My point was that Egwene admires Siuan, and condemns Elaida blindly, yet the two are not all that different. Objectively it is not about who is right or wrong (both are, being typical pre-split Aes Sedai), but that Egwene is choosing to fight a war over the slim difference between the two.

I do not so think. I think Siuan/Elaida is wrong because she has no clue what she's up and her plans have no long-term viability. Like Egwene's plan to "attack"/subvert the Tower: they were ridiculous schemes that achieved the hoped-for-end through means their planners could not possibly have envisioned, let alone incorporated. Leaving aside the conveniently timed Seanchan attack (not to mention probably Egwene's rescue by Siuan & co), Egwene could have continued for quite a long time trying to subvert and tear down Elaida, assuming she didn't get her martyrdom wish well before that happened, with the Tower still bumbling along divided, with no end game in sight. This was similar to what Siuan had in mind. She would take in Rand, probably see to whatever training her years of education in channeling saidar, Tower politics and fishing informed her would be best for him, and display him for the purpose of bringing the nations under the Tower's leadership for the impending Last Battle...and then what? She had no way of anticipating the crises that would require the Dragon Reborn's leadership. What was her plan if her wisdom and his leadership clashed? Was she going to use him as some sort of oracle to figure out each course of action? Turn him loose when it was obviously the Last Battle? She had no plan and no way of knowing what would be needed. THAT is why her plan was wrong, not because Rand was something special that needed to fly free.

Explain how so? What on earth makes her right in this? What makes her task right? If the mafia come to your home, take you to their secret headquarters and appoint you head of the Five Families, are you honor bound to see it through? WHAT MADE HER RIGHT?!??! The nature of Rand's opposition did so for him. The Shadow HAS to be fought no matter what. He did not set out to usurp the power or authority of any leader or ruler, he simply filled in the vaccuums of leadership he encountered in the course of ridding the land of any threat from the Shadow he could find.
Although people comment on his lack of consideration for the circumstances he finds, or his authoritarian attitude towards rulers, he still recognizes their authority, as opposed to Egwene, whose attitude towards outsiders in her one encounter was "How dare you question our invasion of your country with an army?!" Had Rand shared her attitude, Perrin would have been dispatched not to reassure Alliandre of Rand's support and remove Maseema, but to inform her that the forces of the Dragon go where they will, and his Prophet is not to be questioned by anyone but the Lord Dragon himself.

HOW?!? WHERE?!?! Please show me where in the books, anywhere, Elaida is shown to have "anti-Rand sympathies"? They assume (wrongly) that Elaida or any Red will have him gentled before the Last Battle, when our own belated glimpse into the Red Ajah shows them to be far more amenable to the notion of working with male channelers than Egwene's weepy constituency.
All they knew was that Elaida showed an interest in Rand, which they all reflexively mistrusted because of her Ajah.

Only the most important.

When they probably know far more about what she's up to? Yeah. That was Egwene's attitude vis a vis all her friends who tried the same thing with Rand. Unlike the Tower rebellion, Rand & his would-be manipulators were operating in complete terra incognita. All things being equal, Rand was as well-qualified as anyone to determine his course of action. Egwene, on the other hand, was completely on the grounds with which her betters were more qualified and experienced - Tower politics and administration in general. Egwene was playing in THEIR sandbox, Rand was responsible for something completely unprecedented and unknown. Rand was justified in shaking the Wise Ones because as they themselves aknowledged, his authority was in a completely different sphere of influence, and the chiefs all acknowledged his authority as superior to theirs. No one can say he's wrong, because there is no precedent or rule for the chief of chiefs. Rand was right to ignore and blow off Moiraine and whatever Amyrlin happened to be in power, because who the hell are they? By what right or law do they claim jurisdiction over Rand, except as a standard man who can channel, which everyone (including Elaida) agrees would be an act of insanity to claim.
On the other hand, there are long-standing rules and traditions governing and limiting the power of the Amyrlin Seat and the Hall of the Tower, and power between the one and other seems to be an issue for negotiation, and there is ample precedent for the Hall to control the Amyrlin.

How about uniting the Tower? According to her, that is the most important thing, but that is not what her actions indicate. How about bringing the rebels to follow Rand, which was the original plan for Salidar from back during the journey to the town, up through Nynaeve & Elayne's discovery of the Bowl, the search for which was motivated by the desire to make the sisters follow Rand. Once Egwene has the Amyrlin Seat, swearing fealty to Rand becomes "ridiculous."

And specify which conversation she asserted this highly unlikely motivation in, please.

No, it is not. Nynaeve herself noted the suspicious behavior of Siuan, and the deposition of someone opposed to the Black Ajah proves absolutely nothing. Except for the brief period between Alviarin's blackmail of Elaida and her own removal as Keeper, such suspicion would have been wrong. Not only that, no one, least of all Egwene, seriously entertained the suspicion which you are implying.


Listing her false and rash judgements do not disprove my charge of false and rash judgement. Elaida had damn good reason for wanting to arrest Rand, and was later proven wrong only in her UNDERestimating his significance and danger. Elaida, btw, did the proper thing and attempted to work through channels, by bringing the matter to higher authorities, only to have it disappear into a black hole. Regardless of the woman's personality flaws, to behave in any way other than she had regarding Rand would have been highly irresponsible. Siuan withheld the truth of what was going on with Rand for political reasons, Ajah prejudices and a personal grudge. Elaida was right to take action against her, even if a coup would have been a bit much before the fact of the Dragon's Rebirth was revealed. Even those who opposed Elaida and fled the Tower in knee-jerk support of a Blue Amyrlin were divided on the issue of Siuan's malfeasance. You cannot claim it is all that cut and dried, or that what Egwene could have learned from second-hand prejudicial sources justifies acting one way or another in regard to Elaida.

And...? It's not like anyone else was playing straight with him. Why is Elaida being held to a higher standard? Why does Egwene leap right to the conclusion that Elaida means no good, without ever considering the more obvious scenario - division within Elaida's administration?

Also irrelevant. Egwene was fixed on her course before she even knew the woman existed!

And kudos to Egwene for that. However, why does she have such a radically different attitude towards two women with such similar policies on the most important issue of the time? How come the position that one is aiding Egwene's quest for power and the other obstructing it is dismissed as prejudice and seeing the very worst in a character? And in what way was Siuan's plan different? She wanted him in the Tower, too. It was only Moiraine's insistance that he could be better handled by pretending to let him run free that dissuaded her.

And if Egwene had not prolonged the split by going along with the revolt, who is to say that Elaida could not have been opposed and prevented from such measures? The Republicans in Congress during the Civil War were able to push through an unprecedented amount of their legislation that they and the Whigs had been failing to pass for years, because the majority of the Democratic delegation left with the Confederacy. It would have been worse in the Hall during the split, since the departed Sitters were replaced with sisters who were pro-Tower (by definition, since they were still there to take the seats). Also, you cannot say that she would have done the same without the rebellion adding to the stress on Elaida, or perhaps making her feel that she needed to do something to prove the Tower was still in charge and that she was in control. Maybe having reports from the largest and best spy network in the Tower, as well as that of the Amyrlin Seat, might have averted the Black Tower attack, or even if she had been insistant, at least warned the sisters who could have approached with greater caution and retreated when the rumors were confirmed.

And what would taking that Dream seriously have entailed? Egwene had a personal warning. No one else had any reason to take it seriously, as even her closest advisor had trouble believing the Seanchan could come upon the Tower unawares. The Tower sisters themselves were well-prepared for any conventional troubles. Maybe Egwene would have more credibility if she had not been associated with a group spreading lies designed to discredit the Amyrlin & her supporters, waging warfare against the Tower, falsely claiming the title of Amyrlin in public and captured in the act of sabotaging the Tower's defenses. How seriously do you take an unsubstantiated Dream warning from such a source? The only reason we give it credence is that we are readers of a fantasy book who know that the PoV characters are always right in matters like this. As far as the sisters are concerned, THEY are the PoV characters, and Egwene is some annoying little snot like Else Grinwell.

Do you even realize what you did there? First you offer up her deeds as proof of her credibility in one area and then attempt to shift that credibility to another unrelated area. "She" did not strike a serious blow against the Shadow. She did what anyone in her position should have done. She happened to be in authority to do the appropriate thing. Mentioning this lack of total failure is extremely disingenuous when you are trying to defend her policies and justify her efforts to put herself in power. This is simply a thing that just about anyone could or would have done had they received what Egwene did. Egwene's prosecution and completely standard, typical and non-unique sentence for the uncovered Blacks does NOT justify her ascension to the Amyrlin Seat, because just about anyone would have done the same thing. While I have not bothered bringing this up, as it is purely speculative, more likely the blame for the escaping Blacks should be laid at her feet, since she was the sine qua non of the continued resistance of the rebels, and it was the division that prevented her from getting them. Had she stepped down and allowed Elaida to reunite the Tower, Verin would have been able to hand her evidence to someone with the ability to get all the Blacks at once.
However, that is purely speculative. It does illustrate my problem with Egwene's insistance on her singular qualifications to lead the Tower - the division caused a lot of problems that could have been averted with more humility and a true focus on unity. And, it is at least as valid an arugment as your ridiculous use of this incident as justification for Egwene's claim to the Amyrlin Seat, when the most it does in that direction is show that she is not automatically DISqualified. Any Amyrlin as informed as she was who did NOT have them all arrested and executed should have met the same reaction she faced from Elaida in her Accepted test when she failed to sentence a false Dragon to gentling.

And you denigrating Verin's role as mere helping shows how absurdly distorted your perception is. Verin did EVERYTHING. This is like saying that in World War Two, Patton, Zhukov and Montgomery "helped" the Nuremburg prosecutors, who "struck a major blow" against the Nazi conquest of Europe! It would be like me claiming that Nicola and the other novices drove off the Seanchan with Egwene's help, or someone else saying that Cadsuane cleansed the taint from saidin with Rand's help. After all, Cadsuane was plainly the person "in charge" on the scene when it took place...

As for the Seanchan attack, she defended her little corner of the battlefield, which does not change the fact that her side lost, and Egwene's greatest moment of personal triumph is considered one of the worst disasters in the history of the White Tower. If you continue to exaggerate her role in that fight, you must then, by extension, blame her for the "disaster" and defeat that took place. She did nothing more than fight tolerably well in one limited portion of a losing battle. I would not expect any more from her or any other character in her situation, but again, this hardly counts as a measurement of her reliability as Amyrlin. Had Elaida slightly better fortune in her sleeping arrangements, she might have fought as well, though she might have been constrained by those Three Oaths Egwene loves so well that she harshly warns people who have lived up to them far better than she not to argue against them. Had Egwene done as well in an attack against the Seanchan, in support of some agenda or strategy of Rand's, then yes. Her performance WOULD be what you are saying. But simply defending your home against an invader is no proof that you will be a good ally or even a capable leader. It was Neville Chamberlain who declared war on Nazi Germany, after all. That does not make him a good leader or even a good leader regarding his policies on Nazi Germany. The Battle of the Tower does not make the Tower a good ally to Rand, any more than the Battle for Britain proved Britain would be a good ally to Poland, as they proved not to be.

That makes them lousy. It does not make Egwene good. Who is to say Egwene did not mishandle the situation? Who was surprised at how she did handle the Blacks? I recall Romanda wanting to be much harsher back in aCoS, and Egwene dismissing her plan because it would be unpopular.

She dealt with the Black Ajah the way every decent person deals with Darkfriends for 3,000 years! She dealt with the Seanchan the same way Rand does - she kills them. Except Rand is criticized for his arrogance and hubris for doing something that WON, while Egwene is praised to the skies for her own self-glorifying spiel in a battle her side LOST. Mat beats the Seanchan; Perrin turns them to his own ends, and warns them he will not allow them to take the lands under his protection; Rand drives them away from his lands, inflicts on them their greatest defeats this side of the ocean and then swallows his pride to offer them a truce and attempt to gain their support against the Shadow. Nynaeve infiltrates them, rescues Egwene from them, and she & Elayne learn a lot about them. Elayne comes up with a plan that Seanchan PoV characters believe could destabilize the Empire and its most offensive institution. Egwene blindly lashes out when they personally threaten her. She isn't necessarily wrong when she does so, but once again, she falls short of her peers' achievements. When she actually is responsible for a strong blow (and inflicting slightly more casualties in a successful raid doesn't count as a strong blow by anyone's definition of military success), I will give her the credit she deserves, but you can hardly justify her self-aggrandizing actions over five or so books by her accidental performance in the last of them.

As for the reforms you imply, you exaggerate on some of them (she notes with displeasure, for example, that Theodrin & Faolain are not given the respect their strength deserves) and the one good one she pulled off she was only partially responsible for, and it was in the way that benefited her the most. She threw open the novice books...which will bring her more followers in the long term, partially distracted her political rivals and had no cost to her. Her execution was, typically, only half-done, and once again, she lucked out in that she happened to do it in a place and time where she drew in a singular woman who could organize the chaotic mess Egwene dropped in the laps of the sisters (after all, no one would expect a woman barely more than a novice herself who has never taught a class in her life, to handle the massive influx of novices for which they were unprepared to deal) and actually make the system work, rather than have everything fall apart and disaffected novices being set back in their training by the inadequate supervision and oversight of their first months in white, when they were not scattering to the four corners of the world with an untrained but fated to grow channeling ability. Egwene would have turned a necessary reform into a colossal disaster that might have hardened the other sisters' & the Hall's determination to never again deviate from their habitual practices in recruiting, even with proper preparation, had it not been for the completely serendipitous arrival and intervention of Sharina. She's like a pitcher taking credit for getting a dangerous batter out, when he hit her pitch over the fence, but Sharina climbed the wall to make the catch, and double-up the tagging runner. Yes, it would not have happened without her initial action, but without the intervention of others, that action would have resulted in a disaster. Drastically expanding your recruiting is not something you toss out as a "oh-by-the-way" while focussing on another issue. You need to make plans to accomodate them and be prepared to turn them into something useful. A swarm of disorganized and unsupervised recruits no more strengthens the Tower than dumping a pile of bricks in the front yard strengthens the structure of a house. Egwene's prior planning in that case is one of two things: either she had no way of anticipating the sheer numbers, in which case she is roughly as brilliant as BP's management of their oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, or she invited a massive influx of additional dependants at a time when she was sweating over obtaining sufficient resources to feed, clothe and maintain the people already with them. She basically took an action that is good and right strictly in the abstract and long-term, and implemented it at the worst possible time.

In the sole substantial way of increasing the number of followers she will someday command. She has rejected the idea of Aes Sedai swearing to the Dragon Reborn on more than one occasion (though one of those occasions was directly responsible for inspiring her own blackmail scheme! ), she is opposed to Aes Sedai being bonded by Asha'man, she finds knee-jerk prejudice against men in general an acceptable and tolerable mindset to work with, she plans to make the rights, privileges and comforts of Aes Sedai an issue of contention with Rand with the Last Battle looming ever closer, she objects on a personal level to Nynaeve going off to help Rand, she is mute when the subject of allying with Rand's followers is debated, and she places her own political position regarding the Hall above a necessary deal to save the world from the Dark One's touch. In general, I prefer Egwene as Amyrlin, lack of promise or no, to Siuan Sanche, but I will give the latter credit for the following - she trusted her friends' on-the-scene judgments!

The problem I have is that others always facilitate events that prevent her from being exposed in this way. My main criticism of her pursuit of the Amyrlin Seat was that her method was indecisive and offered no certain end game, placing a higher value on Aes Sedai egos and lives than on forcing the decision in time to contribute or turning aside from that path to throw over her support to Rand. Even as far back as her first month in office, as early as Mat's arrival in Salidar, she & Sheriam both believed that her promise of aid to Rand could not be simply ignored or dismissed, but would carry some weight. Instead, she has been hoarding her political capital for her own elevation, rather than "waste" the smallest bit for Rand. The justification behind this is that by saving and carefully investing, she was able to buy into a position where she now has lavish wealth to contribute to that end. But we shall see. The typical human experience upon getting rich is to continue with the relative frugality that got you that far. I am afraid Egwene will start spending to augment the Tower with Rand as a secondary priority, when those two should be reversed.

It cost her nothing, since she waited to do it until the day she planned to take over the Hall. I will credit her plans to use them when I see it. Novices are NOT analoguous to new soldiers, and Egwene's opinions regarding them have leaned more towards coddling than whipping them into fighting trim. Don't forget the women whom she was upset that Aes Sedai were not comforting and petting and soothing over apparitions and bubbles of evil are in their late teens and 20s! These are women who are old enough to marry and raise families in their world, and Egwene is upset that they are not being treated like little children! No soldier in the real world or WoT is allowed to cry into his sergeant's lap because he saw a ghost! This comparison of Egwene to Elayne is ONCE AGAIN, not appropriate or properly analogous. If Egwene was recruiting for the BLACK Tower, instead of the White, then yes, you could say she's done as well as Elayne. As it is, the best most of those women have to look forward to is being used as ammunition for the old, stick-in-the-mud problematic Aes Sedai in the battles ahead.

We shall see. Who, pray tell, is going to train them, however? The only women qualified to do so in the world are the Seanchan, unless the Aes Sedai can be made to lower themselves to take lessons from the Asha'man. It is not enough to simply wave your hand and order someone trained for a particular circumstance. You need to decide what is most important for that situation, what the priorities are in training, how they will be used and so on. As it is, she only used the novices as she did because that was all she had to work with in the immediate circumstances.

And you are equally determined to see the best in everything she does, and call it a smashing success because it involves Egwene, even to the extent of grossly misappropriating credit from those who deserve it, to Egwene for her minimal part.

Doesn't make it true.
I might give credence to Elayne's influence on her if I saw the slightest sign that Egwene was adhering to Elayne's stated agenda of forcing the rebels to support Rand all the way to Tarmon Gaidon, or her position that without him, they completely lack legitimacy, or her practice of lying to the authorities in an effort to convince them they needed Rand. Absent Egwene's distortion of their mission, I cannot see Elayne sitting mute while the sisters discussed possibly turning to Rand & his followers for assistance. Even if she were not the Amyrlin and privy to the discussion in the Hall, she would have been bending the ear of every sister in the camp who would listen about how helpless they were in the face of the weapon that destroyed Shadar Logoth and how Rand & the Asha'man were their only hope, and that they should make whatever deal they could get. But no. Egwene tells her Keeper, her Two Rivers friend, and her Wise One mentors that she will, under no circumstances, lead the sisters to follow the example of Moiraine Damodred, slayer of two Forsaken, discoverer of the Dragon Reborn, and the only wetlander ever permitted to undergo the Aiel tests of Rhuidean, in swearing fealty to the Dragon Reborn.

Except she wasn't and she damn well knew it, which was why she wasn't using any of that. Egwene's military advantages were irrelevant in determining legitimacy among Aes Sedai. When she contemplated that course of action, she had nothing but the support of a third of the Aes Sedai, and the third which had disgraced themselves (as far as the other 2/3s were concerned - could any rebel have shamed a neutral the way Merise shamed the rebel Hall? ) by turning against the Tower in an unprecedented and flagrant manner. Elayne, meanwhile, had the greatest amount of legitimacy of any contender, controlling the most votes, as well as having plurality herself with no way for her opponents to gain a majority.

When Elayne made that offer, Arymilla was her prisoner, and Ellorien & her lot lacked anywhere near the votes to name a Queen without Elayne's followers. They had six, and Elayne had nine, and three other votes effectively locked out. As I pointed out, she had a plurality of the votes, whereas until the Seanchan removed her rival, Egwene didn't have a single legitimate vote outside the Blue Ajah.

And that is irrelevant because without genuine gestures of support, all she could manage would be a military coup which would make a far worse usurper than Elaida, who managed to gain the support of a majority of the actual Hall.

More unproven statements, much like the assertions of the Tower's supporters that the world is in as good a state as it is because of the Tower. Interestingly enough, the real world managed to far surpass the best the Tower has done for the world, without any White Tower or Aes Sedai whatsoever. As I have demonstrated elsewhere, the White Tower is negligible compared to the forces that are mobilized and arrayed now. Thinking of it as the top power in the world is a pre-EotW mindset that is out of touch with reality. Rand has more channelers than the Tower united, and more useful ones (what with their greater strength and/or lack of obstructive oaths - a reform Egwene has done a 180 on; so much for her intent to change things). He or his close personal allies control every state south of the Borderlands but two, and neither of those are nations Egwene is in a position to positively influence in his direction (the one being the Seanchan Empire and the other being Murandy, whose territory was decreased by Egwene's unilateral & unjustifiable interference in national affairs). Rand even has oath-sworn Aes Sedai to lend the weight needed by even the most recalcitrant authorities mired in a status quo that's long since passed. Egwene has won the power to swing an increasingly irrelevant faction from opposition to support of Rand, though her specific issues are all in opposition to him, she believes whatever changes she makes to that faction are temporary at best, that among the changes she cannot effect and resigns herself to accepting is a reflexive hostility to men and she plans to improve that same naturally hostile faction's power, numbers and standing in the world!

Since no one denies the oppositional and obstructionist nature of the Tower, the best possibilities are the following, in no particularly order:
1. The Tower permanently reformed in significant ways
2. The Tower severely reduced in power and authority
3. Other organizations promoted as checks and counters to the Tower
4. The Tower fractured into separate groups which would force all of the above to occur as well.

Egwene's has no faith in her ability to effect #1, and is squarely opposed to 2,3&4!

The difference is that Elayne's nobles owe their fealty to their ruler, so by accepting their oaths, Rand is usurping what should be hers. Egwene, on the other hand, has explictly opposed the idea of sisters swearing fealty to an Amyrlin as a matter of policy, while approved in practice the notion on grounds of past transgressions. By Egwene's rules, Rand would be justified. Once again, you are comparing positions that are not comparable. As far as the punishment goes, Egwene says that Rand WOULD have to be punished or made an example or some other phrasing I cannot recall at this time if the rumors about the bonding were true.

NOT the same thing! The apt comparison would be hypothetical scenarios featuring Elayne being mad about the Andorans killed by Mat & the Band in Cairhien or when Rand took Caemlyn, or Egwene being mad about Rand conquering Tar Valon and offering to hand her the Amyrlin Seat.

In her private musings about the issue.

A technicality. I was speaking of a general principal of comparison, rather than a temporary circumstance.

And if Egwene held fast to all her ideas on that subject that she held when she was raised, I might feel better. Oath Rod, anyone? Later she goes on to claim that even her reforms are temporary at best, and Aes Sedai habits and traditions will inevitably sweep them away and revert to their old ways. With that in mind, I cannot justify the aggrandizement and glorification of the Tower and Aes Sedai. I could understand if I genuinely believed that was all in aid of making the most powerful weapon possible to fight the Shadow, but all we are getting is a more powerful check on progress, advancement and freedom once the Dark One is disposed of and the Dragon Reborn (the only one capable of standing up to them) loses his authority and power. Elaida's Foretelling of the Tower united and stronger than before is more ominious than the dark prophecy left in the dungeon of Fal Dara, and Egwene is working towards that end, with no real confidence in her ability to change that circumstance.

And the Great Holding, combined with Rhuidean and the cache from Ebou Dar have to surpass that. The Black Tower surely surpasses the 1,000 USEABLE channelers the White Tower can offer, and a single Aiel clan has half the channelers of the White Tower. By themselves, the Wise Ones loyal to Rand surpass the White Tower twice over, by the most generous estimate of Tower strength, and the most conservative estimate of Aiel strength. Either group is much more useful in a miltary sense and would make better soldiers than the typical Aes Sedai, who by comparison, resemble the Modern Major-General of the Pirates of Penzance next to the Black Tower's Royal Marines, and the Aiel's Ghurkas.

How can you not believe it when those were practically the last things Egwene said in tGS? There was even a post on this very MB asking if she was right to castigate her rebel supporters! And on what basis do you have for Elayne getting hung up on her rights, when she never once claims any absolute right, and is always acknowledging the reality of the electorate and by extension the legitimacy of the winner? Elayne never identifies herself as more than a contender, and only speaks of "her" rights in that regard when rejecting Rand's implied offer of the crown, saying that she would claim it in her own right, which is a completely different meaning than your use of the word.

And what was the rebellion doing if not that? How could the rebellion do anything else, merely by the fact of its existence? And Egwene specifically enumerated the acts of rebellion among their wrongdoing in her address to the rebels after being raised to the Amyrlin Seat.

Well, not having to swear to him IS a ridiculous demand considering the example under which Egwene tacitly proclaimed demanding fealty acceptable, and the example of Moiraine, whose service and trustworthiness outstripped any other woman who has sworn the Three Oaths. What Aes Sedai can claim she is too good to be required to do what Moiraine did?

What you describe is unwarranted and illegitimate intrusion into the sovereignty of nation-states, and don't dare claim this is a position drawn from some "prejudice" against Aes Sedai, and not my moral position in the real world.
Yes it is, since Elayne's, even to the limited extent she opposes Rand, is about upholding the principle of national sovereignty, and Egwene's extensions or expansions of the White Tower's influence, authority or power are all violations of that same principle!

Elayne's words were "even a queen might curtsy to the Dragon Reborn..." If you think such words or the gesture they describe are meaningless, you missed the issue of the US President bowing to other heads of state, which was even discussed on this site's CMB.
Absolutely not. Once again, you apply an imperfect understanding of a principle to make a false comparison. I specified the social inferiority. The ruler of an independant group can acknowledge the superiority of another without ceding them any authority over the lesser ruler's sphere of influence. Such issues are not like military rank, where a general can give orders to any captain or lieutenant, regardless of which colonel they serve under. Rather it is something closer to a free man's rights within his own home, regardless of the formal respect he might show a high-ranking public official or clergyman or otehr person of wealth or distinction.

They were being polite to visitors. Offering them courtesies is not the same as subjection. Verin herself claimed the farmhouse which was honoring her (withOUT knowing that she was Aes Sedai) would not have listened to her suggesting the same thing as Perrin. Giving them privacy in the Winespring Inn is not at all the same as doing what they said. They treated Padan Fain, Thom, Moiraine and Lan all as equal sources of excitement and interest, but the lack of deference compared to what one can usually command elsewhere has been noted by Faile, Thom and Dain Bornhald, and was a noteworthy enough characteristic to be included in Gawyn's education. And regardless of what a few farmwives might do because exaggerating the importance of Aes Sedai inflates their own by proximity, Rand, Mat and Perrin all refused to bow to the Amyrlin and took Agelmar aback with their straightforward questioning of Moiraine. I think you can't be reading the same series, where people all over the world are always yelling at Rand, Mat or Perrin for not being sufficiently respectful to Aes Sedai. The fawning of the people who also fawn over Perrin, is not the issue, however. What is the issue is the expected behavior among the five Two Rivers people at the heart of the story, and Egwene is disgruntled that Mat won't acknowledge her as Amyrlin until he sees her on the Amyrlin Seat in Tar Valon. And this after two consecutive books of repeated surprise at the respect he holds among soldiers who followed him when he only, I don't know, became the first wetlander general to actually BEAT Aiel in a fight?!

First of all, Mat did not barge in, he was LED in by Egwene's own confidant, after politely asking to see her. And if she accused him of barging in on her, that would have been rich coming from the girl who barged in on Rand all the time, was upset when the Maidens did not let her barge in on him unless she claimed official business, and would greet him with no more courtesy than "Wash your ears right now, young man!" Upon which the "young man" who was two years older than she generally reacted with good humor and certainly never tried to use his superior strength to restrain her or "teach her a lesson" for her own good.

Which she WAS being at the time. Mat had more sense than all three women and Alviarin to boot, instantly recognizing the sacrificial aspect of the role she was being placed in, as well as intuiting the danger she was in.
Because he manifestly WAS. She was in no way, shape or form the real or only Amyrlin. She had no basis for assuming Mat understood or was aware of, let alone expect him to accept, the specious grounds on which she made her claim. Rand did not hold it against Mat that Mat reacted in a very similar manner to discovering Rand with a dragon banner. No one would have expected him or Egwene or Nynaeve or Perrin to act any different than your description had they caught him waving the Dragon banner before Falme or discovering that he could channel.

And yet AGAIN, you make a false comparison. The stole Egwene was wearing constitutes a rival claim and invites a death sentence by Tower law, whereas possession of Callandor is proof that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. Pushing him out of the Sun Throne or Lion Throne or yanking the Crown of Swords off his head might be comparable, but you picked the one thing that is absolutely ridiculous - if he HAS Callandor, you have to at least accept the possibility of his claim being true. Wearing a stole in a village in no way argues for the legitimacy of your claim to the Amyrlin Seat, especially when she and Mat are both aware of Elaida's holding that office. His behavior in that episode actually speaks rather well of Mat's attitude towards Egwene, since he cannot believe she would be so stupid as to truly make a rebellious claim to the Amyrlin Seat.

No, they are not, at all. And you don't even try to prove that thesis in this post, you only draw more comparisons that are similarly flawed.