Maibella ni Rhoiden t'al'Varrak
Aes Sedai
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Messages
- 16,244
- Age
- 46
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
-
- She - Her
- Discord
- Maibella#7994
Kyredeon
Kyredeon
Egwene started out the weakest and least relevant of all characters. She grew into her role; and the pattern had plans for her. Outside the 3 official ta'veren, I think she's the next thing to it. Like Rand, from obscurity to world leader in less than 30 months. Just wow!
I love Egwene, her drive, her dedication, her sacrifice, her ignorance, her tenacity, her daring, her recklessness, the rebel in her, just about everything She was lucky to have a good group of people to help and get her through; mainly the wise ones who beat much of the nonsense and Aes Sedai arrogance out of her. She found her Aiel heart with them; and it carried her till her final glory.
Siuan, whose death is more heart-wrenching for me, was another solid friend who helped Egwene more than the latter realized. Siuan sacrificed herself to make Egwene succeed in order for the White Tower to survive and succeed. And Siuan was on a mission to save the world well before Egwene was born. She went through so much; suffered so much; and in the end died in an almost haphazardly, irrelevant way. She deserved better. I could just imagine Moiraine and Thom visiting Siuan and Gareth and remembering old times. The women share so much; and the men go back decades in the past in their acquaintanceship.
But back to Egwene, her arch suffered, in my opinion, from a the difference in depth, understanding, and intellectual and writing ability between RJ and BS. And she wasn't the only one to suffer in such a way. Her battle against the Seanchan raid was glorious; her meeting with the other channeler factions was not. So it is a mixed bag in one way or another, till the final scene which is epic.
Egwene al'Vere, you did well; you did so well
That sounded a lot like a eulogy Al'Amar, and i couldn't have expressed it better myself clap
I'm torn about Siuan. On the one hand her death was so random and understated ... it just ... HAPPENED and the story went on around and past it with no real attention given to her passing. Ugh! On the other hand I see that as very realistic in a real world battle - people die in the most, well, mundane ways in a real battle. They are still dead and often their passing is not really noticed or appreciated until after the battle is over. So in that way I feel like Siuan's death was the most realistic.Siuan, whose death is more heart-wrenching for me[...] She went through so much; suffered so much; and in the end died in an almost haphazardly, irrelevant way. She deserved better.
Her battle against the Seanchan raid was glorious
I'm torn about Siuan. On the one hand her death was so random and understated ... it just ... HAPPENED and the story went on around and past it with no real attention given to her passing. Ugh! On the other hand I see that as very realistic in a real world battle - people die in the most, well, mundane ways in a real battle. They are still dead and often their passing is not really noticed or appreciated until after the battle is over. So in that way I feel like Siuan's death was the most realistic.
This part in the audiobook gives me chills and makes me tear up EVERY SINGLE TIME. I love it so much. I remember reading it for the first time (actually reading, not listening to it) and being blown away by that part of the story. <3
I feel like i glossed over Siuan's death a bit when i first read AMoL because i knew that Egwene's death was coming (if it had not happened already; i can't remember who died first) and was more worried about that. However, now that i think about it, i do feel like she deserved to go out with more of a bang considering everything that she went through, or at least with more attention given to her passing, so i agree with Al'Amar in that respect. Having read A Song of Ice and Fire, i feel i should have been more prepared for all the death in the last book, but i guess i was more invested in the characters from WoT. I'm going to have to try these audiobooks everyone keeps going on about lol.
I agree about how abrupt Siuan's death was but I agree that is what it would be like on a battlefield. I actually think that due to how abrupt her death was it's made me think a lot about her post book and made me even respect her more as a character (I really liked her in the first place but still).
I enjoy reading everyone's views on aspects of the books but I particular enjoy your views/interpretations Al'Amar I think not only because they resonate with my views most of the time but also because you seem to know/remember so much more than I do!
Egwene was one of my top characters especially since she was captured by the Tower. The scenes in Book 11 and 12 are brilliant and I was so sad when she died. But it was beautiful at the same time. There were quite a few instances in which I cried.
To me Rand's whole speech to the Dark One about "It wasn't about me. It was never about me...." and then he goes on to describe all the other "major" characters was superb and is a highlight of the whole series to me. If I read that page now I'd probably get a tear in my eye...
Having read A Song of Ice and Fire, i feel i should have been more prepared for all the death in the last book, but i guess i was more invested in the characters from WoT.
Egwene's death was indeed spectacular. I remember not feeling entirely satisfied with it for some reason, though. I may revisit this topic once my memory is refreshed. It could have simply been my own exhaustion after finishing AMoL in three days :P
I cannot get my head around why Egwene would want to keep the three oaths.
Using the Oath Rod to separate Aes Sedai from other channelers (Wind Finders, Wise Ones, and Damane) makes since. The Oath Rod is supposed to make nations trust Aes Sedai but everyone knows that Aes Sedai break those oaths. The truth you hear is not always the truth an Aes Sedai says.
I think keeping the Oath Rod is a good idea but there needs to be a new Oath.
I like Diane Duane Wizards' Oath best:
"In Life's name and for Life's sake, I assert that I will employ the Art which is its gift in Life's service alone, rejecting all other usages. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened. To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so -- till Universe's end."
I always imagined that Elayne would eventually have been able to make a new and improved version of the Oath Rod. Basically, it would still make oaths just as binding, but would no longer have an affect on the lifespan of a channeller and would perhaps not bestow an ageless look because of this. I know, the ageless look is part of what contributes to the mystique of the Aes Sedai, but i think trading it for doubling their lifespan is a pretty fair trade.
I always imagined that Elayne would eventually have been able to make a new and improved version of the Oath Rod. Basically, it would still make oaths just as binding, but would no longer have an affect on the lifespan of a channeller and would perhaps not bestow an ageless look because of this. I know, the ageless look is part of what contributes to the mystique of the Aes Sedai, but i think trading it for doubling their lifespan is a pretty fair trade.
I think Elayne's ter'angreal are imperfect because she needs to pair up with a guy to make them work properly.
After Egwene parished fighting the sharans, olver sounded the horn of valere. I thought for sure that egwene was going to come back in all her amyrlin splendor as a hero of the horn.