Silencia Roamadred
Citizen
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2022
- Messages
- 439
Hello fellow WoT lovers,
I am early on in The Shadow Rising as part of my re-read and I completely forgot about the bubbles of evil which appear to the Tav'eren boys: I think Jordan really wanted to play into each of the boys themes here with the allegorical bubbles, let me explain why:
Rand: So Rand is attacked by mirror copies of himself, I think this is a reflection of Rands inner turmoil and the conflict between the warring aspects of himself. We know how difficult Rand is finding accepting that he is the Dragon Reborn, he is full of duty, but also longing for the simple life of a Shepherd. The mirror versions represent the aspects of himself he must do battle with (internally) in order to do what needs to be done.
Perrin: Perrin/Faile are attacked by an Axe with a life of its own, Perrin has to wrestle with the Axe and prevent it from killing him and Faile. However Perrin can only fight with all his strength once Faile is removed from the situation. This shows Perrins fear for those he loves and shows his inner battle with violence as the solution - the battle between the axe and the hammer. Interestingly here, once buried into the door, Perrin seems to be able to sense that the life has gone out of the axe, I wonder if this is some showing of Wolfbrother ability.
Mat: Poor Mat was about to make some serious gold at cards, until the cards came alive and tried to kill him, with a heavy focus on the Amrylin card. This for me shows two things: it shows Mats distrust and fear of Aes Sedai plans, and more importantly it shows Mats danger with regard to luck. Just prior to the cards coming alive Mat was certain he was going to win and win big, it shows an unreliability with Luck and a danger he faces when trusting this blindd instinct.
I think overall this section of the book is fantastic. The allegories are clear and strong but worked into the story structure with bubbles of evil very naturally. Really enjoying TSR at the moment - each book I have read I have liked more than the previous book, I know this won't continue and I will have to face the middle Slog books, but I can't wait to see what else I can learn and the little things I never noticed before (such as the Black Ajah talking about Mazrim Taim this early on - I wonder, did they already know this False Dragon was a Darkfriend?)
Any thoughts? Did you enjoy this scene? Do you think there was anything else I missed with what Jordan was communicating through the Bubbles of Evil? Are there any other allegories or thematic principles we can see in any of the other Bubbles of Evil?
I am early on in The Shadow Rising as part of my re-read and I completely forgot about the bubbles of evil which appear to the Tav'eren boys: I think Jordan really wanted to play into each of the boys themes here with the allegorical bubbles, let me explain why:
Rand: So Rand is attacked by mirror copies of himself, I think this is a reflection of Rands inner turmoil and the conflict between the warring aspects of himself. We know how difficult Rand is finding accepting that he is the Dragon Reborn, he is full of duty, but also longing for the simple life of a Shepherd. The mirror versions represent the aspects of himself he must do battle with (internally) in order to do what needs to be done.
Perrin: Perrin/Faile are attacked by an Axe with a life of its own, Perrin has to wrestle with the Axe and prevent it from killing him and Faile. However Perrin can only fight with all his strength once Faile is removed from the situation. This shows Perrins fear for those he loves and shows his inner battle with violence as the solution - the battle between the axe and the hammer. Interestingly here, once buried into the door, Perrin seems to be able to sense that the life has gone out of the axe, I wonder if this is some showing of Wolfbrother ability.
Mat: Poor Mat was about to make some serious gold at cards, until the cards came alive and tried to kill him, with a heavy focus on the Amrylin card. This for me shows two things: it shows Mats distrust and fear of Aes Sedai plans, and more importantly it shows Mats danger with regard to luck. Just prior to the cards coming alive Mat was certain he was going to win and win big, it shows an unreliability with Luck and a danger he faces when trusting this blindd instinct.
I think overall this section of the book is fantastic. The allegories are clear and strong but worked into the story structure with bubbles of evil very naturally. Really enjoying TSR at the moment - each book I have read I have liked more than the previous book, I know this won't continue and I will have to face the middle Slog books, but I can't wait to see what else I can learn and the little things I never noticed before (such as the Black Ajah talking about Mazrim Taim this early on - I wonder, did they already know this False Dragon was a Darkfriend?)
Any thoughts? Did you enjoy this scene? Do you think there was anything else I missed with what Jordan was communicating through the Bubbles of Evil? Are there any other allegories or thematic principles we can see in any of the other Bubbles of Evil?