3/31/2004 10:50:00 PM|||Andrew|||I'm so delighted with the discussion about the Wheel of Time brewing within my very own commenting section, a few posts down, that I'm going back to my roots and decided to write a whole post just about the WoT. For anyone that took the personal quiz I posted a bit ago, I'm revealing an answer now: the very first webpage I ever worked on was devoted exclusively to this series. Once in a while I amuse myself by going there...it still consistently gets a few hits a day, despite being horrendously out of date. Maybe some day when I'm bored I'll update it and actually make it halfway decent. Which it isn't. For the curious, you can find it here. Spoilers abound, so be wary those (Amy) reading the series for the first time who don't want vital plot info given away. Like just don't go there.

Anyway, on to the meat of the post.

First, a bit on my history with the WoT. I remember by first exposure to the series in 6th grade, when my Outdoor Ed group from Davao went up to Manila for the week. A few people will know what I'm talking about, for the rest, it really doesn't matter. I was in a different city with a bunch of 6th grade guys (and girls, for that matter). Not that I noticed them. Too much. So anyway, I was browsing through National Bookstore with a friend, (trying...desperately...to remember....his name...Nathan...something) and he picked up one of the books and bought it. I think it was book 3 or 4. And that was my first exposure. I didn't actually start reading them until the year afterward, I think, but for some reason that incident stuck in my head and made me pick the series up eventually (and weirdly, is Still stuck in my head). Now, in junior high (and early high school) the vast majority of what I read was fantasy and science fiction. And the WoT was the king of them all. I read through it as many times as I could, spent hours talking with my (nerdy) friends analyzing every last detail, predicting the future outcomes of the books and theorizing about various nefarious characters. I memorized arcane bits of lore, such as the original names of the 13 Forsaken. Ooomph. Enough. I was obsessed, and anyone who's read it can attest to the fact that it is certainly an obsession-generating series.

Contrast this to now, when I haven't read the most recent book despite it's having been out for a couple years. Basically, I grew up. ;) Not to say that these books are only meant for junior high kids, because they aren't. I read at an adult level at that age, and the series is really meant for adults much more than kids. Especially lately. Hmm... But basically my tastes in literature changed a lot the latter half of high school, and while I still read WoT during that time, it gradually gave way to other things. And I suppose that finding out about girls (or at least getting hooked up with one for a while) might also have had something to do with my fading obsession. There's probably only room for one obsession at a time within the human mind. Heh. Anyway. Someday I probably will/should read the most recent book, just for old time's sake and my own desire for completion. After all, there's only two more books to go according to Robert Jordan. And finally, I can still dredge up enough of the old knowledge to hold my own in a discussion of the general themes and characters, if not the arcane details, as the following should demonstrate.

Some thoughts about the various male and female characters in the WoT follow.

Rand: Yes, he's pretty cool to begin with, especially in the first three or four books. His is no doubt the most interesting character arc to follow, given that he Is the freaking Dragon Reborn. I don't want to insert tons of spoilers here, but as the story progresses and more and more responsbility falls upon him, he becomes increasingly cold and mean. Partly because of the taint, partly because the strain is just too great, and partly because he wants to push his closest friends away so that he won't hurt them.

Mat: Yes he's a lecher. ;) But his mischievousness turns into charm and sweetness. Especially once he finds out that he's fated to marry a certain someone (that is designated by title to him, a title he's never heard of, nor has anyone else), it's so fun to watch him dangle. He's supremely loyal in his own way. He's always honest and upfront with people, never deliberately hurtful.

Perrin: If Mat is loyal, Perrin is unmovable. He thinks slowly, but thoughtfully. Once he puts his mind to something he won't let go of it. He's unique among the three main male characters in that he always underestimates himself, and in his humility is his true greatness. Very loving to his wife, who many people (*cough* Kris *cough* April *cough*) don't think is nearly good enough for him. But I like her.

For the moment, I'm not going to go into personality profiles for the female characters, because some people (*cough* those same two people *cough*) that I know plus many others that I've read online think that basically Jordan has one female character, multiplied many times over. I don't buy that, really, but there is some justification for it. Of the women, I probably like Aviendha and Egwene most, followed by Moiraine. Face it Kris, Egwene isn't quite the, ahem, witch, that some of the others are. She, like them, is strong, but more silently and subtly. She certainly doesn't throw the great fits of rage that Elayne or Nynaeve do. Avienda is the firiest of the bunch, with the possible exception of Faile (who I also like but don't want to mention as such for fear of being flayed by the above named persons--they hate her), but not whiny like Elayne.

Anyway, enough of that, here's a Very interesting tidbit I found the other day, a Robert Jorden Q&A from this USA Today article:


NYC, NY: Why are the women in your series very obnoxious? Does Harriet play a role in the characters of your women?

Robert Jordan: No, the women in my books are not obnoxious. The women in my books are strong. I grew up in a family where all of the men were strong, and the reason is the women in my family killed and ate the weak ones.

When I was a boy, just old enough to be starting to date in a fumbling way, I complained something about girls. And my father said to me, "Would you rather hunt leopards or would you rather hunt rabbits? Which is going to be more fun?" And I decided I'd rather hunt leopards.


I find that highly enlightening and interesting. He's obviously in denial, right Kris, April, et al? But do with that what you will. At least it's a partial explanation from the horse's own mouth about why his female characters are the way they are.

Whew. I'm worn out. Yet strangely turned on to the idea of picking up Crossroads of Twilight. And That scares me. Whatever the case, this post is done for now, I must of necessity begin work on a paper for class. The one thing I can promise to you all is that nothing quite so nerdy as this will pass through the jaws of this blog for a good while. Really. I guarantee it.|||108080221238232512|||Pardon the Nerdiness: Ramblings on the WoT