Aes Sedai behavior towards those stilled

[Brian Mandragon]

The tower and it's attitudes toward each other were a sign of how society had broken down and made the time ripe for the Dark One to return. And for all of their thinking they were better than everyone else they had to learn the truth to survive. Turning away Wilders meant possibly turning away a talent even if underdeveloped. The tower was stagnated, Egwene and Nynaeve came in the the right time to be able to upset the way things worked and make changes that would never have worked if the tower was already whole.

 

[Jocasta Braithe]

Brian, I think you’re exactly right about the tower’s stagnation, that’s what I was trying to describe too. They have been doing what they do because “that’s just the way it’s done” for so long they (as a group) have lost the ability to adapt. They can’t change with the times when the situation demands it. And without some of their more flexible members - not just the Power trio, but also Moiraine, Siuan, and others who broke the rules when they had to - they might not have survived.

 

[Juliya Karisu]

Which is why Nynaeve is successful, she has never in her life taken “it can’t be done” as a given. She makes all the yellows look bad. She’s a prodigy, but she never would’ve succeeded if she hadn’t tried.

Nynaeve is such a good example of going against all the Aes Sedai traditions. Keep on reading

 

[Jocasta Braithe]

Sarcasm or no?

I'm about halfway through Winter's Heart.

 

[Juliya Karisu]

Nope, not sarcasm. Just looking forward to you reading more about Nynaeve and trying not to spoil it.

 

[Jocasta Braithe]

I love Nynaeve. I can't wait.

 

[Almira ni'Caldazare]

Nynaeve and Matt both grow as characters throughout the series.
I guess all the characters change but Matt and Nynvaeve are the most obvious changes to me. They are my two favorite characters!

 

[Dakota t'Liesinger Hoskins]

Spoiler

I was thinking of Siuan and Leane with the Salidar Aes Sedai. They are rebels because they have at least some belief that those two are innocent. They think them dead and when they finally show up they are treated as garbage. Just because they can't channel anymore.

Brian already touched on this, but I think the main issue is how Aes Sedai deal with those who are not Aes Sedai. At the time of the main plotline, the Tower was so far removed from their original purpose, being literal servants of all, to the point that they became those who would have the world serve them. One of my favorite examples of this is the extreme that Liandrin took this attitude.

Granted, this is the far extremity of this attitude, but it is the same sentiment that many Sisters held. She made remarks that people should do more than bow or curtsy for Aes Sedai, as they did as much for monarchs, but monarchs were nothing compared to Aes Sedai. She truly held herself in intrinsic value far, far above other men and women. She was of the Black Ajah, and she was arrogant even among her ilk, but she displayed this attitude outwardly and it was not considered anomalous among her cohorts.

As such, when Siuan and Leane returned and could not channel, they were no longer Sisters and were treated as those "lesser" beings who came into possession of knowledge that they would never want known to one not of the Tower.