The Worst Thing Nynaeve Does.

Well, a couple days ago I finished A Crown of Swords. In it, towards the end, Moghedian finds herself in Ebou Dar, and happens to see Nynaeve out of the corner of her eye. She is going to the Sea Folk to discuss the Bowl of the Winds. So, Moghedian gets to a rooftop, sees the boat Nynaeve hopped on, and commences to use Balefire on the ship. Then we get that scene where Lan hops in to save her, yet she finally actually surrenders to saidar, and severs her block as a wilder that's been so much trouble to her.

It's all hunky-dory until you learn that two Redarms got Balefired on that boat. Two men burned from the Pattern, never to be reborn into the world again, and Nynaeve does not even want to tell Mat what happened. Hell, Lan is the one that tells him what happened to the two Redarms.

I know Nynaeve is avoiding Mat as much as possible, but does she have to be such an uncaring cunt that she won't even tell their commander that two of his men died protecting her from one of the Forsaken?

The import of this scene only came to me during this latest read, and it's really bugging me. Sure, she gets pissed off after she learns that Lan told Mat, yet she does nothing to show Mat her, well, toh for their service. Mat is only told that they got killed, but not that they were Balefired.

This bugs me, and I hope that Nynaeve actually does apologize later. I don't know, but I've started Path of Daggers already, so we'll see.

Just something on my mind.

Ebou Dar

I love this culture. I find it to be the most audacious, the most buxom, and where a lot of fun things happen in the series.

Ok, I just like watching Mat squirm while Tylin has her royal way with him.

Ebou Dar represents a funny addition to the cultures of Randland, if simply on the basis of the marriage knife.

When an Ebou Dari couple tie the knot, the woman is given a dagger, and, with the blessing of the state, she may use it on her husband should he ever displease her. That's bloody hilarious, especially when you get this feeling that Ebou Dari husbands find the fact funny and agitate their wives, a specific case being Setalle Anan's husband. I think for my gender analysis, this is quite a blatant violation of gender equality in the case of married couples. Albeit, I have to wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye.

BOOM, went there!

So, the one thing I remember most about Ebou Dar's fashion comes from the deep neckline and bodacious boobage going on. So, let's assume a man courts a lady for her milk mounds, and is simply desirous of her for pleasure. Not the basis of a good marriage. Considering that people keep what goes on in the bedroom to themselves, including in many cases unwanted sex, this seems like it could be a great safeguard to women seeking husbands. I'm only 3/4 of the way through Crown of Swords at this point, but I don't know if any mention comes of Ebou Dar's policies towards divorce.

The marriage knife was my main topic to write a little on, and now I want to touch a bit on the gender division as far as jobs go.

Again, with Setalle and her hubby. He goes out and catches fish for a living, she runs the inn. In fact, all the inns are run by women in Ebou Dar, while only men get to be ship captains.

Why?

Honestly, I think this may be a culture reference to the island of Siphnos.

Without going into more detail about it, there's a theory that there was a kind of matriarchy in the Mediterranean, specifically Greece. We've some mythological basis for this, but on Siphnos, the woman gets the house. Period. It's her place, she gets the lion's share of the dowry and whatnot, while the men go out and do whatever. This is actually somewhat similar to what the women of Sparta did, if only in that the Spartan ladies looked after the houses.

Considering everyone's pension for dueling and getting in fights, the marriage knife is partially indicative of the culture that produced it, as well as a signpost against men that just want a woman for her charms. I think that my assertion is here is decent without more data. Hopefully I'll have something more to write on the matter when I finish up Crown of Swords.

Til the next time!

Galad Damodred

Hey there everybody!

Last night I was thinking about the character arc of Galad, whom just happens to be Rand's half-brother. Considering that he goes from being in Caemlyn to The Fortress of Light when the Seanchan attack, to assuming the title of Lord Captain Commander when he kills Valda. Yet, throughout the series until Towers of Midnight, he's just been a case example of Lawful Good.

So, why?

Well, as a character, he believes that the right thing ought to always be done, for its own sake, without recourse to the pains it may cause anyone involved.

So, Immanuel Kant walks into a fantasy story...

So, the first thing one should know about Kantian ethics is that it is based in deontology, or duty-based ethics. Yet, we really don't get a definition for what a duty is in his work, so I've my own definition I like:

A duty is an imperative towards an action.

So, actions are required in moral situations. As for Kant, one mainly need think of his Categorical Imperative, which simply states that one ought only do those actions that one would, at the same time, will to be a universal law. Those actions we will to be universalized- to apply in all situations for all persons- are called maxims, and naturally constitutes morality as such.

Let me give an example:

Should one cut in a line? Well, that depends. Are you willing to say that everyone should always cut in a line? If that becomes the case, then cutting in a line is not a maxim because if everyone did that, then there would be no line to cut in! So, it's self-defeating, and can't be a maxim.

I think this is how Galad approaches his problems.

Galad finds Rand in the garden, clearly intruding. Can he will that everyone in that situation should inform the guards that there's an intruder with the Daugher-Heir? Yep, and does.

After trying to find Elayne, and being rebuffed by the Aes Sedai with no answers, especially after they shirk Morgase's demand that they hand over Elayne, Galad decides to join the Whitecloaks. Later, after being asked why, he states that it was because it seemed right, on account of the Aes Sedai being bitches, and bitches need to be...burned at the stake? Another maxim for him, but this begins his transformation into a more thoughtful character.

So, he kills Valda, takes the Children that want to to Tarmon Gai'don, but eventually gets caught, released, and eventually finds himself putting Perrin on trial for the two Whitecloaks he killed at the beginning of the story.

Essentially, he goes from knowing what to do, to having to take more in consideration of what ought to be done. Sure, Perrin killed two Whitecloaks, but the Whitecloaks killed Hopper and other wolves, which was just as bad in Perrin's eyes. Having been forced to acknowledge that he can't easily figure everything out, he strikes that bargain with Perrin to wait until after Tarmon Gai'don before he sentences him.

This changes after Perrin leads his mad charge down a steep slope with his cavalry, his newly-crafted +4 Flaming Warhammer of the Flying Wolf smooshing Trollocs left and right, to save the men under Galad's command. After saving them, Galad decides that Perrin isn't a bad person, and agrees to make him pay the families of the men he killed, which was nice and reasonable.

Question is, will he have time to alter any more now that him and Berelain are mooning over eachother?

Damn prettyboy...

Sexism Definition

This is rather late, but I have the bad habit of watching a lot of an anime series if it turns to be worth watching. So it goes with Highschool of the Dead. I admit it has too much fanservice, dumb camera angles, and too much jiggling, but the situation is well-developed, the voice acting is good, and it seems to keep the drama up. So, it seems worthwhile to watch.

So, what is sexism, and how is it expressed in culture?

Well, there are certain ways in which we interact that cannot be done unless we know the other's gender. Pronouns, clothing, how to address someone, all of these are in some way used as gender markers for how we interact. Frye goes on to a number of ways farther than we do gender-announcing and whatnot, but I want to focus on language.

If there's one thing I've noticed in the Wheel of Time books, it appears to be the case that the women in the series are more than willing to verbally abuse, and dress-down the men. Egwene especially does this to Rand most of the time they interact in the series. It's not the playful way Min interacts with Rand, but a very blatant way of insulting him to degrade him. Hell, the man is the Dragon Reborn, it's not like he can be brought down, or even forced to forget what he is, and what's been forced on him.

Furthermore, I really can't think of a meek woman in the series. They're all headstrong, willful, or even far dareis mai. Comparatively, it seems to be the case that the men in the series are far more meek. Take the Two Rivers men, all of whom are used to the pushy goodwives of their village, the Women's Circle, and even the Wisdom. They take it as a matter of course as the series goes on that the women they are with are more than willing to run off and put themselves in danger. All the while telling the menfolk that they aren't needed, wanted, or even that they're useful. Nynaeve is particularly a perpetrator of that.

I think from this I want to say that the gender scale is tipped in favor of women in The Wheel of Time series. Also, considering the amount of queens they meet, as well as how the White Tower is the one stable political force for the last three thousand years, women would seem to have a stronger initial status because they can't be infected with the taint on saidin.

Huh, that helped focus my thoughts more than I thought it would. Sorry for not doing the Latin of the Wheel of Time opening, got carried away in cartoons.

Saldean Marriages

Whee, finished Lord of Chaos yesterday!

:x I think it's time I finally sat down and read The Republic. That whole philosopher and classicist thing...

So, what we know of how Saldean couples interact comes from two sources primarily, the marriage of Perrin and Faile, as well as Bashere and Deira. This comes from when Perrin finally gets to Caemlyn because of the pull of Rand's stronger ta'veren thread.

So, I'm going to quickly recap the scene, then try to figure out what it means.

Once Perrin makes it fiercely clear that he will cleave through anything Bashere has to keep Faile with him, the two go to a room where Deira and Faile are discussing her running away, as well as her marriage. Once inside, Deira immediately speaks to Perrin about how Faile makes him out to be weak, indulgent, and not strong. Here comes a quote, and I'll try to interpret it:

"Weaklings never think so. A woman wants a strong man, stronger than she, here." And farther down, "If a woman is stronger than her husband, she comes to despise him. She has the choice of tyrannizing him or else making herself in order to not make him less. If a husband is strong enough, though..." She says a little more about how she can be strong as he is, but I think this will be sufficient.

First thing we know: Borderlanders are nuts, but lovable. As with what I've said of Shienar, the Borderlands require men to be constantly ready to fight off a Trolloc raid, and the practice of making men as strong as possible to deal with them takes on a different form here. Wherein Shienar chivalry defines how they will die to protect the women of the land, Saldean women seem to have decided that they need to be fierce to scare of any weak men, so only those strong enough to "tame" them will get to reproduce.

Remember, angry sex is the best sex!

Again, women do not generally fight in the Borderlands, but that does not mean they are simply subordinate to the men there. They seem to be always ready to antagonize and keep their husbands willful enough to hold the Blight back. Also, they seem to push their husbands when they think they might need it. Consider how Faile is the primary source of why the Two Rivers decides to be independent, and eventually a province subordinate to the Queen of Andor.

One thing I'm unsure of is that bit about either terrorizing him or lowering herself to make him stronger. Two possibilities arise, and I think they are both true. Either she rules him and forces him to "man-up" as it were so he does his duty, or she encourages him by making herself seem weaker than she really is.

Pretty interesting as far as relationships go. What was that quote by Robert Jordan, something about preferring to hunt leopards than rabbits, which refers to how much more satisfying it is to go after a tough woman than a meek one.

Bah, duty calls, Latin time!

Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.

Egwene al'Vere

Ho boy, is this something I've noticed the WoT community is divided over. Going from the girl that Rand believed he was to marry to Amyrlin Seat, as well as thinking Rand is nuts for thinking he should break the seals, Egwene's character arc goes from those small village roots to the most powerful woman in the world.

Yet, why are the people divided about her?

Honestly, I think it's because she goes from being nice, helpful, and determined to help Rand survive the Aes Sedai, to becoming the living embodiment of the conservative, 3000 year-old edifice that is the White Tower.

Sure, she works to bring all the channeling women together, whether Seafolk or Aiel or Knitting Circle, and unites the Tower from the divide that many considered would be irreparable, but she becomes as deft and strong a manipulator and savant of Daes Dae'mar that Moiraine will probably flip when she meets her again.

So, in Towers of Midnight we are treated to a great scene in which Rand just waltzes up to the White Tower, and asks to see the Amyrlin. Far from being fearful because he's in the center of Aes Sedai authority, and even while shielded, Rand simply tells Egwene what he will do, and that she must plan for it, so buts. And he leaves with nobody trying to stop him. One interesting thing to note here is that, although he was shielded, some of the Aes Sedai comment that they felt that they couldn't contain him if he did want to break out, which has two possibilities.

Rand has gone to 11, and can bring out so much of the Power that not all the Aes Sedai could keep him shielded.

Or, and this is what I think is the case, he can channel the Creator's version of the True Power now, which does explain the immense strength he suddenly gains, as well as his oddball ability to suddenly see Darkfriends, a capacity only seen in Padan Fain in The Lord of Chaos, which was a gift from the Dark One.

Personally, I dislike how she just becomes another Aes Sedai, albeit a "better" one. The wench is still uncomfortable around channeling men, doesn't believe that saidin is cleansed, and doesn't listen to the messiah that surviving Tarmon Gai'don is really their job, not his. His is to seal the Dark One away before another comes later in the Pattern to the place where the Pattern is thinner, and a strange new power source exists.

I gotta admit, I'm really wondering what's going to happen with Lanfear in A Memory of Light, given Rand's strange dream where he sees her imprisoned in the necklace thing that Moridin has.

So, Egwene: pretty much 180s her trust in the man that she would have married had not the Pattern set the two on the path that they are on.

As a side note, Saldeans are crazy with how their marriages work, and I will be commenting on that for more stuff regarding what I hope to be the gender analysis paper I want to write.

Been a tough week, but updates will be coming more often.

Later!

Shienar

Found in the northeast corner of Randland, Shienar is one of the four borderland states that keep the southern lands from being overrun by Trollocs, Myrddraal, and other horrors of the dark one. Forty years before Shienar was the buffer against the Blight that it is, the nation of Malkier existed to the north. However,treachery from within caused the utter destruction of Malkier and its Seven Towers, and began the lifelong struggle of Lan to dance with the Shadow in a war that cannot be won, only fought. Regardless of the buffer that used to exist in Malkier, Shienar is home to a unique culture that has generally endured for the three thousand years since the Breaking of the World.

To encapsulate the male culture of Shienar within its own words, here's the most quotable phrase in all of the Wheel of Time books:

Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.

So yeah, keep to your duty, and do you damndest to not die. This phrase is one of the only things that keeps Rand going in the books, a talisman to remind him that he must go on for life to continue, and death waits for him at the end so he can rest.

So, Shienaran culture can mainly be described as a practicing chivalric society, especially since Shienar is famous for producing powerful heavy cavalry. Women are given immense respect, as well as their own quarters that men are not allowed in to. Necessarily, this leads to the question: "Why?"

I think a common thread in all the borderland cultures is that women decide when to hop in the sack, and when to get back out. The respect given them is due to how there is a constant need for able-bodied men to serve in the armies of the border, and because of their contribution, women are given immense privilege and power. Gotta make babies, and the women have to put up with them so the line can be held. One funny thing you learn in The Great Hunt is that the ladies of Fal Dara Keep love playing matchmaker. They think that Rand is an outland lord, and constantly drop hints that so-and-so would make a dutiful and good wife, and how his babies and sword skill would help keep the Blight back.

It is also influenced by samurai culture, primarily in how they approach honor and obligations. The men find their self-respect in how well they perform their duties as borderlander men, as well as how seriously they take their duties. Men giving themselves over to abstract concepts like this helps maintain their devotion to not only Shienar and the border, but to all the people south.

Just a quick primer, but interesting nonetheless. One last bit is to note that Aes Sedai are immensely respected there, which may be a distribution of their attitude towards women.

Opening the fan, Ishamael

Divisions of the Land

The significance of the Tower since the Breaking lies mainly in its services to Randland. Rulers give tribute, the amount of which seems to be relatively staggering, considering the stipend Aes Sedai are given to live off of per year, along with the fact that there are about a thousand in the Tower, along with all the servants, guards, and general upkeeping of the Tower. I think the amount was something like a thousand gold crowns per Aes Sedai.

So, men that can channel can appear just about anywhere, and tribute to the Tower seems to afford rulers a couple things: Reds will come to gentle false Dragons and channeling men, or rulers are entitled to have an Aes Sedai advisor available, and even get the services of a Gray when a treaty must be brokered between nations. The Tower as a whole also seems to be more than willing to browbeat nations into complying with the Tower's wishes. This is evidenced by how pissed Gareth Bryne is that Siuan told him to quit whatever border dispute was going on, forcing him to kneel in submission. Latently, as evidenced by how Aes Sedai determine rank in a combat situation, the White Tower is still, on some level, a military order, and their attitudes towards the world and eachother reflect that.

Next on the gender question is related to geography.

So, how do the nations of the western lands act towards Aes Sedai and channeling?

Considering the immensity of the Misty Mountains, the fact that Amadicia is controlled by the Whitecloaks, and how Far Madding is special in its own way, the amount of respect given to the Aes Sedai is directly dependent on the landscape, since that generally dictates where Aes Sedai can go easily and influence events.

For example, in Shienar early in The Great Hunt, the Amyrlin and everyone from the Tower are afforded every courtesy. Far to the west, in the Two Rivers, Aes Sedai are given the status and respect worthy of women who are in the Women's Circle. At least partially, given that half like Moiraine in The Eye of the World, and the other half look at her with suspicion. To the south you have the unique Power-negating guardian of Far Madding, where Aes Sedai don't want to go, and Tear, where channeling is outlawed.

Further from the Tower correlates with less authority, although there seems to be a minimum amount afforded Aes Sedai.

This portion is important because the role and status of women, I will assert, is directly related to how easily an Aes Sedai can travel to a certain place. Shienar, relatively easy, The Two Rivers, not so much, but hardly impossible.

Alright, it's time to hop off here to get some business done, more to come!

My Madness rating is 20, Ishamael

The Age of Legends

I realized earlier that I should get ahold of the Wheel of Time encyclopedia for some more research material concerning gender, but here I am going to give a brief overview of the world as it was before the Breaking.

So, we are told that in the Age of Legends, strength in the One Power between the genders was balanced overall. Women are better generally with Water and Air, while men are better with Fire and Earth; Spirit is equal between the genders. Yes, this is material we all know, but it needs to be stated for framing my approach. So, the best things done in the Age of Legends required men and women to work together, but everything goes tits-up when Lanfear makes the bore to the Dark One.

Then we have the War of the Power, then Lews Therin tries to get women to help him go seal the bore, but for some reason they opted out of the best chance they had to seal the Dark One's evil ass up. So, Lews and the Hundred Companions, all men, fight their way to the bore, make the seven cuendillar seals, then the Dark One taints saidin. All the men go mad, the Breaking begins, and we end with the first scene in The Eye of the World.

What follows are three thousand years of cultural development and change, in which the only real constant is the White Tower and the taint on saidin. Symbolically the Aes Sedai change, going from the quasi-yin-yang to the Flame of Tar Valon, as well as the Dragon's Fang. Three thousand years of Aes Sedai hunting men, or even rumors of men, that can channel. As it turns out, even though Lews Therin and the Companions essentially sacrificed themselves in order to keep the Dark One at bay for any period of time, wilder men are just sought out, and executed. Oh, I'm sorry, "gentled." They cut him off from magic, and he loses the will to live. Fear of men that can channel becomes so ingrained in the culture, even though the Aes Sedai know the Prophecies, that even when Rand does use the Eye to touch pure saidin, the Aes Sedai that know what he is still feel that tug that he should be gentled.

So, I think here I will make my first assertion: the truth that men cannot touch the Source without being tainted, while Aes Sedai can still channel it, lessens the status of men in the various cultures of Randland. Now, I think it would be better to consider the issue of gender-status macroscopically, but in what comes next I will go over the various countries, their laws, if any, they have concerning channeling, and how men and women interact in these cultures.

I'm going slightly mad, Ishamael