of Andor and said he would give the throne to Elayne. Since she is entitled to it in her own right by descent, Elayne was unimpressed. Elayne has battled other Andoran claimants to the throne, overcome them, and stripped them of their titles and estates (which would normally be a death sentence, especially with the debts they had incurred), but granted them estates in Cairhien so they kept their status as nobles.<br />
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Macha, daughter of Sainrith mac Imbaith, appeared at the house of the widower farmer Cruinniuc and became his common law wife. She was soon pregnant. Cruinnic’s wealth increased while they were together, although Macha warned him that she would only stay with him as long as he kept her secret. Cruinnic promised to say nothing of her to anyone. However, at a festival held by the king of Ulster, Cruinnic boasted that his wife could run faster than the king’s horses, and the king demanded he prove the truth of his claim or be killed. Despite being heavily pregnant, Macha was summoned to the king’s festival and raced against the horses. She won, but gave birth to boy and girl twins on the finish line and in revenge for their disrespect, cursed the Ulstermen to be overcome with weakness for five days at the time of their greatest need, a curse that would last for nine generations. Elayne tried to keep the identity of the father of her twins quiet for some months, even going to the extent of implying that Hanlon was the father. She fought in the Last Battle while heavily pregnant with boy and girl twins, likely to be the Heroes Calian and Shivan. Elayne tried to be merciful as well as firm when dealing out punishments for those who acted against her, steering a course between the two Macha figures.<br />
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<b><a name="esif">Sif</a></b><br />
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Rand is not only Sol Invictus, he is also an analogue of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#thor">Thor</a>, as his surname al’Thor indicates. Thor had a golden-haired wife named Sif, who was very beautiful. Sif is a minor parallel of both Elayne and Min. Elayne matches Sif’s description, while Sif’s considerable powers of prophecy were given to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#msif">Min</a>. After Thor grabbed Loki for cutting Sif’s hair, Loki promised to have dwarf artisans craft a gold headpiece to replace her shorn hair. Elayne wears the golden rose crown on her intact locks. <br />
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<b><a name="esekhmet">Sekhmet</a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnLG1C_VD1PyUZuKJRPGkMZovtwssA3V-Z4xF3b99MRVUKrYOemdJIpjYCmnZdlhbsKIz3943iURsrxZOGn1hrYuNMEauIpQ21MZiiDlCeZWFJKom05rjwsmkNnKfzAYZh6pnUvxsXWU6/s1600/sekhmet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnLG1C_VD1PyUZuKJRPGkMZovtwssA3V-Z4xF3b99MRVUKrYOemdJIpjYCmnZdlhbsKIz3943iURsrxZOGn1hrYuNMEauIpQ21MZiiDlCeZWFJKom05rjwsmkNnKfzAYZh6pnUvxsXWU6/s200/sekhmet.jpg" width="105" height="200" data-original-width="70" data-original-height="133" /></a></div>
Besides the rose crown, the lion, specifically the white lion, is associated with Andor and Elayne. The ancient Egyptian healing and warrior goddess Sekhmet was depicted as a lioness or as a woman dressed in red with the head of a lioness. Her dress may have rosettes on the chest in imitation of the shoulder hair of lions. A solar deity, she protected the pharaohs and guided them in warfare. She could breathe fire or bring plagues, but also ward off plagues.<br />
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The formal dress of the Andoran queen was red emblazoned with white lions. Elayne’s golden hair and sunny personality indicate her solar nature. This was much in evidence as she led the Light’s forces in the Last Battle to buy time for Rand to confront the Dark One. Sekhmet also has positive parallels with the healing lioness Nynaeve, and her negative aspects are evident in <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html#sekhmet">Semirhage</a>. Elayne can channel strongly, but does not have a Talent for Healing. She uses her knowledge of mundane, rather than magical, healing methods to help injured animals. <br />
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<br />
Historic Parallels<br />
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<b><a name="eelizabeth1">Elizabeth 1</a></b><br />
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Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603) was one of the longer reigning monarchs of England, ruling for nearly 45 years, providing a period of stability and growth for the kingdom after the short reigns of her half-siblings. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana the faerie queene, or Good Queen Bess, she was very well educated, and set out to rule by good counsel from a group of trusted advisers led by her crafty Lord High Treasurer and Secretary of State William Cecil. She also relied heavily on her spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham and internal spies and overseas agents. Her secret service was essential to uncover and defeat the various conspiracies to assassinate her. Like Elayne, Elizabeth I had an unexpectedly difficult accession to the throne. She was cut out of the succession and, at one stage, imprisoned in a castle. Andoran fashion is “Elizabethan” in <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/costume-in-wheel-of-time.html#andor">style</a>. The faerie are a major source of inspiration for the Aes Sedai. As a strong channeller, Elayne’s life, and therefore rule, is likely to be very long and provide stability to aid in recovery after the Last Battle. It may be looked back upon as a Golden Age, as Elizabeth’s reign was. We see Elayne in council with her secretary and treasurer Norry and palace chamberlain Harfor as they discuss intelligence and set up spies. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmXrhkzF0_mkq6eIWN-Xnucr6-nka-iMOCsW_QekrG25T9S696tfDIGjuMaMVnwO5lG_LjOgeCt6EWvg-7GU2-lAE5BT75mnZCMaKk31o5ijQ-d9_kQt3Zcecm9c15sGcieGfuK-fZPnB/s1600/Andor+Young+Elizabeth+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmXrhkzF0_mkq6eIWN-Xnucr6-nka-iMOCsW_QekrG25T9S696tfDIGjuMaMVnwO5lG_LjOgeCt6EWvg-7GU2-lAE5BT75mnZCMaKk31o5ijQ-d9_kQt3Zcecm9c15sGcieGfuK-fZPnB/s200/Andor+Young+Elizabeth+1.jpg" width="153" height="200" data-original-width="458" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>It was Elizabeth’s duty to marry and produce an heir so as to continue the Tudor line, just as it is Elayne’s. However, Elizabeth rejected all her numerous prospective suitors, which kept the reins of her kingdom firmly in her own hands, with no influence or rivalry from a consort, in contrast to her cousin Mary Queen of Scots and her half-sister Mary I of England, both of whom are parallels of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/costume-in-wheel-of-time.html#andor">Morgase</a>. However, she did have a close relationship with a few favoured men, notably Robert Dudley. Elayne isn't a Virgin Queen, but she is likely to be an unmarried mother. (It is a solution to the problem of producing an heir without risking political interference or ambition from a husband, as happened to her mother Morgase and to Morgase’s parallel Mary Queen of Scots.) Elizabeth also refused to name an heir once she was beyond child-bearing age for fear of them being a focus of plots to usurp her throne. Elayne encouraged the belief that the father of her babies was Hanlon to keep them from being used to strike at Rand. One of the Shadow’s plots was to cut her babies from her body and deliver them to the Dark One.<br />
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France was a threat to England early in Elizabeth’s reign, but then became tied up in civil war. Likewise, Cairhien, which has strong parallels to France (as well as Japan), plummeted into chaos early in the books, as Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve saw on their journey to Tear. Elayne later pressed her claims on Cairhien and assumed the crown there. This is a parallel of the English monarchs’ battles in the 14th–15th centuries to win back their French estates and take the French throne. Tear is a parallel of Spain, and the Tairen prince Elayne married in one of Rand’s alternative lives shown in the Portal Stone would have been a Spanish prince in Tudor times. Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, married to her sister Mary 1, was King Philip of Spain. He became her enemy later in life.<br />
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Elizabeth’s reign is regarded as a time when the arts flourished, although the achievements of English poets, musicians and dramatists owed little to the queen, who wasn’t a major patron. Elayne showed no appreciation for the new art forms like opera or plays, preferring traditional bards. She did, however found a school, the Rose Academy, and to her dismay, had a Dark School established on her land at the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/shadows-influence-on-black-tower.html#darkschool">Black Tower</a>. Gresham College (which ultimately became the Royal Society) was founded toward the end of Queen Elizabeth 1’s reign.<br />
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At the end of her life, Elizabeth refused to allow doctors to examine her and also refused to rest in bed, but stood for many hours at a time and occasionally sat in a chair. Elayne was unwilling to consult a midwife during her pregnancy, and also refused bed rest when she overextended herself. <br />
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<br />
Symbols<br />
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<b><a name="eempress">Empress Tarot Card </a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZWgwOat7yJDh8uSLfRcWqygEi1G4dEofUgG9xz3XWcPGPVgm6hfOMEr0B1fbotjYsjqKGky1cF2t3xi-nbntyS2GMTx_gcCiHrMmBMMTy0TNTFCXULxRDvyDE24gnIQIs3pgrkfVB9pm/s1600/Empress+GV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZWgwOat7yJDh8uSLfRcWqygEi1G4dEofUgG9xz3XWcPGPVgm6hfOMEr0B1fbotjYsjqKGky1cF2t3xi-nbntyS2GMTx_gcCiHrMmBMMTy0TNTFCXULxRDvyDE24gnIQIs3pgrkfVB9pm/s200/Empress+GV.jpg" width="102" height="200" data-original-width="818" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>As ruler of two countries and liege lady of a pact, Elayne is the second empress figure in the series. The Empress tarot card stands for such powerful women rulers (see Il Meneghello Naibi di Giovanni Vacchetta Empress card right, and US Games Waite-Smith Empress card below left). Her archetype features in medieval morality plays such as the <i>Dance of Death</i>, thought to be one of the inspirations for the trumps of the Tarot cards:<br />
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<blockquote>
As the wife of the Emperor, the Empress partakes in various Dances of Death. “I thought I had a lot of power…Oh, let me live on, I implore you!” she begs the Grim Reaper.<br />
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- Paul Huson, <i>Mystical Origins of the Tarot</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubSAsW7tQpasjzUi94upwg61pHBEp31OMSpFDVh6ngV8754Dh4WKJ5vij2nOEufgOY9vHRlTcn_VNvAJoRgHmE3317w5MVBdnaeHUtlIKYDooofutU9P26Aa9nAyJKjHxbB2ZbXVMooMY/s1600-h/Empress+RW.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349345804257470290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubSAsW7tQpasjzUi94upwg61pHBEp31OMSpFDVh6ngV8754Dh4WKJ5vij2nOEufgOY9vHRlTcn_VNvAJoRgHmE3317w5MVBdnaeHUtlIKYDooofutU9P26Aa9nAyJKjHxbB2ZbXVMooMY/s200/Empress+RW.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 118px;" /></a>This reminds us of how Elayne was made complacent by Min’s viewing that her (and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#emperor">Emperor</a> Rand’s) babies would be born healthy and strong and took risks despite Birgitte’s warnings that it was no guarantee. In the Last Battle, Elayne’s power to channel was neutralised and she screamed in horror as the Shadow prepared to rip the babies from her belly and leave her dead on the battlefield. <br />
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The Empress is a fertility figure and Elayne, as we have seen, is the mother aspect of the three-fold goddess of sovereignty goddess and is pregnant with twins. Besides fertility, the Empress card signifies fruitful action, plenty and protection. Andor is a prosperous nation and Elayne has sizeable estates there, and in Cairhien as well. She is careful to establish laws and stable government so her nations flourish. <br />
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<b><a name="esun">Sun Tarot Card </a></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ-nZqk06hfUlDXmvnMa7wSIENiE0KimPh6cvnUg8n4cLd_3Xf5ET4cIBLnHJnV5N3WEmos9rZVqreI3dWg8MhliLS-WY3t-o2KEbOPTMNT6DCOPEZoBj296EoFXwf5YV1tU7GAYL_m-S/s1600/Sun+RW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ-nZqk06hfUlDXmvnMa7wSIENiE0KimPh6cvnUg8n4cLd_3Xf5ET4cIBLnHJnV5N3WEmos9rZVqreI3dWg8MhliLS-WY3t-o2KEbOPTMNT6DCOPEZoBj296EoFXwf5YV1tU7GAYL_m-S/s200/Sun+RW.jpg" width="118" height="200" data-original-width="940" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Rand is the most solar character in the series, and his love Elayne, with her golden hair, is also strongly solar. As Queen of Cairhien, she holds the Sun Throne as the Sun Queen rather than the Sun King (who was Louis XIV of 17th–18th century France, which has strong parallels with Cairhien). The ancient name of Cairhien means Hill of the Golden Dawn. Appropriately, the Sun is one of the higher ranked cards in the ancient game of Tarocco played with Tarot cards. It follows, and forms a trio with, the Star (representing <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#astart">Aviendha</a>) and Moon (representing <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmoon">Min</a>). The Sun and Moon cards together herald the arrival of the Day of Judgment (Paul Huson, <i>Mystical Origins of the Tarot</i>). In Jordan’s series the Sun and Moon were in the closest conjunction—a total solar eclipse—when Rand entered Shayol Ghul to battle the Dark One.<br />
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The Sun card usually depicts one or two children playing, or two young lovers together, under a cloudless sunny sky shining on a fertile, domesticated landscape (see Waite Smith card above right and Lo Scarabeo Ancient Italian Tarots card below left). The Sun is an immensely positive card, and Rand was impressed with how Elayne, with her bright and sunny nature, would consistently be the only person who immediately saw advantages in situations: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyc7AmmEanMjIClnLWVjDYvUIx5R0GMKpQNwpav-6Q6-mYC54cjL64yuWkYPZUkV2_2Yh9_mYHoT7nD8XwAyg3Bv5shEfBO6j0GhwSyWFTA5ZCTWqURNTJNx2WSq86d5OHLoE4y_Ilm1w/s1600/Sun+Anc+It.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyc7AmmEanMjIClnLWVjDYvUIx5R0GMKpQNwpav-6Q6-mYC54cjL64yuWkYPZUkV2_2Yh9_mYHoT7nD8XwAyg3Bv5shEfBO6j0GhwSyWFTA5ZCTWqURNTJNx2WSq86d5OHLoE4y_Ilm1w/s200/Sun+Anc+It.jpg" width="109" height="200" data-original-width="875" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><blockquote>
"And you remember Lews Therin now?" she whispered. "Everything he knew? That is not just an air you put on?" <br />
"I am him. I always was. I remember it now." <br />
Elayne breathed out, eyes widening. "What an <u>advantage</u>." <br />
Of all the people he had told that to, only she had responded in such a way. What a wonderful woman.<br />
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- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> To Die Well<br />
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As the Beatles song says: "Here comes the Sun...." and then absolutely everything will be all right. The downside of the Sun card is glossing over or ignoring possible shadows, something that Elayne has done from time to time. <br />
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<b><a name="elily">Golden Lily </a></b><br />
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Elayne’s personal sigil, the golden lily, is a reference to Elaine the Lily Lady of Arthurian myth described <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eathur">above</a>. It also indicates her sunny nature, since yellow lilies symbolise happiness and thankfulness.<br />
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<b><a name="ekeystone">Silver Keystone </a></b><br />
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The Trakand house sigil is a silver keystone. The keystone is the apex stone of an arch or vault, the final stone placed in construction that locks all stones into position and allows the building to bear weight. Without it, the feature cannot be self-supporting. Elayne consciously understands the significance of the Trakand sigil as is shown when she thinks that it was more important for her to hold the hearts of Caemlyn’s people than control its bricks and mortar (<i>Winter’s Heart</i> The Streets of Caemlyn). Despite Elayne’s pessimism in <i>Knife of Dreams, </i> The Importance of Dyelin, Trakand was the keystone that held Andor together. Astrologically, the keystone represents the summer solstice, adding further summer and solar symbolism around Elayne. <br />
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<b><a name="elioness">Lion/Lioness </a></b><br />
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While Elayne holds the Sun throne as Queen of Cairhien, her first throne was the Lion throne of Andor—a lion queen with the Lion banner. For much of the series, she works in partnership with Nynaeve, who also has <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/not-just-dragon-animal-symbolism.html#lion">lioness symbolism</a>. The lion represents vigilance, fortitude, dignity and courage, which both women exemplify. Lionesses are known to be very protective, and this is further emphasised by being coupled with sword symbolism.<br />
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<b><a name="esword">Sword</a></b><br />
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Elayne is the lion sword of Nicola’s foretelling: <br />
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<blockquote>
"The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives.<br />
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- <i>Lord of Chaos</i>, Dreams and Nightmares<br />
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Swords are used to represent kingly power and the right to ennoble commoners. They indicate strength, action, aggression, decision-making and justice: leadership in all its forms. They are used in war, in destruction and in defence. We see Queen Elayne dispense justice, change the status of nobles, and make decisions in war and peace.<br />
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<b><a name="aviendha">AVIENDHA</a></b><br />
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We first see Aviendha as a Maiden of the Spear who was unwilling to learn to channel, and had to be reminded of her toh to her people (an insult by Aiel mores). Her former Maiden ties were burned before her eyes and slowly she transitioned into a wise woman and then ultimately to a mother (of four at once). Hers has been a remarkable progression to embrace all three aspects of the three-fold goddess of sovereignty in her journey to be a leader in the Three-fold Land, the Aiel Waste. <br />
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<b><a name="awasteland">Queen of the Waste Lands in Arthurian Legend</a></b><br />
<br />
Aviendha’s role as one of Rand’s three Guineveres was discussed <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#3guineveres">above</a>, but she is also Queen of the Waste Lands. The Wasteland is a Celtic motif wherein the barrenness of a land is due to a curse that must be lifted by a hero. The idea that the health of the land and its ruler are one is common in Celtic folklore. In Irish myth, the land of the High King, Conn of the Hundred Battles, declines into a wasteland when he marries an adulteress. Conn visits the Otherworld for a time, and his wife is exiled while he is away, lifting the curse. In Arthurian myth, the health of the land is linked to a tragic but unexplained wounding of its ruler. Other versions of Arthurian myth emphasise the king’s wound rather than the Wasteland. For instance, in Chrétien de Troyes' <i>Perceval, the Story of the Grail</i>, the Fisher King can be healed only if Sir Perceval asks him to explain the Grail’s features, but he refrains from talking too much and does not. Perceval is instructed on the Quest for the Holy Grail by his aunt, who is named the Queen of the Waste Land. In Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, the Queen of the Wasteland is one of the queens who take the mortally wounded Arthur by barge to the island of Avalon after he falls at Camlann. <br />
<br />
It was Rand, the Fisher, already wounded in his side, who asked questions in the Otherworld of the Aelfinn about how to heal the Land, rather than wait for someone to ask him. These answers led him to the Aiel Waste(land) and to finding the access keys to the great sa’angreal (San Greal) statues. Later he realized that "How can I destroy the Dark One?" was the wrong question, because the Dark One needs to exist to provide humanity with the choice of good versus evil (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinns-answers.html">Aelfinn Answers</a> article). Had he not realised this, he would have doomed all the Lands to be blighted and destroyed. <br />
<br />
The Aiel are cursed to stay in the Waste which is<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
“a shaping stone, to make, us; a testing ground, to prove our worth; and a punishment for the sin.” … “It must have been a very great sin if they cannot bring themselves to tell us, but the Creator punishes us well.”<br />
<br />
- <i>The Great Hunt,</i> A New Thread in the Pattern<br />
<br /></blockquote>
Their sin was abandoning their covenants to follow the Way of the Leaf and serve the Aes Sedai. In the Waste, the breaking of Rhuidean’s wards symbolizes the beginning of the lifting of this curse. <br />
<br />
Aviendha’s first trip through the glass columns in the Waste’s holy city of Rhuidean showed her that <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
the Aiel did deserve their punishment in the Three-fold Land, and they did have toh—as a people—to the Aes Sedai.<br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Near Avendesora<br />
<br /></blockquote>
This toh will be met by fighting in the Last Battle. But beyond? Aviendha herself asks the glass columns to show her more and is led through the Aiel’s future of a devastated society and culture, a future it is her responsibility to prevent. The Aiel must become less prejudiced against other nations, develop ways to deal with conflict or aggression that don't involve warfare, follow the spirit of the Dragon’s peace pact, and stay in the promised land of the Wetlands that he led them to rather than isolating themselves in the Waste. <br />
<br />
<br />
Mythic Parallels<br />
<br />
<b><a name="aleda">Leda</a></b><br />
<br />
Aviendha’s predicted fate to have four children is a parallel of Leda, the legendary Spartan queen who was raped by the Ancient Greek god Zeus in the guise of a swan. That night she also made love with her husband Tyndareus. The result was that she laid two eggs, from which hatched Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. Half the offspring were mortal and half immortal, although the myths are inconsistent as to which these are, and they may not necessarily reflect the mortality of their father.<br />
<br />
Rand, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#zeus">Zeus</a>, visited his three women in Caemlyn disguised as an incredibly ugly duckling. While he obtained the consent of Elayne and Aviendha before making love to each, he did not do so for Min, and thought he had forced himself upon her. From the glass columns and her memories of the three rings ter’angreal, we see that Aviendha’s quadruplets are likely to be two boys and two girls and that the odd thing about them is that they can channel almost from birth and keep hold of the One Power all the time. They are dissimilar in appearance, as Leda’s offspring are dissimilar. One of Leda’s offspring bears a name, Helen, that is a variant of the name of Aviendha’s sister-wife <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#ehelen">Elayne</a>. Jordan frequently keeps the names but shifts the relationships around when he makes real-world allusions.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="aathena">Athena</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7RxAExp3rWaklzE61wwehjx5SlfsPAUEELZNWOV8x_mX2UJfAwySU1vNxt5RFAA5z7U929lt1uuVUPGZxzGZLgxeO3HSGpLFHQBOsImbdEaAC-hrJOD43Mk9Vaf1P4ftgW37LTRy1xRj/s1600/Athena+bith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7RxAExp3rWaklzE61wwehjx5SlfsPAUEELZNWOV8x_mX2UJfAwySU1vNxt5RFAA5z7U929lt1uuVUPGZxzGZLgxeO3HSGpLFHQBOsImbdEaAC-hrJOD43Mk9Vaf1P4ftgW37LTRy1xRj/s200/Athena+bith.jpg" width="136" height="200" data-original-width="185" data-original-height="272" /></a></div>Aviendha and Elayne both have attributes of Athena, the Ancient Greek goddess of warfare and handicrafts (especially weaving), who was the offspring of the chief Greek god, Zeus, and his consort Metis, a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#mmetis">Min</a>. Athena was born from the head of Zeus, and gave him a nasty headache late in her gestation until she sprang from it, fully-armed. Zeus brought this on himself: he found Metis irresistible, but then, after having sex with her, remembered the prophecy that Metis’ children would be very powerful, particularly her second child, a boy, so he swallowed Metis and her newly conceived child to prevent the prophecy. He was successful: Metis was not freed when Athena was freed, and conceived no further children. Aviendha was appalled and angry at her fate to love Rand, when her friend Elayne had a prior claim to his affections, and took it out on Rand. It was Aviendha who was very conscious that Rand had far more status than she and was frustrated at this until Min made her realise she should stand up for herself with the Wise Ones to claim her rightful status. The Wise Ones praised Aviendha’s weaving skill as a channeller, saying she was outstanding:<br />
<br />
You have a control and understanding of weaves that puts most of us to shame. Others have to struggle to learn what comes naturally to you. 'Roughness to your weaves,' she says! I doubt any of the Aes Sedai, save perhaps Cadsuane Sedai, could have managed what you did with that column of water. <br />
<br />
- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> The Death of Adrin<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Aviendha was a warrior, a former Maiden of the Spear, and was directly involved in the fighting and military tactics at Thakan’dar. She is determined to prevent the visions she saw in the glass columns of her own children being a leading cause of the decay of the Aiel. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="apenthesilea">Penthesilea</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrDvEeeyJdFtweyz6DwZMp9ouy98XFoK-5RizS8fFPdge3f_TrT4pPF9h0vasmu4T_nN3YQBID3Aa5-Ld9ZbjSQTCDmw3ZtP92oTvbhHjNJxhUhFjeE_hnRG8VJAOiq8QoC4OPB4nbpgq/s1600/Penthesilea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrDvEeeyJdFtweyz6DwZMp9ouy98XFoK-5RizS8fFPdge3f_TrT4pPF9h0vasmu4T_nN3YQBID3Aa5-Ld9ZbjSQTCDmw3ZtP92oTvbhHjNJxhUhFjeE_hnRG8VJAOiq8QoC4OPB4nbpgq/s200/Penthesilea.jpg" width="130" height="200" data-original-width="582" data-original-height="898" /></a></div>The Maidens of the Spear are an allusion to the Amazons, legendary Ancient Greek women warriors. The Amazonian queen Penthesilea was a daughter of the Greek war god Ares, and was stronger and more skilled than previous queens. She arrived at the Trojan War with 12 Amazonian warriors to fight on the side of Troy and distinguished herself on the battlefield before being killed by the Greek warrior Achilles. In one myth, Penthesilea fought at Troy because she had accidentally killed her sister Hippolyta with a spear when they were hunting deer and felt so much guilt and grief that she wanted to die, but by custom had to fall honourably in battle. Penthesileia is regarded as the last Amazon to be distinguished for her prowess in battle, with the Amazons declining in subsequent generations to the extent that the legends about them were eventually regarded as fictitious.<br />
<br />
The theme of knowledge and skills lost over time and history changing to legend and then to myth is very important in the series. Aviendha is a strong channeller and very dexterous in her weaving, as well as an experienced warrior. Despite being pushed mercilessly into becoming a Wise One before the Last Battle, she was nearly too late to divert the Aiel from their disastrous future. Aviendha killed her uncle Rhuarc after Graendal Compelled him, but did not, however, feel that she had toh for her kinslaying. She did feel that she had toh to Elayne for lying with Rand. The Aiel as a whole fought for Rand in the Last Battle to meet their toh to the Aes Seda. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="aartemis">Artemis</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWy03RhybYIeUvasinSKT02VmfyG07-2mLrIfMNoGWP7eh8J3DFsBcjqTwnm0bQlRwK2BSi5WVCqRP2XFfwpUF2iio6WqIMflhG9joNGQ3sVRsZkV3lT_b68CIJATtJjkMZq7iGABLRxZ/s1600/Artemis+acteon+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWy03RhybYIeUvasinSKT02VmfyG07-2mLrIfMNoGWP7eh8J3DFsBcjqTwnm0bQlRwK2BSi5WVCqRP2XFfwpUF2iio6WqIMflhG9joNGQ3sVRsZkV3lT_b68CIJATtJjkMZq7iGABLRxZ/s200/Artemis+acteon+1.jpg" width="200" height="149" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="894" /></a></div>Aviendha was bathing in a room in Cairhien when Rand unexpectedly walked in, and she fled through a gateway exclaiming that she had not arranged for him to see her nude (<i>The Fires of Heaven,</i> The Far Snows). This is a reference to the Ancient Greek goddess of maidens and the hunt, Artemis, bathing in a pool when the Greek hero Acteon happened upon her. Artemis was furious as well as appalled and turned Acteon into a stag, resulting in him being torn apart by his own hunting dogs. Rand got a better reception from Aviendha when he caught up with her in Seanchan, but after they made love, they had to get past some Seanchan hunting Aviendha down, having sensed her channelling to make the gateway. Morsa, the Seanchan noble with the group, recognised Rand and offered him an “easing of his sufferings” and great honour if he surrendered to her, but he knew that men who could channel were hunted and shot down on sight. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="aasteria">Asteria</a></b><br />
<br />
The Ancient Greek star goddess Asteria was beloved by Zeus, and took quail form and threw herself into the sea to become an island to escape his sexual advances. As well as being associated with falling stars, she was also perhaps the goddess of night-time divinatory techniques such as oneiromancy (divination by dreams) and astrology (divination by stars). She was the mother of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, by the Titan Perses, god of destruction.<br />
<br />
Aviendha fled to Seanchan via her first gateway to avoid Rand, but he followed after her and they made love. Rand has described himself as a destroyer, and Aviendha’s four children by him are prophesied to be odd, because they are super magic-users—super-witches—being able to channel from birth. <br />
<br />
Aviendha doesn’t have a talent for the World of Dreams, and Jordan’s world does not include divination by the stars, but she found “reading” the glass columns to be a dark experience, a true night-journey, wherein she saw the horrifying future of the Aiel:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
She tried to read ter'angreal as she had done before, but this one was vast. Incomprehensible, like the One Power itself. She inhaled sharply, disoriented by the weight of what she felt. It was as if she had suddenly fallen into a deep, dark pit.<br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> Near Avendesora<br />
<br /></blockquote>
It is likely that Aviendha was in Tel’aran’rhiod, the World of Dreams, when she encountered the mysterious Nakomi at night and was gently nudged into re-thinking her parochial attitudes.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="aminnehaha">Minnehaha</a></b><br />
<br />
Nakomi, bearer of an ancient name, is a parallel of Nokomis, grandmother of Nanabozho/ Manabozho, the trickster figure of the Ojibwe Native Americans. In his poem <i>The Song of Hiawatha,</i> Longfellow called Nanabozho Hiawatha, mistakenly believing they were the same. The historic Hiawatha was a highly skilled orator who aided the Great Peacemaker in forging the Iroquois confederacy. Such alteration of history and myth over time is one of Jordan’s most important themes. <br />
<br />
In <i>The Song of Hiawatha</i>, Minnehaha was Hiawatha’s beloved. Hiawatha was raised by his grandmother Nokomis, after Hiawatha’s mother, Wenonah, was seduced and abandoned by the spirit Mudjekeewis, and died giving birth to him. Nokomis had warned Wenonah against Mudjekeewis, but she succumbed to his seduction. <br />
<br />
Jordan said that he used elements of the Cheyenne and Apache Native Americans, amongst many other peoples, in creating the Aiel. Rand is like the historic Hiawatha in the way he united the Aiel clans and also the Westland nations with his Dragon’s Peace, and also like the fictional Hiawatha with his mother dying while giving birth to him as Wenona also did. Minnehaha, Hiawatha’s wife, would be a parallel of Aviendha. Rand’s mother was warned that the world was doomed unless she went to dwell among the Maidens of the Spear, telling no one of her going. Rand’s beloved, Aviendha encountered Nakomi in the Waste and was given insight from Nakomi’s comments that spurred her to find out more from the glass columns, inadvertently triggering it to show her the Aiel’s likely future, and thereby saving her people from their Trail of Tears. Nakomi is not literally either Rand’s or Aviendha’s grandmother, although she is wise and knowledgeable. (For further description of Nakomi’s parallels to Nokomis see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-n.html#nakomi">Character Names N</a> article). <br />
<br />
<br />
Historic Parallels<br />
<br />
<b><a name="aborte">Börte</a></b><br />
<br />
Rand as the Car’a’carn has similarities with <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#khan">Genghis Khan</a>, the Khan of Khans, and Aviendha has some parallels with Genghis Khan’s first wife, Börte (c. 1161–1230). Börte was born into the Olkhunut tribe, where her father, Dei Seichen, was a chieftain. This tribe was friendly to the Khiyad tribe, into which Genghis was born. It is probable that her marriage to Genghis was arranged by Genghis' father to solidify relations between their two tribes. <br />
<br />
Shortly after she and Genghis were married, Börte was kidnapped by three members of the Merkit, a rival tribe. Eight months later, Genghis, with his allies Wang Khan and Jamuha, rescued her from her captors. She gave birth to a son, Jochi, after she was rescued, leaving doubt as to who the father of the child was. Genghis accepted him as his son, but his brothers would not accept him as their ruler and Genghis had to choose another son as his successor. Jochi then became a Mongolian army commander. Genghis had other wives, but only Börte's sons were considered to be his heirs. She gave birth to four sons and five daughters, who were the key bloodline which further expanded the Mongol Empire. <br />
<br />
Aviendha is the niece of the chieftain of the Taardad clan. Her fate, as she saw in the oval rings ter’angreal in Rhuidean, is to love Rand, and when the Wise Ones realised their attraction, they pushed Aviendha as close to Rand as he would accept, so she could be a bridge between the two cultures and Rand could understand his Aiel heritage. Rand himself was born and raised outside the Waste, and many Aiel were reluctant to accept him as the Car’a’carn. <br />
<br />
It is one of Rand’s other loves, Elayne, who was kidnapped by the Shadow, and Elayne who spread falsehoods about the parentage of her unborn children. She will have twins, but Aviendha will birth four babies at one time. All are a key bloodline to events in the Fourth Age, as Aviendha saw in the glass columns in Rhuidean. She is determined to improve the outcome of that fate.<br />
<br />
<br />
Symbols<br />
<br />
<b><a name="astart">Star Tarot Card </a></b><br />
<br />
While Aviendha could be regarded a solar character like Elayne, symbolised by her red-gold hair, she doesn’t have Elayne’s sunny nature, being rather more determined than optimistic. It’s well to remember that the sun is also a star, and the Star tarot card is a good fit for Aviendha. The card offers hope and a glimpse of the future—on a mundane level, it means waiting for dawn and daylight, on a spiritual level, waiting for hopes answered, even salvation.<br />
<br />
The stars in the sky are distant, but they also guide people to their destination. For much of the series, Aviendha had to wait for her time to shine. She was the last main character to reach her station. The hope the Star card offers is eventual success, which must be waited or worked for, so long as the person remains steadfast on their goal. This Aviendha did, if rather grimly at times. Aviendha had glimpses of her future in the three rings ter’angreal, and then in the glass columns in Rhuidean, after she re-tuned them. In that sense she is the only main character, apart from Moiraine, who has been so guided. The Wise Ones advise accepting fate and using the glimpses from the rings to guide your life, but then they never saw the complete corruption and decay of their people until Aviendha informed them of it. Appalled by what she saw in the columns, Aviendha is taking steps to prevent that future from occurring. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKJkeGXLv0fhj7ECcIPjrZh7vA1uONJbG1vVu9OEYgixe9m5FyOzD9_-WgRAoJ99GFbXnaHR9J2gEInUeXdnzNW93cfn2g2Pm91iPMala9SYGAjmEG11kxC4ewBU8v_SGh0G89jZ7_yTR/s1600/Star+Dodal+Marseilles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKJkeGXLv0fhj7ECcIPjrZh7vA1uONJbG1vVu9OEYgixe9m5FyOzD9_-WgRAoJ99GFbXnaHR9J2gEInUeXdnzNW93cfn2g2Pm91iPMala9SYGAjmEG11kxC4ewBU8v_SGh0G89jZ7_yTR/s200/Star+Dodal+Marseilles.jpg" width="113" height="200" data-original-width="903" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>The Star tarot card often depicts a woman pouring water on bare ground and into a pool under the stars (see Marseille Jean Dodal by Flornoy, right). This ties in with the grim doom that the Dragon is prophesied to bring the Aiel:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
He shall spill out the blood of those who call themselves Aiel as water on sand, and he shall break them as dried twigs, yet the remnant of a remnant shall he save, and they shall live.<br />
<br />
- <i>The Shadow Rising</i>, He Who Comes with the Dawn<br />
<br /></blockquote>
Aviendha is set to keep that remnant from withering away in degradation. It’s a warning as well as a guiding hope.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="aspear">Spear </a></b><br />
<br />
Aviendha is the dedicated spear of Nicola’s foretelling: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"The lion sword, the dedicated spear, she who sees beyond. Three on the boat, and he who is dead yet lives.<br />
<br />
- <i>Lord of Chaos</i>, Dreams and Nightmares<br />
<br /></blockquote>
The spear symbolises directness and honour, and is appropriately the Aiel weapon of choice. Aviendha is very direct with people and much concerned with earning and keeping honour. She prizes military valour and also strength, both physical and mental, two other attributes of the spear.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a name="min">MIN</a></b><br />
<br />
When we first see Min, she wears boys’ clothes and is working at an inn. It is unusual for a seeress to work as a stablehand. Most oracles, particularly those who are accurate—and Min’s viewings are never wrong, even if she doesn’t always understand them—are in less obscure positions, and eventually Min will be too. Min is a tomboy compared to Aviendha the warrior, but she actively protected the empress—her body as well as her ethics—and Rand, the Creator’s champion—his body, mind and destiny. <br />
<br />
Min’s burden is that she can’t change tragic viewings, and in her early days found that warning people only made matters worse. Is she always believed, unlike the unfortunate Cassandra of Greek mythology? Not at first. Some of those whose “fortunes” she “told” thought she made them happen, even if only by saying them. These unhappy people had a point: Min did bring about the fulfillment of her own viewings a couple of times. In <i>all</i> kinds of divination, the diviner <i>participates</i> in the divination (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/fate-free-will-and-divining-pattern.html">Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern</a> essay). In Min’s case, accurately seeing pieces of the pattern led her to study the <i>Wheel of Time</i> world’s philosophy to solve the riddles of prophecy that will enable Rand to win his battle against the Dark One.<br />
<br />
<br />
Mythic parallels – Oracular<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mcassandra">Cassandra</a></b><br />
<br />
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a priestess of Apollo who was cursed by the god to utter true prophecies, but never to be believed, after she refused his advances. The daughter of King Priam of Troy, her older brother was Hector, hero of the Greco-Trojan war that was sparked by the abduction of Helen (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#ehelen">Elayne</a>). Cassandra foresaw that Paris would abduct Helen and cause the war and warned him not to go to Sparta. However, she was considered a liar, or mad, and was disregarded. As Apollo intended, her gift of prophecy caused her grief and frustration. <br />
<br />
When her gift first manifested, Min also was thought a liar for a time, then a witch, or even evil:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
“I was twelve when it started, and I didn’t know to make a secret of it. Everybody thought I was just making things up. Until I said a man on the next street was going to marry a woman I saw him with, only he was already married. When he ran off with her, his wife brought a mob to my aunt’s house claiming I was responsible, that I’d used the One Power on her husband or given the two of them some kind of potion.” Min shook her head. “She wasn’t too clear. She just had to blame somebody. There was talk of me being a Darkfriend, too.” <br />
<br />
- <i> A Crown of Swords</i>, The Butcher’s Yard<br />
<br /></blockquote>
After some years, Min’s viewings were accepted as true, but Min gets little joy from seeing events she would like to prevent. Sometimes speaking up does cause them to be fulfilled, such as when Min warned Rand to stay away from the rebel Aes Sedai in Caemlyn, so he fled to Cairhien, where he was abducted by the Tower Aes Sedai, and Min with him. <br />
<br />
Another Ancient Greek oracle of Apollo reflects Min’s prestigious position with the Seanchan.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mpythia">Pythia</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsmXRxmLPOBB3T_6jWZwh_H8aG6LJ6mxL8PfMaL7hZqcqjlu-nIdQkACTF4SzC9AhNKBGud3ksNQDz9bugKuEJJJM_JoL9vg_NfNu3av3fCMJxxuI6lCu1Sjba9kunsnO6drpXscFu7QL/s1600/Pythia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsmXRxmLPOBB3T_6jWZwh_H8aG6LJ6mxL8PfMaL7hZqcqjlu-nIdQkACTF4SzC9AhNKBGud3ksNQDz9bugKuEJJJM_JoL9vg_NfNu3av3fCMJxxuI6lCu1Sjba9kunsnO6drpXscFu7QL/s200/Pythia.jpg" width="200" height="159" data-original-width="1024" data-original-height="816" /></a></div>The Pythia was the Oracle of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and had prestige and authority in Ancient Greece, being consulted prior to important actions or decisions. Oracles were thought to be the vehicles through which the gods spoke to humans, whereas seers in ancient Greece interpreted omens sent by the gods, such as the movements of animals and birds, animal entrails, etc (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/fate-free-will-and-divining-pattern.html#divining">Fate, Free Will and Diving the Pattern</a> essay).<br />
<br />
The Oracle of Delphi was believed to be selected from the priestesses at the temple, who were chaste women of good character. There were up to three women serving as Pythia at any one time, two prophesying and one in reserve, perhaps yet another example of the triple goddess. Both the Pythia and Cassandra were described as going into frenzied trances to commune with Apollo, and the Pythia’s life was believed to be shortened by the strain of her service.<br />
<br />
The Pythia’s pronouncements were lucid, but as open to misinterpretation as any of Min’s viewings. A famous example was when Croesus King of Lydia consulted the oracle about attacking Persia and was told “If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed.” He believed that this indicated his success in the enterprise and attacked, but it was Croesus’ own empire that was destroyed.<br />
<br />
The Empress was delighted to gain a Doomseer, a Truthspeaker who can directly see pieces of the Pattern, and was even in awe of her ability. Previously the Seanchan were guided by interpreting <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/omens.html">omens</a>—which also work in Jordan’s world, just not as readily due to their complexity (<i>Knife of Dreams,</i> Dragon’s Eggs). As Doomseer, Min is now sacred to the Seanchan, too holy to be touched:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Fortuona ignored her, standing. "This woman is my new Soe'feia. Doomseer, Truthspeaker! Holy woman, she who may not be touched. We have been blessed. Let it be known. The Crystal Throne has not had a true reader of the omens for over three centuries!" <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Friendly Fire<br />
<br /></blockquote>
With so much depending on her Doomseer’s reliability and integrity, Tuon tested Min to see whether she would be unjust or untrustworthy. Her viewings do not put Min under physical strain, as the act of foretelling does Elaida:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
As usual, the Foretelling left her [Elaida] trembling, gasping for breath. She forced herself to stand still and straight, to breathe slowly; she never let anyone see weakness.<br />
<br />
- <i>A Crowns of Swords,</i> Prologue<br />
<br /></blockquote>
but Min’s lifespan will be far shorter than that of those who foretell, since she cannot touch the One Power.<br />
<br />
As well as an oracle—a prophetess of sanctity tied to a place—Min is like a sibyl, prophetesses that were often independent of temples, with some wandering from place to place.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="msibyl">Sibyls and the Sibylline books</a></b><br />
<br />
Prior to being co-opted by the Empress, Min was consulted by Moiraine, then Siuan, then Cairhienin noblewomen, and of course, Rand. Min is a sibyl <u>but</u> she also studied books of prophecy—various translations and commentaries on the Karaethon Cycle—more than most people, and more importantly, made far more sense of them than most scholars, with the main aim of helping Rand, which almost no one else was doing.<br />
<br />
The Cumaean Sibyl sold a famous collection of prophecies made by sibyls, the Sibylline books, to the last Ancient Roman king, Tarquinius Superbus. Rather than give foreknowledge of important events, the books advised on the necessary rites for calamities portended by various unusual occurrences or omens such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, sieges of cities, birth of hermaphrodites and other extraordinary natural occurrences. The abnormal events were expected to happen during and before times of crises, as expressions of the gods' will. A later, completely separate collection of Sibylline Oracles describes allegorical visions and apocalyptic prophecies. <br />
<br />
The Age of Legends has parallels to Ancient Rome (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/age-of-legends.html">Age of Legends</a> article), with Lews Therin, who held ultimate power at the end of the Age, a parallel of Tarquinius the last <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html#tarquinius">King of Ancient Rome</a>. Rand and Min studied prophecies for guidance, particularly about Rand’s battle with the Dark One. Rand believed that the Prophecies of the Dragon don’t describe what will happen, only what must if certain other things are to happen. In this sense they are like the Sibylline books which describe how to avert disaster and ameliorate the effects of unusual omens. These omens are the sort of thing the Seanchan would be interested in. It is probable that, like the sayings of the Sibylline books, the actual prophecies of the Karaethon Cycle are in no particular order. <br />
<br />
The Seanchan have strong parallels with Imperial Japan and China, both of which had omen-reading systems of divination. Min herself is a hugely positive omen for the Seanchan, especially at such a dangerous period of history, as Fortuona acknowledged when she said that they were blessed to have a true reader of omens; which means that <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#fortuna">Fortune</a> herself was blessed with good fortune. Her Doomseer saved her life and also prevented a Forsaken from sabotaging the Seanchan’s contribution to the Last Battle.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="monmyoji"> Onmyōji and Onmyōdō </a></b><br />
<br />
Onmyōdō was a divination system developed in Japan from the Chinese philosophies of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html#balance">Yin-yang</a> and Wu Xing (<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/weaves-and-talents.html#fivepowers">Five Agents</a>) that were introduced into Japan at the beginning of the 6th century, and further influenced by <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html#taoism">Taoism</a> and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html#reincarnation">Buddhism</a> in the 7th century. Jordan drew on all these philosophies when creating the <i>Wheel of Time</i>.<br />
<br />
Auspicious or inauspicious signs present in the natural world were used to predict good or bad fortune in the human world. The Japanese imperial court increasingly adopted this form of divination, and its practitioners, government-controlled onmyōji, came to have great influence over the personal lives of the Emperor and the nobility of the courts from the 7th century to the 19th, when it was prohibited as superstition. Onmyōji performed divination and were believed to divine auspicious or harmful influences in the earth, avert disasters, identify favourable or unfavourable times or directions of travel, and protect the capital from evil spirits, even recommending it be moved. Min protected the empress and her court by identifying unfavourable persons such as Yulan and Moghedien through her viewings and forced the Empress to return her forces to the battlefield at Merrilor. Note that the moment the Empress knew of Min’s ability she co-opted her for her personal seeress to aid her decisions of state and tested her trustworthiness.<br />
<br />
Abe no Seimei (921–1005) was a famous onmyōji who analyzed remarkable or unusual occurrences, conducted exorcisms, warded against evil spirits, and performed geomantic rites. He was noted for divining the sex of foetuses and finding lost objects. The Japanese emperor erected a shrine in honour of Seimei in Kyoto after his death. Min identified the sex of Melaine’s foetuses and that Elaine had twins at an early stage of pregnancy.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mmary"> Mary the Prophetess </a></b><br />
<br />
Mary the Prophetess was an alchemist that lived at some time in the 1st–3rd centuries AD, probably in Egypt. She was regarded with huge respect for her alchemical experiments, apparatus and textbooks. The alchemist was said to know the preparation of the caput mortuum—the nigredo—and spoke of the union of opposites: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Join the male and the female, and you will find what is sought; One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth. <br />
<br /></blockquote>
Jordan split Mary the Prophetess between two characters: Mary’s chemical achievements are attributes of Aludra, while her alchemical commentary is similar to prophetic riddles that Min helped Rand to solve. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one…<br />
“I think the passage refers to some way he has to use Callandor. "<br />
"I see," Cadsuane said, turning yet another page in her own book. "That is a very unconventional interpretation." Beldeine smiled thinly, turning back to her embroidery. "Of course," Cadsuane added, "you are quite right." <br />
<br />
- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> Reading the Commentary <br />
<br />
"There's a phrase," Min said, "in the Jendai Prophecy. I wish we knew more of them. Anyway, it says 'and the Blade will bind him by twain.'"<br />
"Two women," Rand said. "I need to be in a circle with two women to control it."
She grimaced. <br />
"What?" Rand said. "You might as well be out with it, Min. I need to know." <br />
"There's another phrase, from the Karaethon Cycle. Anyway, I think that Callandor might be flawed beyond that. I think it might . . . Rand, I think it might make you weak, open you to attack, if you use it." <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Storm of Light<br />
<br /></blockquote>
The expression in the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/off-shore-prophecy.html">Jendai Prophecy</a> “bind him by two (twain)” did not mean that Rand would be bound by two women in a circle, but that Moridin would be forcibly brought into the circle by the two women: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Light is held before the maw of the infinite void, and all that he is can be seized. <br />
<br />
- <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Storm of Light<br />
<br /></blockquote>
And the successful solution to these riddles is very like Mary’s alchemical precept. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
This was the most dangerous part of the plan. Min had figured it out…<br />
"Link!" Rand commanded. <br />
They fed it to him. Power. <br />
Saidar from the women. <br />
The True Power from Moridin. <br />
Saidin from Rand. <br />
<br />
Moridin's channeling the True Power here threatened to destroy them all, but they buffered it with saidin and saidar, then directed all three at the Dark One. <br />
<br />
Rand punched through the blackness there and created a conduit of light and darkness, turning the Dark One's own essence upon him… <br />
<br />
With a bellow—three Powers coursing through him, blood streaming down his side—the Dragon Reborn raised a hand of power and seized the Dark One through the Bore, like a man reaching through water to grab the prize at the river's bottom. <br />
<br />
- <i>A Memory of Light,</i> Watching the Flow Writhe<br />
<br /></blockquote>
The male and female powers, saidin and saidar, were joined to find what was sought (to trap and seal away the Dark One), the two women forced Moridin to link with them, thus bringing a third power (the True Power) to be added to the two halves of the One Power with Rand as the fourth in the ring. He was the One who sealed away the Dark One and brought the world out of the Third Age into the Fourth Age. The sacred conjunction in triple form enabled the achievement of the Great Work (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-refining-principle-alchemical.html">Alchemical Symbolism</a> essay).<br />
<br />
<b><a name="marthurian">Arthurian myth</a></b> <br />
<br />
Min is likely the “she who sees beyond” in Nicola’s foretelling of three on the boat, a parallel of the three queens in Arthurian myth who take King Arthur to the Otherworld in a funeral barge. As a seer, Min also has parallels to Merlin, especially when she broke the news to Rand that he and Egwene (a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/09/character-parallels-egwene-and-gawyn.html#eguinevere">Guinevere</a>) will not marry. Merlin advised Arthur <u>not</u> to marry Guinevere because she would cause the fall of Camelot.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="msif">Sif </a></b><br />
<br />
The Norse god Thor’s beautiful wife Sif is described in the Prose Edda as "a prophetess called Sibyl”. Rand al’Thor is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#thor">Thor</a> and Sif is a minor parallel of both Min and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#esif">Elayne</a>; Elayne matches Sif physically, while Min has her prophetic abilities.<br />
<br />
Another Norse goddess who is a seeress is Frigg, Odin’s wife.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mfrigg">Frigg</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEujYEru_KSqgzpR_xhTXqAdtp4fTmoBlc4P3LkZ-EoUxpkBsAcWrjKTHKHsrGP3HjHxwKIDnv55UCfqPhhuZU_Lv5c6rgrzUZRJu9qaOf5RPeIg5KfzV0r0VuVugYG8-0BdK3RR6b8lQI/s1600/FriggSpinning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEujYEru_KSqgzpR_xhTXqAdtp4fTmoBlc4P3LkZ-EoUxpkBsAcWrjKTHKHsrGP3HjHxwKIDnv55UCfqPhhuZU_Lv5c6rgrzUZRJu9qaOf5RPeIg5KfzV0r0VuVugYG8-0BdK3RR6b8lQI/s200/FriggSpinning.jpg" width="200" height="136" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="815" /></a></div>The god Odin is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-mat.html#odin">Mat</a> and while Min isn’t married to Mat, she is the Doomseer to Mat’s wife Fortuona and has become close to Mat as the two countryside Andorans adapt to Seanchan ways. Frigg is said to have the power of prophecy, but does not tell others what she sees. Min found out the hard way that telling people who have not consulted her opinion of what she sees around them is often disastrous. Frigg's companion is Eir, a goddess associated with medical skills and a parallel of Nynaeve, who was united with Min to help Rand reach the Last Battle.<br />
<br />
<br />
Mythic Parallels – Non-Oracular <br />
<br />
<b><a name="mmetis">Metis</a></b><br />
<br />
In Greek mythology, Metis was one of Zeus’s important consorts. Noted for her wisdom, prudence and counsel, she helped Zeus free his siblings from the belly of his father Cronus after he swallowed them, by providing Zeus with a potion to make Cronus vomit them up. Zeus then dismembered Cronus and threw him into the pit of Tartarus. Zeus made love to Metis, and then remembered that Metis was prophesied to have two very powerful children, particularly the second, a son who would overthrow Zeus. In a case of like-father-like-son, Zeus swallowed Metis, who was pregnant with Athena (who is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#aathena">Aviendha</a> and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#eathena">Elayne</a>). While inside Zeus, Metis constructed armour for Athena. The full-armoured Athena gave Zeus nasty headaches, then burst from his head while Metis remained inside Zeus and provided him with advice and wisdom. In this way, Zeus prevented the prophecy from being fulfilled. <br />
<br />
The Dark One is like Cronus in destroying or engulfing souls. Rand became increasingly dark and corrupted by the Shadow, and Min worked hard to save him from this. She studied the prophecies and helped Rand work out how to seal the Dark One away into the Pit of Doom, an analogue of the pit of Tartarus. Min “knew” that Rand would have three women love him. Aviendha struggled against her fate because it was dishonourable, and gave Rand “headaches” with her temper and criticism of him. Min helped Aviendha stand up for herself to the Wise Ones so that she could become a Wise One of great power. While Zeus prevented a prophecy from happening, Rand believed that prophecy only indicates the conditions necessary for certain things to happen. Considering that Min’s viewings always come true, it is ironic that a prophecy regarding Min’s parallel Metis was prevented from happening. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="mnephthys">Nephthys</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvRC1GrT5YzsSpn2Oq2P5Eia0000nWjKkmVwYp7MID-wH-aNKopkoyAcnO6fYe35I91KqnSfypUTBsUEEUbSP033zsHoeyJVKE4Cgf64guA5awbagLz1PXWt7AoftyYyN0s1iNsLLFl7B/s1600/nephthys+with+wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvRC1GrT5YzsSpn2Oq2P5Eia0000nWjKkmVwYp7MID-wH-aNKopkoyAcnO6fYe35I91KqnSfypUTBsUEEUbSP033zsHoeyJVKE4Cgf64guA5awbagLz1PXWt7AoftyYyN0s1iNsLLFl7B/s200/nephthys+with+wings.jpg" width="150" height="200" data-original-width="450" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>Nephthys is an ancient Egyptian goddess whose name means “Lady of the Temple Enclosure” or “Lady of the House”. Like her sister Isis, she is a protector of the dead and of her brother Osiris, the Universal Lord. Nephthys and Isis were sister-wives of the war god Set and the two goddesses brought Osiris back to life after Set trapped him in a box and later killed and dismembered him. Another of Nephthys’ attributes was to be the nurse and guardian of the reigning pharaoh, and she could also appear as one of the goddesses who assisted at childbirth, although in most ancient texts she was considered to be barren herself. Nephthys’ divine power strengthened the souls of the dead and guided them through the afterlife. <br />
<br />
In one sense the pharaoh is Rand, and in another, it is the Empress. The Seanchan have some parallels with Ancient Egypt, notably their clothing—particularly that of their slaves—and also some personal names. Min has physically protected both rulers. Dobraine called Min “my lady Ta’veren,” giving her the title Lady, and Tuon declared Min holy for her powers of prophecy, too holy to touch, as befits someone with the god-like power to see the Pattern so frequently, even if only pieces of it.<br />
<br />
Rand, the Universal Lord, is a parallel of <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#osiris">Osiris</a>, and Min witnessed the psychological trauma of his imprisonment in a box and his physical abuse by the Tower Aes Sedai. She was also there at Rand’s parley with a fake Daughter of the Nine Moons (in reality Semirhage), who had a plain wooden box containing male a’dam to bind him and any Asha’man with him. At this latter attack, Rand protected Min, being maimed as he did so. Nynaeve, a parallel of Isis, healed Rand and worked with Min to support him. Min was the only character who consistently aided Rand in what he had to do, rather than pushing him to do something else. She worried about his mental health, and nursed him along, strengthening him for his duty to fight the Dark One as humanity’s champion and die doing so, and helped him to use the prophecies to plan his duel. When he went to the underworld of Shayol Ghul, Min wanted to accompany him, but he took Nynaeve (Isis) instead and Min continued with her important task of advising another Isis, Fortuona.<br />
<br />
Min discussed childbirth with Melaine: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
From there the two of them passed quickly on to childbirth itself. Neither had ever borne a child, but each had helped mid-wives.<br />
<br />
- <i>Lord of Chaos,</i> A Threat<br />
<br /></blockquote>
but Min is “barren” in that she is the only one of Rand’s lovers who continued to take the contraceptive heartleaf tea, and is not pregnant.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mwadjet">Wadjet</a></b><br />
<br />
Another Ancient Egyptian goddess who was protector of the pharaoh and his realm, and of women in childbirth was Wadjet (“green one”). Her temple, Per-Wadjet, was one of the world’s earliest known oracles. It also contained a sanctuary of Horus, the child of the sun deity who was a representation of the pharaoh. Much later, Wadjet became associated with Isis. <br />
<br />
Min protected Rand and then Fortuona, both pharaoh analogues. Rand is a strongly solar character, <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#sol%20invictus">Sol Invictus</a>, while Fortuona, whom Min joined late—just before the Last Battle—has parallels to <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/02/character-parallels-tuon.html#isis">Isis</a>. Interestingly, Min was dressed in green by the Seanchan each time she stayed among them (<i>The Great Hunt,</i> Falme and <i>A Memory of Light,</i> The Last Battle).<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mmin">Min </a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zN4RTqu3nldaqHQ-Wu_geAb5ZEiiRtFuuQCmEoloiQtjHxZFHcx6gr1QUUE6ScR5s-w6JuKVccZsatw9xfktKuOOLjRioCf9abIMYOVrxkiV78SpunIUEhws_simclg4XxhvaNJOYytm/s1600/Min.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zN4RTqu3nldaqHQ-Wu_geAb5ZEiiRtFuuQCmEoloiQtjHxZFHcx6gr1QUUE6ScR5s-w6JuKVccZsatw9xfktKuOOLjRioCf9abIMYOVrxkiV78SpunIUEhws_simclg4XxhvaNJOYytm/s200/Min.jpg" width="134" height="200" data-original-width="401" data-original-height="599" /></a></div>Min’s shortened name is that of a god, a lunar fertility and sexuality god. Like Wadjet, Min was one of the earliest Ancient Egyptian gods. He was usually depicted as a human male with an erect penis (see photo left). Even some war goddesses were depicted with the body of Min (including the phallus). He was worshipped by the men who worked the mines and the men who quarried the stone at Hammamat as "Min, the Male of the Mountain”.<br />
<br />
Min is the woman with whom Rand has had sex with most often. However, she suppresses her fertility with a contraceptive tea, and is the only one of Rand’s lovers who is not yet pregnant. Min was brought up among the mines in the mountains of Andor and dressed as a boy. Lunar gods tend to be associated with prophecy and dreams, and Min sees auras around people that show their futures. <br />
<br />
<br />
Historic Parallels<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mhildegard">Hildegard of Bingen</a></b><br />
<br />
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, (1098–1179), the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, writer, composer and abbess. She was hugely influential, and also regarded as holy, in her own time and since. From a very young age, Hildegard had visions, although she resisted writing them down until she was in her 40s.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
One of her visions was of falling stars turning black as they plunge into the ocean.<br />
<br />
- Paul Harrison, <i>A History of Pantheism and Panentheism</i><br />
<br /></blockquote>
In another, Hildegard <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
watched a procession of angels innumerable who fought alongside Michael against the dragon and won the victory.<br />
<br />
- Frances Gies, <i>Women in the Middle Ages</i><br />
<br /></blockquote>
These visions are similar to passages in Revelation in the Bible, which Robert Jordan drew on heavily for inspiration of his end-times (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/there-are-no-beginnings-or-endingsthe.html#revelation">Eschatology</a> essay). In his series, Jordan reverses the moral alignment of the Dragon and his combatant: the Dragon is good—the Creator’s champion, no less—while the Darkfriend M’hael is an analogue of Michael. M'Hael (a former false Dragon) and his Black Asha’man and Black Sisters fought Logain (another former false Dragon now allied to the Dragon) and his Asha’man and also the Tower Aes Sedai. <br />
<br />
Min had a viewing very similar to the stars going black as they fall:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"When you’re all in a group? Sparks swirling around you [the three ta’veren, Moiraine, Lan, Egwene and Thom], thousands of them, and a big shadow, darker than midnight…The sparks are trying to fill the shadow, and the shadow is trying to swallow the sparks.”<br />
<br />
- <i>The Eye of the World</i>, The Wisdom <br />
<br /></blockquote>
Both visions of stars going dark as they fall to earth are similar to the visions recounted in Revelation 6:13–4:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up<br />
<br /></blockquote>
and also Isaiah 34:4:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine. <br />
<br /></blockquote>
Min’s viewings began when she reached puberty, rather than in early childhood. Her ability is revered by the Empress, who declared that she is holy and that they are blessed to have her services. Apart from using her viewings to help Rand win, she also closely studied all the versions of the Karaethon Cycle and commentary available to her and Herid Fel’s writings on philosophy, which she found enthralling and inspiring. <br />
<br />
<b><a name="mflorence">Florence Farr</a></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tbXaQhimceZVzJPpGhV5i24oUDCt3R6jE89JadiHBDGqkCDRVdMFZXsGJGDKE8lD_p7hPTeccMxfPVk13TeFkKC5tVKaxCiAxdRJVkQ1ehSgvYRA09-KHnN6m4Z2r92apQZFjrDgr7v-/s1600-h/FlorenceFarr.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329311780595658930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tbXaQhimceZVzJPpGhV5i24oUDCt3R6jE89JadiHBDGqkCDRVdMFZXsGJGDKE8lD_p7hPTeccMxfPVk13TeFkKC5tVKaxCiAxdRJVkQ1ehSgvYRA09-KHnN6m4Z2r92apQZFjrDgr7v-/s200/FlorenceFarr.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 138px;" /></a>Min’s surname Farshaw may be derived from Florence Farr (1860–1917), actress and lover of playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) —Farr-Shaw. Florence Farr was considered shockingly "modern", having left her first husband because he insisted that she stay at home, and she wore her dark curly hair very short. Shaw wanted to mould Farr into his own vision of the "Modern Woman", and was inspired by Farr to write the play <i>Pygmalion</i> (better known as <i>My Fair Lady</i>) in which a man tries to turn a lower-class young woman into a “proper lady”. Min had very short dark curly hair at first and was horrified to find that she was prepared to toss aside her life for a man. She was forced by events to abandon her boy’s clothes and act the part of the feminine and dainty Elmindreda. <br />
<br />
Florence Farr studied esoteric philosophy and was a prominent member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. She summoned visions to gain hermetic knowledge or revelations, was a medium, and made invocations. Among the articles she wrote was <i>Travelling in the Spirit Vision</i>. Another member was William Butler Yeats, who was very interested in Celtic folklore and was inspired by Farr. In Yeats' <i>The Countess Catherine,</i> Farr played Aleel, a bard and seer who could see into the spirit realm. Min is a seeress who sees auras, not spirits. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a tradition of occultism, magic, philosophy, metaphysics and spiritual development. It was influenced by Freemasonry and Jordan stated on his blog that he is a Mason (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/freemasonry-and-wheel-of-time.html">Freemasonry and the <i>Wheel of Time</i> article</a>). In contrast to Masonry, women were allowed to participate in the Order in equality with men. Min became Rand's lover in a city named "The Hill of the Golden Dawn". As well as being a seeress, she has been studying, and being entranced by, Herid Fel’s books on philosophy.<br />
<br />
<b><a name="mqmin">Queen Min of Korea</a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0nginjilVZPO-rJuEHPYfkeyHpFAhDA5p7Y4xAFhe0rkZnzEvCKjnG1ATYToOmhCAM8Pz7C8Q49G5jSGPxIJBNY-0QW010Uh461wZBG1bzmAUkU6_mmNSQrI8ft3YUojKOhqg1S4u1LX/s1600/Min+Empress_Myeongseong.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0nginjilVZPO-rJuEHPYfkeyHpFAhDA5p7Y4xAFhe0rkZnzEvCKjnG1ATYToOmhCAM8Pz7C8Q49G5jSGPxIJBNY-0QW010Uh461wZBG1bzmAUkU6_mmNSQrI8ft3YUojKOhqg1S4u1LX/s200/Min+Empress_Myeongseong.png" width="128" height="200" data-original-width="192" data-original-height="300" /></a></div>Queen Min (1851–1895) was the first official wife of Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of Joseon and the first emperor of the Korean Empire. The queen lost her parents at a young age and went to live with relatives until she married King Gojong. Declining to take a purely social and decorative role as expected, she eschewed parties and spent her time reading politics, philosophy, ancient classics, science and history. The Queen was well-educated and ambitious and ruled alongside her husband. She advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea, for which she was assassinated by the Japanese.<br />
<br />
Min Farshaw lost her parents when she was young and went to live with her aunts. Like Queen Min, she was far more studious than expected and read widely, notably in philosophy and prophecies to help Rand. <br />
<br />
The Seanchan have strong Japanese influences and the Empress commandeered Min as her omen diviner, even though she was the lover of the Dragon Reborn. Min decided to stay with the Empress to build ties between the mainland peoples and the Seanchan to help Rand win the war against the Shadow. It was the Shadow that tried to assassinate the Seanchan Empress and her court, but Min and Mat saved her.<br />
<br />
<br />
Symbols<br />
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<b><a name="mmoon">Moon Tarot Card </a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AzkJCkTcMi0AG5Ko2NWWd8sDe0OqI6cnxv-7Rxkumgta0SUbtaF7cxELmoZA5_vM68P8Y9OZZutYWEGLPyBtJGlBtiSTBlBHeKck-s1bHqE2rTj5bNJCVQhSzqnhbxkMtY6mk2emKIo2/s1600/Moon+Anc+It.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AzkJCkTcMi0AG5Ko2NWWd8sDe0OqI6cnxv-7Rxkumgta0SUbtaF7cxELmoZA5_vM68P8Y9OZZutYWEGLPyBtJGlBtiSTBlBHeKck-s1bHqE2rTj5bNJCVQhSzqnhbxkMtY6mk2emKIo2/s200/Moon+Anc+It.jpg" width="107" height="200" data-original-width="854" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>As mentioned above, Min is a lunar character, as indicated by her mysterious prophetic powers and dark hair. The moon tarot card represents visions and illusions, even madness, genius and poetry. It is about inspiration from the unconscious, or from ancient sources, that cannot easily be put into logical sentences. On the positive side, the card can indicate considerable inspiration and accurate intuitive insight, but on the negative, emotions rule the head and the mind is unreliable or is fooled. <br />
<br />
The Moon card usually depicts a full and crescent moon combined shining on a wild landscape with two dogs or wolves and a pool from which a lobster is emerging (see Lo Scarabeo Ancient Italian Tarots, right, and Waite Smith tarot, below left.) Sometimes the sky is quite cloudy. The clouds symbolise the partially obscured insight or vision that often occurs under the Moon card, and the dogs or wolves the wildness or wilderness of the unconscious or ancient memories. Wolfbrother Perrin, who also has dreams and visions in the World of Dreams, is a lunar character like Min. They have a brother or sisterly love for each other.<br />
<br />
Min is described in Nicola’s foretelling as “she who sees beyond”—beyond the present. She does not have conscious control over her viewings, or over knowing what or when. Hers is a passive or receptive ability, not an active one; and thus lunar, not solar. In contrast to how Aviendha looks to be able to prevent the disastrous future of the Aiel she saw in the glass columns, Min is powerless to prevent her viewings from happening. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgf5IET6oWQoAPfkiyBEvSYhqWF2WI5IBWWdXAIrAdcfZf9lAAGHunZCY4YiBhvOrh9NwWspjd3WYRkV6cGPuKXgX2MdfanxNtCuCx_A1AaAZBOHtPzNzUZfkb8s0BEGwThrfnVf1QR8I/s1600/Moon+RW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgf5IET6oWQoAPfkiyBEvSYhqWF2WI5IBWWdXAIrAdcfZf9lAAGHunZCY4YiBhvOrh9NwWspjd3WYRkV6cGPuKXgX2MdfanxNtCuCx_A1AaAZBOHtPzNzUZfkb8s0BEGwThrfnVf1QR8I/s200/Moon+RW.jpg" width="121" height="200" data-original-width="968" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Min’s viewings are very accurate, although she doesn’t always know what they mean and sometimes interprets them wrongly, especially if she is emotionally involved with the person she is viewing. She was most unfair to Alivia when she interpreted her viewing that Alivia will help Rand die to mean that Alivia will cause his death and told Cadsuane and Nynaeve her opinion, after which neither would then teach Alivia. In contrast, Rand assessed her viewing more carefully: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
But she [Alivia] is going to kill you.” She [Min] bit off every word. <br />
“You said she was going to help me die,” he [Rand] said quietly. “Those were your words”… “Helping me die isn’t the same as killing me,” Rand went on. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about what you saw.” <br />
Min flung up her hands in exasperation. “I saw what I saw and it’s what I told you, but the Pit of Doom swallow me if I can see any difference. And I can’t see why you think there is!” <br />
“Sooner or later, I have to die, Min,” he said patiently. <br />
<br />
- <i>Winter’s Heart</i>, Bonds<br />
<br /></blockquote>
and trusting Alivia, who had always behaved well to Rand, he got her to gather items needed for travelling in his tent so he could secretly leave if he survived. This ended up being a mundane prophecy and shows how Min’s judgment can be unreliable or swayed by her emotions.<br />
<br />
Mesaana described seeresses as strangely accurate and yet vague at the same time, and this is so typical of the Moon tarot card.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jlo6dwU1mb9hvlfKMZJ8jp4ZZSm0EcvbFoitJFCnQAZbCIo3XbtMV9lCVEuo3GPFeUQst1GEjfz4d4E1WscdrXuWxiJnxB_QAFIHE5TrQ1JHMXOFLifWfl3S_Zth1e_upZJ4Plq-aACZ/s1600/Moon+Vandenborre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jlo6dwU1mb9hvlfKMZJ8jp4ZZSm0EcvbFoitJFCnQAZbCIo3XbtMV9lCVEuo3GPFeUQst1GEjfz4d4E1WscdrXuWxiJnxB_QAFIHE5TrQ1JHMXOFLifWfl3S_Zth1e_upZJ4Plq-aACZ/s200/Moon+Vandenborre.jpg" width="117" height="200" data-original-width="937" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Some old decks, such as the Vandenborre, right, show a woman spinning yarn under a full moon<br />
<br />
<blockquote>possibly tying in with a folklore belief in the moon as a goddess of destiny<br />
<br />
- Paul Huson, <i>Mystical Origins of the Tarot</i><br />
<br /></blockquote>
such as Clotho, the spinner, one of the three Fates of Ancient Greek mythology described <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2020/07/three-women-character-parallels-for.html#3fates">above</a> that are a parallel of the three women, linking prophecy and destiny closely. And thereby linking Min to the Moon tarot card. Some Baerlon folk believed that Min caused the fulfilment of her own viewings, and she actually did so at least twice in the series.<br />
<br />
The moon appearing with the sun in the sky was a sign of the imminence of that great day of destiny, the Last Judgment. Jordan’s day of judgment, the culmination of his magnum opus, occurred under an eclipse, which is appropriate symbolism logically and also alchemically.<br />
<br />
_________________________________________<br />
<br />
<i>Written by Linda, July 2020 <br />
<br />
</i><br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-2439323493354127012019-11-07T17:19:00.001-05:002020-01-22T05:33:07.866-05:00New Blog Article: Channeller Training Outside the White Tower<br />
<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
I've written an article about how the various non-Aes Sedai channellers are trained. This is based not only on the books, but includes quite a bit of information from Robert Jordan's notes.<br />
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The following groups are covered in this <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/channeller-training-outside-white-tower.html">new essay</a> :<br />
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<ul>Seanchan<br />
Aiel<br />
Tinkers<br />
Sea Folk<br />
Amayar<br />
Kin<br />
Asha’man<br />
Shara<br /></ul>
<br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-48650562704994215592019-11-07T17:19:00.000-05:002019-11-07T17:19:00.149-05:00Final Aes Sedai articles updated--article updates now complete<br />
<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
Continuing with updates in the last category of articles, The Aes Sedai, the final five articles have been updated with information from Robert Jordan's notes and interviews. There is a lot of additional information.<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-history-from-breaking-to.html">Aes Sedai History from the Breaking to the Hundred Years War</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-history-new-era.html">Aes Sedai History: New Era</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs.html">Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Administration</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs-society.html">Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Society</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/composition-and-politics-of-halls-998.html">The Composition and Politics of the Halls 998-1000 NE</a> <br />
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This now completes the updates of blog articles.<br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-72680125440810178382019-09-02T04:23:00.001-04:002019-09-02T04:24:42.597-04:00Three Aes Sedai Articles Updated<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
I've begun updating the last category of articles - The Aes Sedai. Three articles have been updated so far with information from Robert Jordan's notes and interviews.<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/black-ajah.html">The Black Ajah</a><br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-attitudes-to-male-channellers.html">Aes Sedai Attitudes to Male Channellers: The Unbeliever</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/elaidas-embassy-to-rand.html">Elaida's Embassy To Rand </a> <br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-36211585987781402712019-08-21T08:08:00.003-04:002019-08-21T08:09:47.502-04:00Wheel of Time Costume Articles Updated<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
These last few weeks I've been working on updating the two large <i>Wheel of Time</i> costume articles with information from Robert Jordan's notes. Some nations had significant additions--including Altara, Ghealdan, Illian, Malkier, Saldaea and Sea Folk. <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/costume-in-wheel-of-time.html">Costume Part 1 - Age of Legends to Malkier</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/costume-in-wheel-of-time-part-2.html">Costume Part 2 - Mayene to Whitecloaks</a> <br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-60573690404662186672019-08-02T20:26:00.000-04:002019-08-02T20:26:00.841-04:00Latest Updates on the Nations and Society Articles<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
This week I updated a few articles on the nations and societies with information from Robert Jordan's notes, booksignings and interviews. Also improving formatting and links. These articles are now completed and posted on the blog:<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html">Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Pillowfriends...</a> <br />
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Wheel of Time Music<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2015/09/wheel-of-time-music-performance-and.html"> Performance and Instruments</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2015/08/wheel-of-time-music-regional-and.html">Regional and Cultural Variation</a><br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2015/07/wheel-of-time-music-songs-and-dances.html">Songs and Dances</a><br />
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Nobility<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/mainland-rulers.html">The Mainland Rulers</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2001/03/nobles-of-tear.html">The Nobles of Tear</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/noble-houses-of-cairhien.html">The Noble Houses of Cairhien</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/noble-houses-of-andor.html">The Noble Houses of Andor</a> <br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-202820577914439272019-07-24T20:31:00.002-04:002019-07-24T20:31:27.694-04:00Blog articles on the Shadow have been updated<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
For the last few weeks, I've mainly been working on real life things, some rewarding, some just ordinary stuff. Anyway, I was also slowly my way through updating the articles on the Shadow with information from Robert Jordan's notes, booksignings and interviews. These are now completed and posted on the blog:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/forsaken-and-their-deeds-and-plans.html">The Forsaken and their Deeds and Plans</a><br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/shadows-influence-on-black-tower.html">The Shadow's Influence on the Black Tower</a><br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/shadow-and-darkfriends-who-is.html">Who is a Darkfriend?</a><br />
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I've now turned to updating the large category of articles about the nations and people.<br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-77723397387348064282019-06-08T06:31:00.002-04:002019-06-08T06:33:58.280-04:00Updates Completed on One Power Articles<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
For the last few weeks I've been updating the articles that deal with the One Power and Channelling with information from Robert Jordan's notes, booksignings and interviews. The main articles include:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/angreal-and-saangreal.html">Angreal and Sa'angreal</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/saidar-strength-ranking.html">Saidar Strength Ranking</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/search/label/Ter%27angreal%20and%20Allied%20Items">Ter'angreal and Allied Items</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/weaves-and-talents.html">Weaves and Talents</a><br />
<br />
The list of updated articles is now longer:<br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinn-and-eelfinn.html">The Aelfinn and the Eelfinn</a> <br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinns-answers.html">The Aelfinn's Answers</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ages-of-characters.html">The Ages of the Characters</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aiel-prophecy.html">Aiel Prophecy</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/angreal-and-saangreal.html">Angreal and Sa'angreal</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/not-just-dragon-animal-symbolism.html">Animal Symbolism</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/cache-from-ebou-dar.html">The Cache from Ebou Dar</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/cadsuanes-ornaments.html">Cadsuane's Ornaments</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/how-do-channellers-detect-other.html">Channellers Detecting Other Channellers</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-derived-from-readers.html">Character Names Derived from Readers' Names</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/search/label/Character%20Names">Character Names series</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/composition-and-politics-of-halls-998.html">The Composition and Politics of the Halls</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html">Demandred</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/egwenes-dreams.html">Egwene's Dreams</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/fate-free-will-and-divining-pattern.html">Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/freemasonry-and-wheel-of-time.html">Freemasonry</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/herbs-and-other-medicines.html">Herbs and Other Medicines</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/horn-of-valere.html">Horn of Valere</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/inventions-from-rands-academies.html">Inventions From Rand's Academies </a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/robert-jordans-channeller-strength.html">Robert Jordan's Strength Ranking</a><br />
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<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html">Lews Therin</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html">Matter of Britain 2: An Arthurian Who's Who</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/mesaana.html">Mesaana</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/mins-viewings.html">Min's Viewings</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/names-of-shadow.html">Names of the Shadow</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/off-shore-prophecy.html">Off-shore Prophecy</a> <br /> <br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ogier.html">Ogier</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2005/03/onset-of-rands-channelling.html">Onset of Rand's Channelling</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/origin-of-place-names.html">Origin of Place Names</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/price-and-prize-of-knowledge.html">Price and Prize of Knowledge</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html">Rand</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/robert-jordans-channeller-strength.html">Robert Jordan's Strength Ranking</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/saidar-strength-ranking.html">Saidar Strength Ranking</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/search/label/Ter%27angreal%20and%20Allied%20Items">Ter'angreal and Allied Items</a> <br />
<ul><li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/terangreal-and-allied-items.html">Introduction</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/access-keys.html">Access Keys</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/adam.html">A'dam</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/bowls-cups-and-vases.html">Bowls, Cups and Vases </a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/callbox.html">Callbox</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/chairs.html">Chairs</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/doorways-and-arches.html">Doorways and Arches</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/dream-terangreal.html">Dream Ter’angreal </a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/fancloth-terangreal.html">Fancloth Ter’angreal</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/far-maddings-anti-channelling.html">Far Madding’s Anti-channelling Ter’angreal </a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/glass-columns.html">Glass Columns</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/headwear.html">Headwear</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/jewellery.html">Jewellery</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/knives.html">Knives</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/rods.html">Rods</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/seals.html">Seals</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/statues-and-figurines.html">Statues and Figurines</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/talisman-of-growing.html">Talisman of Growing </a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/miscellaneous-terangreal.html">Miscellaneous Ter’angreal</a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/oddments-allied-to-terangreal.html">Oddments Allied to Ter'angreal </a> <br /></li>
<li><a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/security-measures-for-terangreal.html">Security Measures for Ter'angreal </a> <br /></li></ul><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html">Semirhage</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/there-are-no-beginnings-or-endingsthe.html">There Are No Beginnings or Endings...The Paradox of WOT's Eschatology</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/time-of-illusions.html">Time of Illusions</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/weaves-and-talents.html">Weaves and Talents</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html">Wheel of Time Theology</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/who-is-not-darkfriend.html">Who Is Not A Darkfriend?</a> <br /> <br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-50465045980535407222019-05-12T06:59:00.002-04:002019-05-27T22:46:41.181-04:00One new and three updated essays.<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
At JordanCon last month, I gave a presentation on Wheel of Time eschatology or end-times. I wrote a long essay on this subject years ago, but put off updating it until the Companion had been published and I had studied Robert Jordan’s notes. Doing a presentation on end-times was, at least in part, intended to push me into rewriting the essay. I knew it would be a big job, and in fact, it took a few months, during which I wrote a <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html">new essay on Wheel of Time theology</a>, as well as the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/there-are-no-beginnings-or-endingsthe.html">updated essay on End-times</a>. The <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/time-of-illusions.html">Time of Illusions</a> and <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinn-and-eelfinn.html">Aelfinn and Eelfinn</a> articles also were updated as part of the work on the theology essays.<br />
<br />
This brings the list of updated articles so far to:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinn-and-eelfinn.html">The Aelfinn and the Eelfinn</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinns-answers.html">The Aelfinn's Answers</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ages-of-characters.html">The Ages of the Characters</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aiel-prophecy.html">Aiel Prophecy</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/angreal-and-saangreal.html">Angreal and Sa'angreal</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/not-just-dragon-animal-symbolism.html">Animal Symbolism</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/cache-from-ebou-dar.html">The Cache from Ebou Dar</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/cadsuanes-ornaments.html">Cadsuane's Ornaments</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/how-do-channellers-detect-other.html">Channellers Detecting Other Channellers</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-derived-from-readers.html">Character Names Derived from Readers' Names</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/search/label/Character%20Names">Character Names series</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/composition-and-politics-of-halls-998.html">The Composition and Politics of the Halls</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html">Demandred</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/egwenes-dreams.html">Egwene's Dreams</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/fate-free-will-and-divining-pattern.html">Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/freemasonry-and-wheel-of-time.html">Freemasonry</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/herbs-and-other-medicines.html">Herbs and Other Medicines</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/horn-of-valere.html">Horn of Valere</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/inventions-from-rands-academies.html">Inventions From Rand's Academies </a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/robert-jordans-channeller-strength.html">Robert Jordan's Strength Ranking</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html">Lews Therin</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html">Matter of Britain 2: An Arthurian Who's Who</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/mesaana.html">Mesaana</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/mins-viewings.html">Min's Viewings</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/names-of-shadow.html">Names of the Shadow</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/off-shore-prophecy.html">Off-shore Prophecy</a> <br /> <br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ogier.html">Ogier</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2005/03/onset-of-rands-channelling.html">Onset of Rand's Channelling</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/origin-of-place-names.html">Origin of Place Names</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/price-and-prize-of-knowledge.html">Price and Prize of Knowledge</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html">Rand</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/robert-jordans-channeller-strength.html">Robert Jordan's Strength Ranking</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/saidar-strength-ranking.html">Saidar Strength Ranking</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html">Semirhage</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/there-are-no-beginnings-or-endingsthe.html">There Are No Beginnings or Endings...The Paradox of WOT's Eschatology</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/time-of-illusions.html">Time of Illusions</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/weaves-and-talents.html">Weaves and Talents</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/some-sort-of-balance-is-perfect-wheel.html">Wheel of Time Theology</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/who-is-not-darkfriend.html">Who Is Not A Darkfriend?</a> <br /> <br />
<br />
Next to be updated will be the various articles on channelling and Items of Power.<br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-85010651310142475522019-03-19T06:00:00.001-04:002019-03-20T06:47:57.925-04:00It's Been Ten Years!<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
In mid March 2009, the Thirteenth Depository went public, reposting essays wotmaniacs Linda, Dom, Mar, Peter and Bob wrote for the fan website wotmania, along with a lot of new Wheel of Time commentary.<br />
<br />
Ten years, and over 3 million page views later, the blog is still active. Last year I finished a complete read-through of the series, and updated many articles with information from Jordan's notes and the <i>Wheel of Time Companion</i>. My current update is a major re-write of the Eschatology essay--I divided it into 2 (not 3!) and have finished the first half.<br />
<br />
A huge thank you to all the readers who have read, commented and encouraged me over the years.<br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-89404286151496023582019-01-17T17:31:00.000-05:002019-01-17T17:31:44.025-05:00Three Character Essays UpdatedThe last two weeks, I've updated a few of the character parallels essays with new information from Robert Jordan's blog, the <a href="https://www.theoryland.com/wheel-of-time-interview-search.php">WOT interview database</a> and from my own research. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html">Lews Therin</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/mesaana.html">Mesaana</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html">Semirhage</a> <br />
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-74684441881921471062019-01-05T06:54:00.001-05:002019-01-05T06:58:01.237-05:00December to January Updates<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
Happy 2019! Wishing all my readers a wonderful year!<br />
<br />
For the last couple of months I have been checking the links in the indexes and the updated articles on the blog listed in the post below this one. The <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-derived-from-readers.html">Characters Derived from Reader's Names article</a> now has links to the Characters, Countries and Organisations indexes.<br />
<br />
More recently I've made extensive updates to the
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ages-of-characters.html">Ages of the Characters</a> and completely rewritten <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/composition-and-politics-of-halls-998.html">The Composition and Politics of the Halls.</a> The latter article draws heavily on the Ages of Character article for the Sitters' ages and tenure in the Hall, leading to some points of interest. Both articles have new information from Robert Jordan's notes.<br /><br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-29727371689608769892018-11-24T06:11:00.001-05:002019-01-27T05:40:29.034-05:002018-2019 Updates of Blog Articles <br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />Having finished my read-through posts, I am resuming the updating of blog articles with information from Robert Jordan’s notes as well as from all the <i>Wheel of Time</i> books and short stories to date. The following articles have been completed so far:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinns-answers.html">The Aelfinn's Answers</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ages-of-characters.html">The Ages of the Characters</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aiel-prophecy.html">Aiel Prophecy</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/angreal-and-saangreal.html">Angreal and Sa'angreal</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/not-just-dragon-animal-symbolism.html">Animal Symbolism</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/cache-from-ebou-dar.html">The Cache from Ebou Dar</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-derived-from-readers.html">Character Names Derived from Readers' Names</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/search/label/Character%20Names">Character Names series</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/composition-and-politics-of-halls-998.html">The Composition and Politics of the Halls</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/demandred.html">Demandred</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/egwenes-dreams.html">Egwene's Dreams</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/fate-free-will-and-divining-pattern.html">Fate, Free Will and Divining the Pattern</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/freemasonry-and-wheel-of-time.html">Freemasonry</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/herbs-and-other-medicines.html">Herbs and Other Medicines</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/horn-of-valere.html">Horn of Valere</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/inventions-from-rands-academies.html">Inventions From Rand's Academies </a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-lews-therin.html">Lews Therin</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-matter-of-britain-and-wheel-of-time_14.html">Matter of Britain 2: An Arthurian Who's Who</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/03/mesaana.html">Mesaana</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/mins-viewings.html">Min's Viewings</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/names-of-shadow.html">Names of the Shadow</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/off-shore-prophecy.html">Off-shore Prophecy</a> <br /> <br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/ogier.html">Ogier</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/origin-of-place-names.html">Origin of Place Names</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/price-and-prize-of-knowledge.html">Price and Prize of Knowledge</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html">Rand</a> <br />
<br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/robert-jordans-channeller-strength.html">Robert Jordan's Strength Ranking</a><br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/saidar-strength-ranking.html">Saidar Strength Ranking</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/semirhage.html">Semirhage</a> <br /><br />
<a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/who-is-not-darkfriend.html">Who Is Not A Darkfriend?</a> <br /> <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-47131618352339692262018-10-29T06:02:00.001-04:002022-08-05T18:31:35.205-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #56: Epilogue—To See the Answer<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br/>
It’s not a coincidence that the first three POVs are of the ta’veren, with the Dragon first, naturally. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Rand POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Here’s a thing: if Rand hadn’t carried Moridin’s body out, there would have been no body swap. Nakomi approves of the swap, saying that he’s doing something he needs to do, which is good. Normally a bodyswap would be a wrongness, however both souls choose their fate: one very much wants to live, the other to die. <br/>
<br/>
Is Nakomi the Creator? I don’t think so. The Creator speaks directly the couple of times it communicates—with the minimum of words, and more for reassurance. Nor is the Creator prone to micromanagement or coercion as the Dark One is. <br/>
<br/>
Another possibility is that Nakomi is an Aiel Hero of the Horn. Her name, which Bair recognised as Aiel, seems to hint this. Her conversation with Aviendha in Towers of Midnight is reminiscent of Birgitte’s contact with Perrin, Elayne and Nynaeve in Tel’aran’rhiod in the early books. When Nakomi appears in the real world at Thakan’dar and spoke to Rand, Heroes of the Horn are still abroad in the waking world. <br/>
<br/>
Aviendha queried Nakomi on where she is from, and got a cryptic answer: <br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>"I am far from my roof," the woman said, wistful, "yet not far at all. Perhaps it is far from me. I cannot answer your question, apprentice, for it is not my place to give this truth." <br/>
<br/>
<i>Towers of Midnight,</i> In The Three-fold Land<br/>
<br/>
</blockquote>Nakomi's home and people are far from her and unreachable because she is dead, yet still feels tied to the Aiel. Looking further, Nakomi is far from the main world, yet not. Tel’aran’rhiod surrounds the waking world, yet as a shade, Nakomi cannot touch it unless called by the Horn. Nakomi’s favourable opinion of the Westlands, emphasising their beauty and lushness, is as though they are familiar to her, as they would be if she had roamed about Tel’aran’rhiod long term and had cut ties with the Three-fold Land. She would be unlikely to feel this way had she remained in the Waste or only left it recently; recent contact with the Westlands would inspire the kind of wariness or alienation expressed by Aviendha. <br/>
<br/>
Most importantly she is honour bound not to explain further—some precept that she does not violate, such as those the Heroes have... <br/>
<br/>
Nakomi’s name is reference to Nokomis, the grandmother of Nanabozho/ Manabozho, the trickster figure of the Ojibwe First Nation. She is in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem <i>The Song of Hiawatha</i>:<br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>By the shores of Gitche Gumee, <br/>
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, <br/>
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, <br/>
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. <br/>
Dark behind it rose the forest. <br/>
<br/>
</blockquote>In fact, in the Ojibwe language, the language of the traditional tale on which Hiawatha is based, Nokomis means “my grandmother” (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/02/character-names-n.html#nakomi">Character Names N</a> article for further discussion of Nokomis/Nakomi and Hiawatha/Rand). <br/>
<br/>
Nakomi is not literally Rand’s grandmother although she is wise and knowledgeable. Bair said her name was ancient, and recognisably Aiel, so it is likely she is a Hero who was an Aiel from the distant past in one of her recent births, particularly considering her legendary name. <br/>
<br/>
Rand’s realisation that he asked the Aelfinn a wrong question is a bit mysterious because the exact and full wording of his questions aren’t in the books. However I found them in Robert Jordan’s Rand notes, (see <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aelfinns-answers.html">The Aelfinn’s Answers article</a>). The last question is said to be "How can I destroy the Dark One?" and the answer: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"What was, is, and will be. To choose is the fate of your kind. Without choice, humankind is dust." <br />
<br />
</blockquote>Rand did not understand this answer until the very end, which is why he said: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"I see the answer now," he whispered. "I asked the Aelfinn the wrong question. To choose is our fate. If you have no choice, then you aren't a man at all. You're a puppet . . ." <br />
<br />
<i>A Memory of Light,</i> Epilogue<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Humans must have choice or else they are not adults and not responsible for their actions. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Mat POV</b><br/>
<br/>
The Sun is out because Rand is also out of the Darkness and out of Shayol Ghul. I judge that Mat that killed Shaisam as Rand sealed the Bore. Shockingly, Mat almost reaches for the dagger but restrains himself. It rots as he walks away. If he’d touched it, he may have kept it around longer and started its infection all over again. After this, the dice finally stop. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Perrin POV</b><br/>
<br/>
There are no swirling colours, or vision of Rand in Perrin’s mind—no ta’veren pull—and after having them influence his actions for months, he misses them. <br/>
<br/>
The Land has had its fertility restored with the Sealing of the Dark One and is already green and blooming. While Perrin acknowledges that “no masterwork comes without a price,” this one includes the death of Egwene. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Loial POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Loial records that Rand Sealed the Bore at noon, the time of day when the sun (and therefore Rand) is at its strongest and the Dark One at his weakest. The Fourth Age starting in the middle of day distresses Loial’s tidy mind, but he accepts this fact. <br/>
<br/>
Flinn notices that Rand’s three women are not concerned that Rand is dying. It’s a bit obvious, but this also means the women don’t exactly lie…<br/>
<br/>
<b>Mat POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Mat is convinced that Tuon’s unborn baby is a boy. Each claims this child means they have no further duty there—a certain amount of chest-beating bluffing is going on. What a couple. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Moghedien POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Moghedien starts getting optimistic that she will get away and set up shop again. Plus, with the Dark One Sealed away, she won’t be punished for her failures. Then she immediately has another failure: the Spider doesn’t reverse her weaves so they cannot be detected, but inverts them and gets complacent enough to weave a light. So she is collared by a satisfied sul’dam, one of Jordan’s mundane, but appropriate punishments. <br/>
<br/>
The Forsaken currently has her coursouvra, but the Seanchan won’t allow her to keep it. It may be destroyed (in which case she becomes an automaton) or it may be given to or taken by someone else, since it looks valuable. Interesting times ahead for Moghedien. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Nynaeve POV</b><br/>
<br/>
The kings are shocked that Elayne, Min and Aviendha are not crying over the death of Rand’s body and their comments arouse Nynaeve’s suspicions. Nynaeve tries to bully the explanation out of Aviendha, a sitting duck. The Aiel is briefly alarmed but composes herself. I was surprised that Aviendha reacted as much as she did: it’s a measure of her feeling that she is living a lie and has toh. <br/>
<br/>
The Wise Ones’ belief that the glass column ter’angreal warns them of a future that should be changed saved the Aiel from a terrible fate. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Perrin POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Perrin is in the wolf dream, when he really wanted to sleep. He is there in wolf form, but is thinking like a man. As he dwells on his guilt over leaving Faile in order to help Rand win, he goes to all the important places of his relationship with Faile and with Rand. At the finale, he chooses to visit Faile’s death place rather than Rand’s death bed. During the war, he did “what he was supposed to” and let Faile do <u>her</u> duty. However, what Perrin was supposed to do has a happy ending: he hears a falcon cry in the dream and realises it’s Faile. He tracks her down and uses adrenalin-enhanced strength to uncover her body single-handedly: Perrin epitomises <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#strength">Strength</a>. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Elayne POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Birgitte lingers after the other Heroes have gone back to Tel’aran’rhiod. Elayne doesn’t answer Birgitte’s question about Rand—again a lie by omission, in the Aiel way. Birgitte has anticipated Elayne’s intention to take possession of the Horn of Valere and sent Olver to hide it. To her surprise, Elayne doesn’t mind, and is glad not to have the temptation. THe Hero realises that Elayne has matured. <br/>
<br/>
Birgitte’s soul is about to move to a baby that is shortly to be born. Knowing that Gaidal was not called by the Horn, and so is alive as a young child, she is looking forward to meeting him again in a new life. It will be one of her usual reincarnations where she is a few years younger than he. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Tam POV</b><br/>
<br/>
It is so sad that Tam doesn’t know that Rand lives, and probably won’t for at least a few years, if ever. This is his and Rand’s great sacrifice for the world. He thinks the fertility of the Land is Rand’s final gift, but that gift might be prodigal Rand returning some years from now. The three women have an obvious lack of grief; if Tam knew the truth, he also would be unable to dissimulate and the funeral would be a farce. Cadsuane for one, already thinks it’s a farce. <br/>
<br/>
Tam’s thoughts that “Rand could finally rest” are true, just not in the way he thinks. Basically, it represents freedom from burdens and freedom to be as he wishes. <br/>
<br/>
Only Tam carries a light—for the pyre. Everyone else is indistinguishable during their “saluting the body of the Dragon Reborn.” That body deserves honouring, even if Moridin spent a few hours in it. It did do so well. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Min POV</b><br/>
<br/>
The funeral is the fulfillment of not only Min’s viewing that the three would be there, but also of Egwene’s dream of a man lying dying: <br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>A man lay dying in a narrow bed, and it was important he not die, yet outside a funeral pyre was being built, and voices raised songs of joy and sadness. <br />
<br />
- <i> A Crown Of Swords</i>, Unseen Eyes<br />
<br />
</blockquote>This dream was anonymous because (apart from wanting to keep the surprise) Moridn’s soul died in Rand’s body, while Rand is restored to life and health in Moridin’s body. A complicated situation. The knowledge of her beloved’s early death was quite a burden for Min to carry for two years.<br />
<br/>
There is conflicting information regarding whether Nicola’s foretelling of “three on the boat and he who is dead yet lives” refers to this scene. Team Jordan has said that it is an example of an unreliable narrator and referred to Rand’s funeral where the three women stood alone around Rand’s pyre, but on another occasion said that it is yet to happen. <br/>
<br/>
The three women make no pretence of grief and do not comfort Tam, who lights the pyre, but Moiraine does. This is not their finest hour even if they weren’t hypocritical. It’s as though they are looking to the day Rand’s other loved ones find out, and making sure they can say with a clean conscience that they misled by omission only, and not by actual lying. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Rand POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Rand is a bit stunned with the novelty of a hale body. His eyes have a saa to commemorate Moridin, and also his own channelling of the True Power. Most importantly, it’s not an active saa. <br/>
<br/>
The fulfillment of Min’s viewing that Alivia will help Rand die is mundane. Such outcomes happened occasionally. Min’s anxieties over this viewing were completely unnecessary—worse than if she knew nothing. This has also happened before: in fact, Min’s panic has resulted in actions that fulfilled the viewing. The Empress is wise to insist on hearing a description of the viewing as well as MIn’s interpretation of it to provide the opportunity for another opinion, and cross-check it with her own symbol system. Otherwise there is the risk that Min’s viewings can be as wrong-headed as those of Elaida. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Cadsuane POV</b><br/>
<br/>
Cadsuane immediately identifies Rand in his new body, which is unexpected. Can she see Rand’s eyes clearly enough to see the saa and also knows what it represents? Or just recognise Rand’s soul somehow? Odd. <br/>
<br/>
The Green sister is bailed up by four Sitters. They don’t begin the traditional way with a formal summons to the Hall—which it is illegal for her to refuse—but try to get her to agree to be Amyrlin willingly instead. This was not Aes Sedai custom until Egwene was raised. It’s curious, given Cadsuane’s track record for avoiding being made Amyrlin by fleeing before any such summons could be issued. Or is that why they have done this? To convince her rather than force her? I do think they chose the right woman—respected, if not feared by all, flexible, tenacious and experienced. And she does actual research. <br/>
<br/>
<b>Rand POV</b>
<br/>
Speaking of Cadsuane, Rand is one who respects and fears her. He can tell she has recognised him even though she doesn’t say what she suspects. They have the measure of each other. Rand can’t channel either saidin or the True Power now, even though Moridin could channel both. Perhaps the overload of Powers burned Rand (and Moridin) out, but at the same time Rand has moved beyond channelling to be an ascended being, the alchemical buddha who can will things into occurring. The now-ex Dragon is presumed wise enough to be entrusted with this ability. The book has quite a Buddhist ending, which I notice some readers find objectionable or inadequate. <br/>
<br/>
Very tellingly, Rand doesn’t think about Tam (who is grieving—because it would hurt?), just the three women. I do think Rand owes it to his father to grieve for his grief. Instead he thinks of his love for all three women and hopes one or all will come after him. <br/>
<br/>
When Rand told Alivia to get gold and other supplies for him, he didn’t consider that she’d have to steal them. He takes responsibility for this, as he should. <br/>
<br/>
Rand may become an eternal wanderer figure, as well as an <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-rand.html#oner">itinerant worker and entertainer</a> as he was at the beginning of the story. He will no longer be a recognised Magus—even though he has some mysterious ability. This fits in with the many paths, many lives prophecy: <br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>"<a name="reborn">And his paths shall be many,</a> and who shall know his name, for he shall be born among us many times, in many guises, as he has been and ever will be, time without end.” <br />
<br />
- <i>The Dragon Reborn</i>, Opening prophecy<br />
<br />
</blockquote>Will Rand have the long life of a channeller? Will all that power he used in the Pit of Doom make that difference? I think so. <br/>
<br/>
The last words of the book and series—Loial’s—show us Rand not as the Dragon, or as a magus, but as chi, or prana, the breath of life for the world. <br/>
<br/>
I liked the ending. It’s Jordan’s ending, in his words, and where he was heading to over this epically long epic. I knew from the first that the solution to defeating the Shadow would be theological and be Eastern as much as Western, and by the last book I knew that there would be a lot of alchemical symbolism to it also. Truly this is an Opus Magnus. <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<i>Now that my read-through is over, I shall resume updating articles with information from Jordan’s notes (which I’ll announce here) and also writing some new articles. My next post here will probably be a recap of which articles I’ve updated already. </i><br/>
<br/>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-16199817511866965112018-10-16T07:02:00.001-04:002018-10-16T07:02:26.952-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #55: Chapter 49—Light and Shadow<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Perrin POV</b><br />
<br />
The Dark One’s influence has caused Tel’aran’rhiod to become a Blight—a black wasteland, almost a void. (Rocks still remain, but they are disintegrating.) The world is collapsing in on itself in Tel’aran’rhiod. Perhaps it is a warning of what may happen or a reflection of what is happening in Rand’s battle with the Dark One. Either way, the Land cannot maintain itself against the onslaught. Shayol Ghul is a beacon of light pulling Dragonmount to it. A conjunction of mountains is being added to the other conjunctions—of people, of sun and moon, of Powers. The dual world axis is converging to one, in one way symbolising the danger that the Light could become overwhelmed and corrupted by the Shadow, in another way, heralding the sacred conjunction and the successful completion of the Great Work in removing the Dark One’s access to the world. Rand’s birthplace and death place are merging.<br />
<br />
Cyndane was not allowed to disguise herself either in Tel’aran’rhiod or with a mask of mirrors as part of her punishment. Moridin policed this in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> and <i>The Gathering Storm</i>, but in <i>Towers of Midnight</i> he become preoccupied and she began to get away with it and appear more openly as Lanfear. <br />
<br />
As Perrin enters Shayol Ghul, he sees Moridin kneeling at the Pit of Doom, and the other three standing tall. Lanfear used Compulsion on Perrin instead of seduction and even then had to pretend to be allied to the Light to manipulate him. (Otherwise she would have had to use such heavy Compulsion that he would be mindless—which would be noticed.) She felt that she “cheated” as Graendal does by resorting to Compulsion to win Perrin’s heart. The Compulsion was only effective because she played on his guilt that he wasn’t there to save his family from Fain and his resentment that Moiraine convinced him to leave the Two Rivers. <br />
<br />
It was not because Perrin was un-willing that enables Lanfear’s Compulsion to be undone, more a matter of him willing it away with his extreme strength of will. Despite the Compulsion, Perrin has considerable independence of thought and realises that Lanfear plans to kill Rand and save the Dark One. He knows this is the ultimate wrongness and that he must do his duty. In his previous scene Perrin made two choices, but this is his third and greatest choice—between Lanfear and his beloved Faile (and his dear friends). As a character, Perrin epitomises the choice between virtue and vice which is the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#lovers">Lovers Tarot card</a>. Actually, this time he must follow his duty AND his love. The Wolf King overwhelms Lanfear’s Compulsion with his love for Faile and also for Rand, his love for duty and rightness. By coming out of Compulsion in this way, he has prevented his own living death. <br />
<br />
With the ultimate wrongness being to kill Rand, (or Nynaeve or Moiraine) and so prevent the Light’s victory, Perrin commits the lesser wrongness of killing a woman not threatening him. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Rand POV</b> <br />
<br />
Shaitan seems little better than Shaisam at the end (as the similarity of their names hints)—saner, and not played for laughs, but just as childishly selfish. The Dragon feels contempt for the Dark One when he realises the extent of his deceit and cruelty. Moreover, Rand realises that he created his own hell, and killing the Dark One would make it happen. This is the ultimate example of the Aiel’s belief that killing an enemy is a lesser honour than taking him captive. So, Rand shielded the Bore and repaired the hole with undifferentiated saidin and saidar: pure duality, no subdivision into “elements”. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Moiraine POV</b><br />
<br />
Once Rand weaves a new prison for the Dark One, Moiraine flees the Bore before it closes, pulling Nynaeve with her. Thom saves her from running off the edge of the path outside Shayol Ghul. So determined is she to Witness the Bore closing, despite the blinding intensity of the Light, that she doesn’t watching where she is going. Rand and Moridin are both standing at this point—as the hole shrinks to nothing. The Blackness has been vanquished and the final stage of alchemical transformation, the Redness, represented by the blood of the Dragon and the Land, also has occurred. The Great Work is complete.<br />
<br />
In alchemy, the culmination of the Whiteness phase leaves the alchemist completely free in a state of pure spirit and intelligence, beyond space, time and form, and once back in the body, the soul can realise its state of spiritual completeness. Heaven and earth in the alchemist are then united (Nigel Hamilton, <i>The Alchemical Process of Transformation</i>). Rand felt this at the end of his battles with the Dark One. <br />
<br />
Jung wrote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>You can exert no influence if you are not susceptible to influence. <br />
<br />
Carl Jung, <i>The Practice of Psychotherapy</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>Moridin discovered this the hard way after he was linked to Rand. It inspired the desire for death in him, which led to him sacrificing his own corrupt soul, just as Rand sacrificed his corrupt body. So the Dark One who wanted to break the Creator’s champion, broke his own. Not that he cared.<br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-35058274711549830252018-10-04T06:55:00.000-04:002018-10-04T06:55:13.942-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #54: Chapter 48—A Brilliant Lance<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
The previous chapter was very complex and layered; this chapter is simpler, conveying joy at victory and relief that it is over. <br />
<br />
<b>Elayne, Thom and Min POVs</b><br />
<br />
Elayne, Thom, Aviendha and Min were all witnesses of Rand’s victory through their bonds and also, in the case of Thom, proximity. A moment before, Elayne had been numbed by exhaustion and the apocalyptic war, as had Aviendha. <br />
<br />
<b>Aviendha</b><br />
<br />
Graendal’s weave is turned back on her to cause compulsion at least as extreme as what she inflicted on others. She is another one receiving her just deserts. <br />
<br />
<b>Logain POV</b><br />
<br />
Logain thinks he was a fool to forsake uncovering the powerful sa’angreal to rescue people. Yet he is a fool for thinking Sakharnen would be more important to him. The people’s thanks and appreciation of their rescue and his part in it were vital to him—to restore and redeem him and the Black Tower. This will be a huge difference to the Asha’man and Black Tower in the Fourth Age. <br />
<br />
Gabrelle prompts Logain to break the seals (and cement his prophesied glory) but he was going to do it anyway. They are discarded like rubbish, although once valuable in material and function. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-78871089975630215232018-10-02T06:59:00.000-04:002018-10-02T06:59:24.425-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #53: Chapter 47—Watching the Flow Writhe<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Aviendha POV</b><br />
<br />
Both very dextrous weavers, Aviendha and Graendal have almost killed each other. This is a huge credit to Aviendha, since Graendal is much stronger in the power than she and drew heavily on her ring to conserve her strength. At the end of her own strength, Aviendha starts unpicking her weave as a last resort. Completely unpicking a weave does nothing (and anyway, Aviendha could just let go of the weave and allow the gateway to close), but incomplete unravelling is what will cause an unpredictable, hopefully destructive, event. Aviendha prefers this outcome, rather than just delaying or preventing Graendal’s return to Thakan’dar, and it is what occurs. <br/>
<br />
The chapter title refers to the chain reaction the unpicking causes in the weave.<br />
<br />
<b>Shaisam POV</b><br />
<br />
Mat does not succumb to Mashadar because he was cured of it in the White Tower and is now immune. The “fox that makes the ravens fly” tricks Shaisam by playing dead to lure him close enough to attack, like the fox does the raven in Western folk tales. As a former Darkfriend, zombie maker, and potential new Dark Lord, Shaisam could be likened to a raven. Trickster Mat gets his revenge while also saving Rand from the very real threat of Shaisam. In fact, Mat is the only one who could safely do so—Shaisam is such a potent evil. The personification of the evil arising from merciless good, Mordeth was corrupted by Fain, someone whom the Dark One had touched, into being a deity himself. <br />
<br />
<b>Perrin POV</b>
<br />
<br />
While in European folktales the wolf was often in competition with the fox, in Ancient Egyptian mythology, the wolf-headed god <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#upuaut">Upuaut</a> worked with the fox/jackal-headed god <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-mat.html#anubis">Anubis</a> as chief officers of the god of the underworld, the Universal Lord <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parralels-rand.html#osiris">Osiris</a>. This is another trio of gods that Jordan drew on when he developed the three ta’veren characters. In this scene, Perrin wants to help his friend Mat kill Shaisam but is wise enough to refrain and go about his own urgent tasks. First up he rescues Gaul, who was worried about the wolves vanishing from Tel’aran’rhiod. Perrin assures him they were called by the Horn into the waking world. <br />
<br />
The Wolf King is torn between aiding Gaul and Mat, and then Faile and Rand in this chapter, and he has a third choice (the number <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/it-does-add-up-number-symbolism.html#3">three</a> again!) coming up in his next scene. One of the main themes in Perrin’s sub-thread is that of the <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#lovers">Lovers or Choice tarot card</a>—the choice between virtue and vice or duty and pleasure. The choice between making (hammer) and destroying (axe). Perrin also feared that he had to choose exclusively between his human and animal natures, but that was a mistake. <br />
<br />
<b>Rand POV</b><br />
<br />
Moridin channels saidin through Callandor, then realises it is also a True Power sa’angreal. This is its danger and its trap as the “blade of ruin” described in the prophecies in <i>Towers of Midnight,</i> A Storm of Light. The “blade of ruin” and “fearful blade” are a link with the Dolorous Stroke of Arthurian legend that caused the wasteland. In this case, it <u>prevented</u> the tainting of saidin or saidar and the wasteland formed by the Breaking of the world; it was a dolorous stroke for the Shadow. <br />
<br />
Moridin thought he would get his promised oblivion from the Dark One as a reward for killing Rand. Even though channelling the True Power at Shayol Ghul is death—as Rand and Demandred both believe—Moridin doesn’t die because he is captured by Nynaeve, Moiraine and Rand working together—the three as one, as per prophecy: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one…<br />
<br />
- <i>The Gathering Storm,</i> Reading the Commentary <br />
<br />
</blockquote>Why does the Dragon need such a flawed and dangerous item reserved for him for three thousand years? Rand needs a True Power sa’angreal <u>indirectly</u> so <u>three</u> powers can be used together at extreme strength. By a quartet. This is the first time in the series that four—the number of the material world, solidity, power, omnipotence, will, and temporal law and justice—is more important than the number three. <br />
<br />
Min worked out how and why Callandor was to be used. We saw her early thoughts on this in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> and <i>Towers of Midnight</i>. Kudos to her. <br />
<br />
The Dark One’s own power is used against him to prevent him from tainting saidin and saidar. Nor can he simply cut off the True Power through the modest hole in his prison, due to the vast amount Moridin is drawing. Rand is a mirror of Shaisam as he feels what it is like to be a deity and contemplates killing one. His reaching for the devil through an indistinct “fluid” reminded me of Mat at the Eye of the World seeing the pool of saidin and wondering what’s in it. (Just the Horn, Mat, and the Dragon banner and a Seal. Things for this very moment.) Moiraine described the Eye as: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"The essence of the male half of the True Source, the pure essence of the Power wielded by men before the Time of Madness. The Power to mend the seal on the Dark One's prison, or to break it open completely. "<br />
<br />
<i>The Eye of the World,</i> Meetings at the Eye<br />
<br />
</blockquote> Rand will soon make weaves of the pure essences of saidin and saidar to mend the Dark One’s prison, linking us to the end of <i>The Eye of the World</i> when the world was greened again, while avoiding the trap of the taint that occurred just before the prologue of that same book. <br />
<br />
As Rand grips the Dark One, Light has come—time to break seals. Now that Rand has the Dark One’s undivided attention, so to speak, there is no risk that he will spare attention for cutting off Moridin’s access to the True Power. <br />
<br />
And so we come to the moment to complete the Magnum Opus (Great Work) of sealing away the Dark One. In <a href="https://13depository.blogspot.com.au/2002/03/the-refining-principle-alchemical.html">alchemical symbolism</a>, the culmination of the opus is the conjunction, the union of two (or more). Jordan has multiple conjunctions operating to emphasise that his Great Work is the salvation of the world. With the number three so important, the lynchpin conjunction was the triple conjunction of the powers. Opposites are reconciled in a conjunction, and love is both its cause and its effect (Edward Edlinger, <i> Anatomy of the Psyche</i>). Saidin and saidar are perfectly balanced and united at last, and harness the opposing True Power to cut an evil deity off from the world. And it was sealed in blood: Rand’s blood, the sacred link of Rand and the Land, drips to seal the Sealing, “washing away the Shadow, sacrifice for man's salvation” (<i>The Shadow Rising</i>, Reflection). Outside, the Land, one with the Dragon, is slathered in the blood of the fallen. <br />
<br />
Most, perhaps the whole, of Rand’s duel with Moridin and then the Dark One at Shayol Ghul took place within the duration of the solar eclipse (which would be up to seven minutes), in astrology the strongest type of conjunction of sun and moon. During this time, Dragonmount and Shayol Ghul pulled toward one another in Tel’aran’rhiod (<i>A Memory of Light,</i> Light and Shadow); in one way symbolising the danger that the Light could become overwhelmed and corrupted by the Shadow, in another way, heralding the sacred conjunction of saidin and saidr and the successful completion of the Great Work.<br />
<br />
There is another marker of the sacred conjunction:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The image of a miraculous growth of flowers or vegetation comes up in dreams as evidence of proximity to the coniunctio. <br />
<br />
Edward Edlinger, <i>Anatomy of the Psyche</i><br />
<br />
</blockquote>Perrin saws them in the Wolf Dream, and Aviendha in the waking world. <br />
<br />
There are three stages of alchemical transformation to achieve the Great Work: the blackness (nigredo), whiteness (albedo) and redness (rubedo). According to the alchemists, matter suffers until the blackness disappears, then a new day will break, the albedo. Rand enters the blackness of the Pit of Doom and the Dark One’s void, and battles the Dark One’s efforts to torment him into despairing and giving up. His spirit was refined at Dragonmount, and the black thorns on his brain overlain with white, but he still suffers physically and has plans of violence—killing the Dark One, the less honourable alternative, by Aiel values. <br />
<br />
A shift in his understanding of evil results in his victory. Intense light explodes from Rand at the end of his battle with the Dark One, enough to be seen over the whole continent; it is the Dark One’s moment of judgment as much as Rand’s or the world’s. But in alchemical symbolism this state of “whiteness” is an abstract, ideal state and in order to make it come alive, it must have “blood”, it must have the “redness” of life and humanity (Carl Jung, Interview). Rand’s life blood slowly dripping away. Note also that Callandor turns crimson red as Moridin pulls the True Power through it, heralding the imminent success of Rand’s trap enabling the Sealing of the Bore. Moridin wants to go to the extreme of blackness—oblivion—but he is forced into the triple conjunction, and then Rand brings on the Whiteness and Redness in quick succession as he seals the Dark One away.<br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-21081258424837295542018-09-20T07:30:00.000-04:002018-09-20T07:33:56.664-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #52: Chapter 46—To Awaken<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
So much tension: the chapter ends on multiple cliffhangers. <br />
<br />
<b>Rand POV</b><br />
<br />
Mere minutes have passed since the three entered Shayol Ghul, so the total eclipse is barely over at the Pit of Doom, despite days of battle having passed at Thakan’dar and weeks elsewhere. Rand feels more powerful than Moridin and tells him he’s unimportant, but Moridin laughs and knifes Alanna, his wounded hostage. <br />
<br />
<b>Nynaeve POV</b><br />
<br />
Nynaeve can’t stop the knife because Rand has control of her channelling. It is fortuitous that herbs (and the application of mundane knowledge) rather than Healing save the day—and the world. They bring Alanna to consciousness and she releases the Warder bond before dying. On the whole, Aes Sedai consider herbs beneath them, but these plants have changed the course of events repeatedly in the series including for the Aes Sedai themselves. Jordan’s herbs often have real world parallels (see <a href="http://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/herbs-and-other-medicines.html">Herbs article</a> for these and part they’ve played in series). <br />
<br />
While rightly vilified for being made without consent, Alanna’s Warder bond was not all bad for Rand: it gave him great strength and endurance from <i>Lord of Chaos</i> until <i>Winter’s Heart</i>, when Elayne and Aviendha bonded him. (Min was included). It also was a major motivator for Rand, because of the distrust and suspicion it invoked. <br />
<br />
When his first attack doesn’t work, Moridin does the unexpected again in stabbing his hand so Rand feels it and drops Callandor. There’s power in cleverness and determination. <br />
<br />
<b>Perrin POV</b><br />
<br />
As Rand let go of his crushing sense of responsibility and pain, so Perrin lets go of his anger and pain. Concentrating on his task—his duty—he is not worried about whether he is wolf or man. In fact, he is truly in between, a liminal being on the thresholds of animal/human and awake/dreaming. All three ta’veren are liminal beings: Mat is liminal between the physical world and the underworld, and Rand between heaven and hell. <br />
<br />
As a result, Perrin, who represents the <a href="http://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#strength">Strength tarot card</a>, is at <u>full</u> strength. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>The fall of his hammer was like claps of thunder, the flashing of his eyes like lightning bolts. Wolves howled alongside the wind. <br />
<br />
<i>A Memory of Light,</i> To Awaken<br />
<br />
</blockquote>These lines also refer to <a href="http://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/character-parallels-perrin.html#sky">Perrin’s sky god parallels</a>, notably the Norse god Thor and the Slavic god Perun. The instinctual craftsman dodges in and out of Tel’aran’rhiod and the waking world as he concentrates on his prey, and they flicker between multiple worlds when he deals the killing blow. This is reminiscent of the Portal Stone trap/malfunction in <i>The Great Hunt</i>. Perrin sees various mirror and If worlds, notably one with soldiers that are a combination of Aiel and Seanchan. <br />
<br />
When Perrin follows him from Tel’aran’rhiod to waking world and back, Slayer finally feels the terror he gave to others. Most of Jordan’s Darkfriends get their just deserts (see <a href="http://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/shadow-and-darkfriends-who-is.html#alteima">Darkfriends article</a>). <br />
<br />
Perrin’s expert eye assesses that the Light has lost the battle at Thakan’dar even though they won elsewhere. Where the Shadow has concentrated its attack, all three ta’veren are needed there to win. One or two are not enough. Perrin hears the Horn of Valere sound—not Olver’s first call, though—to summon the Heroes to Thakan’dar, including Hero wolves. The Last Hunt counters the Darkhounds’ Wild Hunt. <br />
<br />
<b>Mat POV</b><br />
<br />
Olver and the Heroes are at the base of Shayol Ghul. Unfortunately, Shaisam’s mist is nearly at the path leading up the volcano. Mashadar touches Mat at the end of the chapter. More anon. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-36592678389620721132018-09-14T05:05:00.000-04:002018-09-14T05:05:00.237-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #51: Chapter 45—Tendrils of Mist<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Mat POV</b><br />
<br />
“Blood stained the rocks” after the battles on the Heights is a reference to the prophecy of Rand’s blood sacrifice for salvation and that Rand is one with the Land. Mat carries Rand’s banner with the Aes Sedai symbol to fight under at Thakan’dar to ensure that the prophecy of “under this sign he (Rand) will conquer” is fulfilled. <br />
<br />
Gateways won’t open at Thakan’dar because reality is breaking up there. Mat praises Grady for his efforts at the rather alarming battle at the Ford involving people who are trapped in a different kind of broken reality. <br />
<br />
Trickster Mat reiterates that he won’t be bound to the Horn, or anyone. Yet, ironically Mat is bound—to Rand, and objects to this strongly all through the series. <br />
<br />
<b>Shaisam POV</b><br />
<br />
Shaisan consumes souls rather like the Machin Shin infestation of the Ways, that was “friendly”—professional courtesy, Jordan called it—to Padan Fain/Mordeth in <i>The Great Hunt</i>. Shaisam’s drones have dead eyes rather than the wrong ones of those Turned to the Shadow. He hides his body among these zombies. Shaisam is still bound to a body but can transcend this dependence; he is on the verge of being a deity, but needs a place to “infest” (again like the Black Wind and like vermin or disease). This sets up the next chapter. <br />
<br />
So powerful is Shaisam now, that he is able to convert Myrddraal, whereas before he used to just kill them. His protective mist is the part of Mashadar that was carried out of Shadar Logoth in the dagger by Mat. Once Fain/Mordeth was reunited with dagger, he was able to unite Mashadar with him, control it, grow it and become Shaisam. It seems that with his usual luck Mat chose to steal Mordeth’s most potent item. <br />
<br />
Still, Shaisam is played for laughs at times in the last book, which prevents us from taking him seriously and lessens the surprise and daring of Mat killing him. Shaisam has imbued himself in Mashadar and plans to find a suitable place in the world to imbue himself in, too—as the Black Wind did in the Ways. The sun can still burn Shaisam and Mashadar away, but the clouds are too thick for that right now. <br />
<br />
<b>Gaul POV</b><br />
<br />
Gaul and the wolves in Tel’aran’rhiod are working together very well to counter Slayer. Slayer tricks the wolves, but not Gaul. However, the Stone Dog honourably reveals himself to protect the wolves and is injured as a result. <br />
<br />
Perrin stands with his face toward the sun (a symbol of life, the Creator, and Rand), even though it can’t be seen. Slayer reminds us of the foretelling that Luc will be important in the Last Battle. Luc and Isam both wanted to be part of something important, so this foretelling was a major inspiration for them. Isam wanted the ability to channel but the Dark One gave him other gifts instead, including the ability to enter Tel’aran’rhiod without channelling, which requires a dual-souled nature. <br />
<br />
Some have theorised that Moridin channels only the True Power because his body can’t channel saidin even though his mind can. But the Dark One can’t grant the ability to channel, according to Slayer in this chapter. Moridin certainly felt when Rand channelled saidin and he wouldn’t have been able to sense it if he couldn’t channel it. He used only the True Power because he was addicted to it and it showed his status as favoured one. Plus, this intimidated the other Forsaken, who would never dare to use the True Power so boldly because it is lethal. (Tough guy Demandred, for instance, flinches, at Moridin’s saa.) The clincher is that Moridin channels through Callandor with saidin first, then, when he found to his surprise that it could do so, the True Power. <br />
<br />
<b>Mat POV</b><br />
<br />
Olver loves flying on to’raken, but poor Mat is terrified. From his aerial viewpoint, Mat is appalled to realise that Fain and Mashadar are in Thakan’dar—and even the Shadar Logoth dagger also. He rightly doesn’t think the Light will be so lucky that the Darkhounds and Mashadar destroy one another, which means he will have to do something about one of them, at least. <br />
<br />
Mat sees the ancient symbol of Aes Sedai forming overhead from white and dark clouds. The clouds are a good substitute for Rand’s banner which is lost when the to’raken crashes. No need to consciously fulfil prophecy this time. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-60486410949550465322018-09-07T07:19:00.002-04:002018-09-14T05:04:44.188-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #50: Chapter 44—Two Craftsmen<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Perrin POV</b><br />
<br />
The hospital in Mayene is well-informed about how the battles are going. By recognising Chiad, Perrin reminds of her potential dishonour as a gaishain in visiting the battlefield to retrieve the injured and tend them. Perrin tells her it’s an exceptional time and what use is honour if the Dark One wins? She says it is everything, and he privately agrees. Otherwise the society ends up like Shadar Logoth or dark Rand, both of which had to be undone to save the world. Perrin convinces Chiad to find him an Aes Sedai that will lessen his fatigue by saying that he has to save Rand and Gaul. (She actually crept in to him to ask about Gaul, which is against tradition, and shows the extent of her love.) <br />
<br />
Perrin and Master Luhhan acknowledge each other’s master’s pieces. And Master Luhhan is brilliant: the Whitecloak Byar doubted that the axe he made was indeed made by a village blacksmith. Both craftsmen agree that killing is never beautiful, even if the tools made for it are beautiful. <br />
<br />
Perrin saw a vision of Mat talking with Seanchan (to arrange his transportation to Thakan’dar). And like Mat, he feels Rand pulling him to come and help. Perrin thinks he used himself up too early, but Master Luhhan says no, he’s still alive and must keep fighting because it’s an exceptional day. (A variant of what Perrin just told Chiad). It’s so typical of their characters that Mat would object to Rand’s pull because it’s an imposition, whereas Perrin would doubt that he is capable of undertaking it. <br />
<br />
Perrin tests Masuri for trustworthiness before he will let her restore him. After all, an Aes Sedai cannot lie and neither does Perrin’s sense of smell. She grudgingly admits she was wrong to try and use Masema and has learned better—especially how excellent Perrin is. The Brown sister says that all the Aes Sedai and Wise Ones with Perrin learned this. Once Masuri washes away his fatigue, she gasps as he vanishes physically into Tel’aran’rhiod. Yep, he’s even better than they know. <br />
<br />
<b>Thom POV</b><br />
<br />
The gleeman is another underestimated character. At first Thom appears to be a spectator of the battles recording the events as an epic ballad. But that is only one thing he is doing here. He gives as an accurate view of what’s happening. The Windfinders and the Dark One fighting over control of the weather. The last steamwagon fallen. The mist on one side of Thakan’dar unaffected by either the Windfinders or the Dark One; this is probably Shaisam. Thom muses on how one must do the unexpected to perform well, and in fact, that is what he is doing: being the unexpected last defence of Shayol Ghul in the waking world. <br />
<br />
How glad he is to be there to protect Moiraine as much as Rand. Despite his ruminations he is alert and kills Jeane Caide, who was disguised as Cadsuane, but did not walk like her—the fifth Aes Sedai he has despatched. We never do learn what Jeane was doing between Tanchico and now. Nor do we know the names of the other four sisters that Thom killed. Robert Jordan doesn’t want the reader to know everything. But how bold is Thom to calmly knife channellers. <br />
<br />
Because he is a very experienced and skilled performer, Thom is an accurate judge of a disguise, and is not fooled by an outer semblance or a faked voice. Thom has some aspects of the Fool in him—as a wandering but wise fool gleeman with his tall tales containing elements of truth—and also some aspects of the Magician, the next tarot card. The magician card originally represented an itinerant performer at fairs and was later developed by the occultists into a magus, and Thom is certainly both of these, as was his most important pupil, Rand, who started out performing at inns and houses on the way to Caemlyn and Tear and probably will again as he wanders the world after the Last Battle. Full circle. <br />
<br />
As so often is the case, the chapter title refers to more than one situation. The two craftsmen in the series ostensibly are Perrin and Haral Luhhan, but they also could be Perrin and Thom (the POVs of the chapter) or even Perrin and Masuri, who is so skilled in removing fatigue. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-28375622629840943702018-09-03T06:27:00.001-04:002018-09-03T06:27:45.055-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #49: Chapter 43—A Field of Glass<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Logain POV</b><br />
<br />
Logain is half-Turned—traumatised by mental torture but with Turning attempts on top of stilling. There’s enough of his old self left to know that he has gone wrong. (This is part of the Wrongness theme prevalent in the last three books to show the Shadow’s corruption of the world.) The new head of the Black Tower wants to make sure he can never be abused again; he wants to be feared so much that no one will even think of being a threat to him. Hence, he is ignoring the battle and looking for the sa’angreal Sakharnen. <br />
<br />
Gabrelle is trying to save him from himself. Much to his frustration, Logain can tell that she has genuine concern for him and so can’t pass her efforts off as Aes Sedai manipulation. This starts his redemption, just as Nynaeve’s genuine concern started Rand’s. Further, as the Tinkers and Ebou Dari/Seanchan pulled Rand up short, so do Logain’s faction and the refugees Logain. <br />
<br />
Sakharnen was not crystallised by the Flame of Tar Valon weave as Taim and the Land were. The crystals resist Logain’s cutting weaves so he determines to use balefire to get the sa’angreal. At this point—which would have damaged the Land and been his ruination—he is distracted by a completely exhausted Androl begging him to save the refugees from Trollocs. <br />
<br />
<b>Mat POV</b><br />
<br />
Mat is semi-adopted by the Heroes of the Horn because he was Hornsounder once. He’s delighted that he is not a Hero because Tricksters must be free to act as their whims take them. For the same reason, he’s also delighted that he’s no longer linked to the Horn as the Hornsounder. I guess from his Trickster theme alone we should have realised that he would not stay bound to it. <br />
<br />
The Sharans have fled the battlefield by gateway—they have contributed enough to earn their freedom from the Pattern. That was the reward for their help; they don’t feel any allegiance to the Shadow, which ties in neatly with Rand’s scene in this chapter. Interestingly, the Sharans have lost most of their channellers in the Last Battle, which means they cannot be controlled by channellers as they were for over three thousand years. They truly lived in the type of society that the Seanchan dreaded and mistakenly claimed that the mainlanders had. The Light’s armies are set up for victory and this, in turn, helps Rand, who is one with the Land. <br />
<br />
Seanchan “monsters” easily outfight the Trollocs. These beasts were brought from parallel worlds to do so <i>The World of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time</i> and they are so effective that one can see why there are so few Shadowspawn in Seanchan. So much so that even someone as well educated as Tuon thought Trollocs a myth. <br />
<br />
Mat feels pulled toward Rand and is peeved because he thinks he’s done enough for Rand already. He grudgingly admits that he’s been distant to his old friend because he channels, and, in fact, never gave Rand a formal and fond farewell like Perrin did. <br />
<br />
Now that the battlefield fighting is largely done, Mat asks Hawkwing to have a few words with Tuon and also tell her that Mat sent him (to earn credit with her for arranging such an honour). Unfortunately, we are not privy to that conversation, but Sanderson says: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Brent Holmes: What happened in the conversation between Tuon and Arthur Hawkwing?!?! <br />
<br />
Brandon Sanderson: It was interesting, I'll tell you that much. <br />
<br />
Melissa Houghton: Did Hawkwing talk with Tuon? <br />
<br />
Brandon Sanderson: Yes. <br />
<br />
Nick: How do you think Fortuona reacted to speaking with Hawking? <br />
<br />
Brandon Sanderson: With great consternation. <br />
<br />
- Twitter exchange January 2013<br />
<br />
</blockquote>
<b>Rand POV</b><br />
<br />
The Shadow loses because its followers are not noble enough to sacrifice themselves as so many have done for the Light. They only have selfish interests and “selfishness must be preserved” as Verin said in <i>The Gathering Storm</i>. The Dark One can rant and threaten but inspires no one. Even Ishamael wants out. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4833204375789249557.post-90505280266533907522018-08-24T05:13:00.002-04:002018-08-24T05:13:57.892-04:00Memory of Light Read-through #48: Chapter 42—Impossibilities<br />
<i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662">By Linda </a></i><br />
<br />
<b>Aviendha POV</b><br />
<br />
The Windfinders have lost control of the storm at Thakan’dar, but it’s not all bad. Plants are growing in Thakan’dar as the mountain vibrates. Lightning freezes and clouds form the ancient symbol of Aes Sedai—a symbol that arose in an Age when saidin and saidar were frequently used together. Rand and the Pattern are at least holding back the Shadow’s damage. The rise in fertility hints that Rand is on the verge of winning. Aviendha believes that Rand grew these plants just when she needed the cover and that the thrumming is Rand actively resisting the Dark One. <br />
<br />
Rhuarc’s sad end is such a shock to Aviendha, although she quickly realises that he is better off dead than being Graendal’s toy. <br />
<br />
<b>Mishraile POV</b><br />
<br />
Alviarin is in command of the Dreadlord group of 3 women (all ex-Whites sticking together) and 4 men. Mishraile is rather like Moghedien in that he is a skulker in the shadows who dislikes fighting in the open. <br />
<br />
Pevara’s plan to go to where the dragons are being fired to find the Dreadlords has paid off. The Dreadlords fall for Androl’s disguise as Rand because they think that only Rand could have defeated Demandred. Like Demandred, they have no idea of Rand’s battle at Shayol Ghul. Alviarin is determined to lead the circle of two women and one man that attacks Rand to get credit with the Dark One. The Dreadlords are successfully lured into a stedding by Androl’s Rand faking exhaustion (he didn’t have to try very hard). <br />
<br />
<b>Pevara POV</b><br />
<br />
I wonder if the Ogier Elders are over-confident that they can hold the Dreadlords. The situation reminds me of when the Ents were guarding Saruman and Wormtongue at Orthanc in <i>Lord of the Rings</i>. The Ogier think the peace of the Stedding will do the Dreadlords good and won’t violate that peace with any executions. <br />
<br />
When Androl’s group leaves the Stedding, they find the Trollocs that Moghedien sent attacking civilians. <br />
<br />
<b>Aviendha POV</b><br />
<br />
Aviendha scares Graendal, which takes some doing. She deprives Graendal of her companions by making her Travel with the True Power before she could grab any to take with her. The price was having her feet badly burnt. <br />
<br />
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767984732078916662noreply@blogger.com0