I think it just comes down to an overall portrayal in RJ's universe of a general state of reality in his universe, in which males need to get ahead or gain status by showing fighting prowess or demonstrating/exercising their strength, while females get ahead or gain status by showing cunning and increased intelligence.
As a result, the male upper tiers are weighted towards men who possess one factor, while the female upper tiers are weighted towards another factor. Both can achieve the dominant position in the overall hierarchy, but neither side possesses an overall advantage in the long run. After all, strategy is not the same thing as being successful as a general.
After studying "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, for example, the best victories were the ones in which the battlefield victory was determined before a battle was even fought - in this case, if Moghedien has defeated her opponents, and appropriated to herself their status, belongings and territories through superior cunning, it doesn't really matter if she was good at using her troops or accompanying them to the battlefield - the key word is "victory".
Ironically, strategically speaking, among the males named as the best generals are two that have permanently been defeated, one who was defeated by a far weaker opponent during a battle when his tactics should have given him a greater advantage and one is often criticized for planning such elaborate and risky maneouvers that often he was beaten or matched by opponents who didn't try to implement the "perfect plan" in order to gain recognition of genius.
It seems to me that the female Forsaken are the more skilled strategic and tactical thinkers - they're the ones surviving and most of them are concentrated on total victory rather than risking winning each battlefield just to lose the war.
"This person is a great general" doesn't necessarily mean much beyond a general statement that they have accomplished much on various battlefields. The "best generals" IMHO would be able to defeat their opponents before war was declared. So the terminology is rather vague - especially since we're not really aware of finer points of the duties of generals during the Age of Legends, nor the skills that were required.
As a result, the male upper tiers are weighted towards men who possess one factor, while the female upper tiers are weighted towards another factor. Both can achieve the dominant position in the overall hierarchy, but neither side possesses an overall advantage in the long run. After all, strategy is not the same thing as being successful as a general.
After studying "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, for example, the best victories were the ones in which the battlefield victory was determined before a battle was even fought - in this case, if Moghedien has defeated her opponents, and appropriated to herself their status, belongings and territories through superior cunning, it doesn't really matter if she was good at using her troops or accompanying them to the battlefield - the key word is "victory".
Ironically, strategically speaking, among the males named as the best generals are two that have permanently been defeated, one who was defeated by a far weaker opponent during a battle when his tactics should have given him a greater advantage and one is often criticized for planning such elaborate and risky maneouvers that often he was beaten or matched by opponents who didn't try to implement the "perfect plan" in order to gain recognition of genius.
It seems to me that the female Forsaken are the more skilled strategic and tactical thinkers - they're the ones surviving and most of them are concentrated on total victory rather than risking winning each battlefield just to lose the war.
"This person is a great general" doesn't necessarily mean much beyond a general statement that they have accomplished much on various battlefields. The "best generals" IMHO would be able to defeat their opponents before war was declared. So the terminology is rather vague - especially since we're not really aware of finer points of the duties of generals during the Age of Legends, nor the skills that were required.
"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
This message last edited by RugbyPlayingAshaman on 01/10/2009 at 07:45:04 PM
Are women really bad generals?
01/10/2009 07:05:03 PM
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No.
01/10/2009 07:41:35 PM
- 944 Views
Or RJ just loves stacking ridiculously unfavourable odds against the male Forsaken generals...
01/10/2009 08:40:47 PM
- 1034 Views
Lol... too true
01/10/2009 09:32:29 PM
- 925 Views
And you guys whine about the lameness of RJ's villains?
01/10/2009 09:41:54 PM
- 942 Views
I still haven't seen proof of Demandred or Ishamael's "brilliance".
01/10/2009 09:56:41 PM
- 769 Views
but you are difficult to please
02/10/2009 05:10:13 AM
- 722 Views
But they are lame... they've done minimal damage to the Light
02/10/2009 05:06:05 AM
- 671 Views
You can't have it both ways....
02/10/2009 06:47:21 AM
- 754 Views
Why not?
02/10/2009 08:45:35 AM
- 718 Views
Yeah
01/10/2009 09:57:01 PM
- 704 Views
Re: Yeah
01/10/2009 10:40:28 PM
- 737 Views
I thought the same in the past...
02/10/2009 07:01:18 AM
- 715 Views
Gah! Hate!
02/10/2009 04:11:49 PM
- 727 Views
Ah, come on...
02/10/2009 04:41:37 PM
- 700 Views
No no, I was just being pouty that I haven't read the new stuff yet.
02/10/2009 05:01:15 PM
- 713 Views

Re: Or RJ just loves stacking ridiculously unfavourable odds against the male Forsaken generals...
01/10/2009 09:51:30 PM
- 788 Views
Good points! Also, these "generals" haven't actually fielded any troops
01/10/2009 11:23:40 PM
- 671 Views
But as individuals they are meant to be deadly too
02/10/2009 05:09:21 AM
- 665 Views
Well, yeah. They're knowledgable and deadly in person. Generalship doesn't come into it.
04/10/2009 12:09:50 AM
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nope
01/10/2009 08:06:57 PM
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Tylee Kirgan, Birgitte, and one other, Egeanin
01/10/2009 09:47:00 PM
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Birgitte's not a soldier though.
01/10/2009 10:10:50 PM
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She says she's not, but so does Mat.
01/10/2009 10:34:04 PM
- 608 Views

Mat's not a soldier, either - he's a general
01/10/2009 10:51:29 PM
- 749 Views
Birgitte is too cautious to be better than an adequate tactician.
02/10/2009 04:22:45 AM
- 729 Views
My opinion
02/10/2009 01:30:12 AM
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That's a poor excuse
02/10/2009 11:59:42 AM
- 633 Views
I disagree
02/10/2009 04:26:28 PM
- 732 Views
Re: I disagree
02/10/2009 08:31:29 PM
- 929 Views
Oh, puh-lease.
02/10/2009 09:09:30 PM
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Re: Oh, puh-lease.
03/10/2009 04:52:37 PM
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Re: Oh, puh-lease.
05/10/2009 05:08:27 PM
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I always know I've out-argued an idiot when they fall back on the tired old "RJ wanted it that way"
06/10/2009 04:42:11 AM
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And I can tell you're through when you've gotten to three+ insults per paragraph.
06/10/2009 05:46:24 PM
- 845 Views
Monday morning quarterbacking at its worst
04/10/2009 07:28:36 AM
- 785 Views
Men and football.
05/10/2009 04:49:35 PM
- 710 Views
She didn't kill anyone! Why SHOULD she feel guilty? She gave necessary orders.
06/10/2009 03:33:15 AM
- 811 Views