What's up with Aviendha in book 4?

Maiel Sanvar

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Hi I am new and am just learning my way around The White Tower. This seems like a good place to post here being connected to the first few books and all. I am currently reading book four and I have to say I am loving the series and characters- well some not all. Anyway I am getting tired of Aviendha I want to like her but she's so mean and frustrating to deal with. What is going on with Aviendha? Of course I can kind of guess a little about her- is that she wants to be somewhere else doing something else with things her way and can't. I know the Aiel have ways and rules to follow but why does she hates Rand so much?
 

Kranerian Vrammar

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Welcome! This is indeed a good place to post, as people should avoid giving spoilers. Speaking of which, the full reason for Aviendha's anger towards Rand has yet to be revealed to you, but it will come soon. For now from what you've read, you should know that she reacted *really* badly to the Wise Ones ordering her to stay with him all day every day.
 

Thaddius al'Guy

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Welcome! This is indeed a good place to post, as people should avoid giving spoilers. Speaking of which, the full reason for Aviendha's anger towards Rand has yet to be revealed to you, but it will come soon. For now from what you've read, you should know that she reacted *really* badly to the Wise Ones ordering her to stay with him all day every day.

Well, this is for book 1-8 discussion so spoilers through those eight books can happen, but people are usually pretty good about prefacing the post with stuff like that.
 

Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum

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So, I wanna start this off by saying Aviendha is my favorite character. :laugh:

Anyway, as has been said, a lot of her reasoning is spoilers. But, I can help a bit here. At this point, her life has been turned on its head. She spent her whole life dreaming of becoming a Maiden of the Spear, and now that's been taken away from her. She has to completely change her way of thinking, and her first task is to teach the ways of her people to Rand, who doesn't seem to get it. In fact, on my re-read, in her perspective, it almost seems like he's going out of his way not to get it. And, he also doesn't seem to get that this reflects poorly on her, and not him.

Further than that will be spoilers. ;)
 

Thaddius al'Guy

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She has to completely change her way of thinking, and her first task is to teach the ways of her people to Rand, who doesn't seem to get it. In fact, on my re-read, in her perspective, it almost seems like he's going out of his way not to get it.

One can totally understand, in hindsight, that being a Moody 20-something With No knowledge in the world, forced into a position he doesn't want to be in, that maybe he wouldn't really want to learn about other cultures so easily. He spends most of the Great Hunt moping about until the Portal Stones.
 

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One can totally understand, in hindsight, that being a Moody 20-something With No knowledge in the world, forced into a position he doesn't want to be in, that maybe he wouldn't really want to learn about other cultures so easily. He spends most of the Great Hunt moping about until the Portal Stones.

Right, and I'm not saying that Rand is in the wrong. I'm just saying that from her perspective, as an equally moody 20-something Aiel under the tutelage of Wise Ones, this would be how it would be perceived to her.
 

Thaddius al'Guy

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Right, and I'm not saying that Rand is in the wrong. I'm just saying that from her perspective, as an equally moody 20-something Aiel under the tutelage of Wise Ones, this would be how it would be perceived to her.

I wasn't disparaging your post, I was agreeing about Rand. I absolutely see her perspective as that she is failing herself and Rand because he doesn't seem to be taking it seriously or retaining the information with any passing absorption. As we learn with the books as they go forward. Communication is hard and they are great at not leveling with each other, especially on this point.
 

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I wasn't disparaging your post, I was agreeing about Rand. I absolutely see her perspective as that she is failing herself and Rand because he doesn't seem to be taking it seriously or retaining the information with any passing absorption. As we learn with the books as they go forward. Communication is hard and they are great at not leveling with each other, especially on this point.

Ah, okay. Got it. :pleased-1: :fistbump
 

Ignis al'Caleum

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So, I wanna start this off by saying Aviendha is my favorite character. :laugh:

Anyway, as has been said, a lot of her reasoning is spoilers. But, I can help a bit here. At this point, her life has been turned on its head. She spent her whole life dreaming of becoming a Maiden of the Spear, and now that's been taken away from her. She has to completely change her way of thinking, and her first task is to teach the ways of her people to Rand, who doesn't seem to get it. In fact, on my re-read, in her perspective, it almost seems like he's going out of his way not to get it. And, he also doesn't seem to get that this reflects poorly on her, and not him.

Further than that will be spoilers. ;)

One can totally understand, in hindsight, that being a Moody 20-something With No knowledge in the world, forced into a position he doesn't want to be in, that maybe he wouldn't really want to learn about other cultures so easily. He spends most of the Great Hunt moping about until the Portal Stones.

So we have two characters essentially refusing to understand the other.
 

Thaddius al'Guy

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So we have two characters essentially refusing to understand the other.

In Rand's case, at this point I would say more apathy than anything. Aviendha is just bullheaded.
 

Thaddius al'Guy

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I feel like this is the series in a nutshell :look:

There use to be this old website I used way back before the final three books were out. It covered tEotW-KoD + NS, and it was a fully indexed search of all text within those books so you could look specifically for anything you needed. I used to spend hours looking up phrases between characters. I always enjoyed looking up how much rand was called Woolheaded in the series up to that point.
 

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:rofl :rofl
 
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