Pfft - Edit 1
Before modification by Sidious at 18/05/2010 05:32:55 PM
I think Siuan is a lesser woman. Even in NS she was better than she is now. She may be a good advisor with a sharp mind, but she's still a shadow of what she was.
If anything, Siuan's own thoughts in tGS should show that she is now a stronger and subtler woman.
As she realizes, she relied too much on her great strength in the Power before. She was manipulative, devious but not very subtle. She could, and did, run roughshod over any opposition.
Weakened, she has been forced to use her mind to its fullest potential. And in the process has realized that power blinds you to those you think are weaker, and allows them to manipulate you.
Even if she does regain her full strength, she's never going to go back to her old ways. With or without that strength, she is now a far more dangerous person, and her experience as a weak nobody has also strengthened her resolve and made her a tough person. I'd actually like to see her meet Cadsuane more than anyone else. Caddy will see right away that here's someone who's almost a match.
To be honest I never thought of Siuan as a function of her channeling. Siuan seems diminished to me. She may be devious but she's a lesser woman than many in Salidar including Egwene, Romanda and Lelaine. I'd go as far to say that Leane has become a stronger woman than Siuan. Seriously, no one really respects her, and Egwene often cuts her off. Maybe it is because they defer to strength in the Power so heavily, but I find that even Gareth Bryne finds her more amusing than intimidating.