First, the codes:

Arrogance or Pride

Selfish or Inconsiderate behavior

Tyranny / Abuse of power

Out of Touch mentality

Judgmental Attitude

Lust for Status / Envy

Lust for Power

Sycophantic behavior or cowardice

Betrayal of a personal nature

Dishonesty

Protagonist Syndrome {behavior that is absolutely contraindicated unless the character knows she is a main character in a fantasy novel and thus critical to the resolution of the crisis, or bound for greatness against all in-story expectations}

Hypocrisy

Foolhardiness / Reckless endangerment of herself or others

And some that are venial level sins, or not explicitly bad or evil:

Flat out incompetence or incorrect conclusions or assessments

Stupid or Clueless behavior

Sociopathic mentality or desire toward violence or to victimize others (as opposed to actual action)

Petty, nasty or spiteful words and attitude / General rudeness

Uncooperative, resisting doing her part.

Not a fault per se, but a noteworthy point of interest or milestone

Part 3The Dragon Reborn
This book.This book. Whoo. I admit to spending some time in the PoV trap here and there regarding Egwene, and it took sitting back and really examining what she was like as a whole, and her history of behavior to really come to grips with how awful she actually was. But tDR was when I really started to feel protagonist/PoV character sympathy dying. Before, I just kind of brushed off her obnoxiousness as typical “spunky love-interest” behavior. She reminded me of both Ce’Nedra & Eilonwy from the Belgariad and Prydain Chronicles, respectively, which I had read shortly before WoT. But after spending half the book cringing in sympathetic embarrassment over how horribly she was acting, I passed the point of tolerance. I first viewed Elayne as more than a nuisance/romantic spoiler character when she slapped Egwene upside the head near the end. I was completely blown by someone actually effectively standing up to one of these shrews, and astonished at how delighted I was to have the PoV character slapped. I definitely viewed Egwene with a more jaundiced eye from this book on.

I find it a powerfully appropriate foreshadowing of Egwene’s entire character arc that her first PoV chapter begins: “Ignoring her companions…Egwene al’Vere stood in her stirrups hoping for a glimpse of Tar Valon…”

1: She is annoyed Nynaeve for telling her that she should be keeping watch. Egwene’s view is that she was keeping watch… for the city. She seems unable to grasp that Nynaeve means for danger, instead of the largest city in the world, as if they might miss it. Also, she is miffed that Nynaeve seems to believe the difference in their ranks actually means something, that Nynaeve is not treating her as an equal on the basis of Egwene not being a little girl anymore. Holding a lower formal rank, being only 2/3 her age, needing to be rescued by Nynaeve, then needing to be rescued by the Heroes of the Horn, because she ruined Nynaeve’s escape plan…no this stuff has noooo relevance. So she takes cheap shots at Nynaeve’s love life.

2: Egwene initiates the use of the Power against the Children of the Light. Though primed by their discussion beforehand, Egwene is the one who makes the unilateral decision to ignore Verin’s order to keep her temper, Nynaeve’s caution of consequences for novices using the Power as a weapon, and of course, those rules, as well as common sense or human restraint. It’s one thing to fire away if your weapon is a gun or bow, that does one thing. But with the Power, and the myriad ways to protect yourself from anything a bunch of soldiers approaching openly can do, blasting destructive weaves, even missing deliberately is akin to criminal assault. Yes, yes, Egwene experienced trauma only six to nine months ago, and some PTSD is understandable…but people like that should not be whining about being under others’ authority! Either you deserve to be treated like a responsible adult, or you are a damaged wreck, who should not be trusted with anything more dangerous than a butter knife.

As for deliberately “missing”, that is irresponsible Hollywood bullshit. The description of events has Hurin struggling to keep the horses with Mat’s comatose body from dumping him or running away. The Children are showered by debris and Dain is knocked off his horse, which is a frequently fatal event. The fact that Egwene, once Verin remonstrates with her, offers Healing to Dain gives the lie to the excuse of non-harmful channeling. She managed to genuinely appall a Darkfriend, and provoke open shock in a woman whose life has depended on keeping a straight face under the eyes of the Black Ajah.
plus a bonus mark for making a Child of the Light look good by comparison (casting defiance at a bunch of channelers who are unconcerned by the Three Oaths is a lot braver than lashing out in a panic)

3: In a related note, part of Egwene’s motivation, and Nynaeve’s defense of her, is that they are carrying the Horn of Valere and cannot afford to let the Children know they have it. Whereupon Egwene blurts out that they have just come from the place where it was used for the only known time in history.
She also is repeatedly told by Verin to keep her mouth shut, to let her do all the talking, that she has no idea what awaits them in the Tower…and backtalks the very first sister they meet. And almost does it again, except Verin yells at her (literally the only person she does that to in the entire series) and preempts her second attempt at whining with a glare.

4: It is upon her entry into the city that we first get Egwene’s little spiel about having outgrown the Two Rivers and Tar Valon being her home now. She’s saying this as the equivalent of a student heading back to college to begin sophomore year, and since her first day setting foot in her new home, as spent more time away than in it. Because only Tar Valon can give her power, as she tacitly admits, albeit in more euphemistic phrasing.

5: Once assigned the task of hunting the Black Ajah, Egwene immediately fixates on the use of the Power as a weapon. In the first place, she questions Nynaeve’s integrity for promising to abide by the Tower rules, and in the second, reveals her own mental shortcomings for not being able to see that there are considerable loopholes. It’s like she’s really, really fixated on killing someone with the Power. Nynaeve’s acceptance of the restriction is certainly is not due to overweening loyalty to the White Tower, or a false sense of security, given how she points out that the threat Egwene cites as a potential danger is actually a certainty. Nynaeve’s warnings of the moral slippery slope also fail to register on her.

6: Despite her bravado, when she is subsequently shot at by a crossbow, she chokes up and Nynaeve is way ahead of her embracing the Source. Once she does manage to seize saidar, she turns bloodthirsty, threatening to “put a lightning bolt through him!” Nynaeve, of course, manages to capture the assassin alive, using a method she cites as having seen Siuan use once. Egwene was there when she learned it, but still seems immune to understanding the concept of self-defense without maximal destruction.

7: After that fight, Egwene remonstrates with Nynaeve for being suspicious of Sheriam. Epic. Fail. Then she starts dithering with stupid questions about the whys and wherefores of weaves. When Nynaeve points out the incongruity of her topics, Egwene answers that, with at least one very dangerous assassin roaming the White Tower, she is trying to forget that she might be in danger.

After some consideration, I have decided to omit the Accepted test from the catalog of Egwene’s misdeeds. There is simply not enough information given about the testing ter’angreal to say with authority that the ego-centric nature of Egwene’s scenarios and challenges are her fault or the device deciding that appealing to her self-image is the best way to tempt her. Since any speculation about how it works is just that, and her and Nynaeve’s tests form too small a sample, we’ll leave that stuff for now.

8: During the attempt at analyzing the Black Ajah data Verin gives the Wondergirls, Egwene is notably unhelpful, finding more interest in mental commentary on Nynaeve’s behavior, rather than trying to figure out anything. While Elayne is picking out patterns in their demographics, Egwene is noting that one shares a name with her imaginary daughter. When Nynaeve’s exasperation is assuaged by being given constructive data, Egwene is more interested in mentally sneering at her for having been exasperated by their initial lack of progress, and her first contribution is negativity that makes Elayne doubt herself. It is also worth noting that during all their speculative discussions and analysis, virtually all the useful ideas come from Nynaeve and Elayne.

9: When she first encounters Lanfear, she is struck by the inferiority complex others experience, except in Egwene it manifests as speculation about her channeling ability. That’s Egwene’s measure of awesomeness.

10: Her encounter with Rand in Tel’Aran’Rhiod is more amusing than consequential, with her denial of Rand’s assessment of her woodcraft (if the person you are sneaking up on hears you, you have made too much noise, period), and her attempts to “reason” with him in the typically high-handed fashion that worked so well in Fal Dara, threatening to sit on him, and trying to use the Power to grab a man who is plainly on the ragged edge. How did he ever manage to fall out of love with her?

11: When Egwene and the other girls go to Mat to get him to deliver Elayne’s letter, both Egwene’s and Elayne’s approaches fail, though Elayne reveals Egwene inspired at least part of her approach. Egwene’s tactic is critical & accusatory, while the part she suggested to Elayne was shallow. Nynaeve’s approach, however acerbically expressed or negatively phrased, was an appeal to his better nature and presumptive gratitude.

12: Siuan comes to visit the group in the kitchen where Egwene proves she still has not learned to keep her mouth shut, and almost fouls up Siuan’s ruse to clear Elayne & Laras out of the way so she can brief Nynaeve. Being the only one to specifically discuss their trip with the Amyrlin no doubt contributes to Nynaeve’s perception that she is in charge, which so annoys Egwene for the rest of the book. If Egwene isn’t happy about that, maybe she should not have been too stupid to remain in the meeting.

13: On the boat ride to Tear, Egwene recalls two arguments about their traveling arrangements with Nynaeve. Nynaeve did not believe Egwene & Elayne were old enough to pass as Aes Sedai, while Egwene wanted to buy silk clothing to fit her image of an Aes Sedai, until Elayne pointed out that it’s not an essential part of the guise, which incurs uncharitable speculation from Egwene on Elayne’s desperation to get away from their chores. Ironically, Nynaeve was right even in the argument she lost, because when they actually meet someone who would no better, though they are full sisters at the time, they are not believed, because Elayne is visibly too young, which impedes Nynaeve’s credibility as well. Egwene was only right because they did not happen to meet anyone with enough confidence to question their ruse. As for the other argument, they have spent months traveling with Verin, who is always described as wearing the wool Elayne & Nynaeve wanted to wear, and seldom the sort of finery Egwene wanted to waste their finite and non-renewable finances on. Egwene could not have actually thought there was merit to her argument, so her only motive was her desire for luxuries.

14: When Elayne points out the suffering and devastation they was sailing past, Egwene is not only indifferent, she questions why Elayne would care about the deaths of people in a country her nation used to fight in wars before Elayne was born, while scoffing at Elayne’s notion that Egwene is Andoran for the exact same reason. Cairhien is as much Elayne’s enemy as Egwene is an Andoran subject. And even they were not, What. The. Hell. Egwene? Is human empathy really so alien a notion to her?

15: The boat runs aground, and Nynaeve goes to talk the captain. Egwene scorns her for this, assuming she’s interfering in the captain’s efforts to get underway and bossing him around. Instead, it turns out, Nynaeve walks away from the conversation with information on the area and the boat’s predicament. Egwene then questions her in front of outsiders, forcing Nynaeve to lay out all the information she has gleaned from yet another conversation our heroine missed. Elayne hastily agrees with Nynaeve, plainly to forestall Egwene’s frivolous arguments, and then, when Nynaeve leaves, points out that they aren’t going to get anywhere if she keeps contradicting everything Nynaeve says. Egwene replies that they will travel faster when Nynaeve recognizes Egwene’s equality, “once Nynaeve realizes she is not the Wisdom any longer…” Just as if Nynaeve was not the one who told Egwene to stop acting like she was, back when they first set out for the Tower. Nynaeve is acting with the certainty of one who believes she is in the right, yet in Egwene’s eyes, certainty comes from rank, and the only reason Nynaeve can be acting so authoritatively is that she must believe herself to be of higher rank.

16: Once ashore, Egwene hurries off before Nynaeve can “take the lead”. Aha! Egwene is walking first! Who’s in charge now? She also proclaims her defiance of the admonition against abuse of the Power as a weapon, saying she is going to defend herself, now that “there is no Amyrlin looking over (their) shoulders”. So self-defense is a right, as long as there is no authority figure to forbid it? Either Egwene believes morality is mutable by authority, or her only concern is whether or not she will be punished, instead of right versus wrong. And the anti-Tower, anti-authority, anti-“stupid rules” Nynaeve, of the bad temper & violent proclivities, is the one doggedly upholding the idea of alternate methods first.

17: Where Egwene had been indignant at the idea that the White Tower might not Heal Mat, she is now annoyed that Nynaeve agrees to perform Healing on Aviendha’s cousin without consulting Egwene. She worries about the consequences if Nynaeve fails to save the Aiel woman, yet Nynaeve had already warned Aviendha of that possibility, and the Aiel had accepted it. Egwene’s concern throughout the encounter combines with her braggadocio about her readiness to “defend” herself with the One Power to inspire an unflattering assessment of her competence and courage.

18: After leaving the Aiel, Egwene resumes her bad attitude. Despite being so confident in her knowledge of Rand, it takes Elayne to point out the correlation between He Who Comes With the Dawn and the Dragon Reborn. Like Elayne, Mat & Perrin got it when they first encountered an Aiel, making Egwene the slowest on the uptake of all of Rand’s peers. She perceives Elayne as thinking both she and Nynaeve are being obstinate about one another, but given how the only one Elayne ever corrects is Egwene, it appears to be yet another example of her denial. When she follows Elayne’s lead and compliments Nynaeve, Nynaeve’s expression of gratitude throws back into a sulk, because she perceives it as condescension, and mentally asserts her maturity. Because we all know that maturity means seething in secret over perceived slights, and acting out, rather than addressing the issue that concerns you. And she scoffs (secretly) at Nynaeve’s avoidance of the clumps of trees they encounter…only to be ambushed by men hiding in those groves. 18 complaints into the book, and she still doesn’t grasp the notion of keeping watch, or paying attention to your surroundings, with Elayne or Nynaeve always having to draw her attention to ambushers, or crossbow snipers, or warzones, while Egwene defends her inattention as a deliberate choice. Maybe if you paid attention, you could avoid danger before it “required” using the Power as a weapon?

19: Not that it’s important, but Egwene uses the least effective of the three weaves the Wondergirls turn against the Myrdraal. Her flames hurt them, but they are still intact to shriek until Elayne crushes their bodies with Air and Nynaeve balefires the crushed bits.

20: As their ship arrives in Tear, Egwene busies her mind with being annoyed at the lack of respect the captain shows, wishing she could wear her Great Serpent ring to impose a proper demeanor on him. None of his words are disrespectful, he is simply audibly eager to get rid of a couple of annoying seasick passengers. He is helpful and does all he can to expedite their disembarking, while Egwene contemplates petty delays to annoy him, and dawdles to fondle her horse, just so he can see she is not hurrying.

21: Egwene also notes about her companions that Elayne “agreed with Nynaeve too often and too readily to suit Egwene”, though she “grudgingly” admits “Only when Nynaeve is right”. Which lead logically to question, why is Egwene arguing so often when Nynaeve is right? Why is there a choice of sides for Elayne to make, unless Egwene is disagreeing when Nynaeve is right? And why is agreeing with Nynaeve only when she’s right, “too often and too readily” for Egwene? “Only when she’s right” strikes a reasonable person as exactly the right frequency with which to agree with someone. Rather than being happy that she has access to the insight of someone who is right so often, Egwene is disgruntled that someone else is outthinking her.

22: At Mother Guenna’s house, after having made it clear that they need to hide from Liandrin and the other Black sisters (and Mat & Colmar prove the truth of their need to avoid inns), Nynaeve starts trading questions about medical procedures with their hostess. It is plain that Nynaeve is establishing her bona fides with a respected person in the neighborhood, both to gain them shelter where no one would look for them, and assistance from people familiar with the city, who might be able to recognize aberrant events that might signal the Black Ajah’s activities. It’s an excellent plan, but Egwene seethes about Nynaeve acting on it, and even interrupts to question why Nynaeve would be interested in learning new things. Nynaeve had mostly been right, Elayne has a good eye for what is right, and has reproached Egwene for balking before this, and yet Egwene is still miffed that Nynaeve did not explain her plan slowly, using small words in order to get the approval of the least right, least helpful person on their little expedition.

23: When Nynaeve gives Mother Guenna their cover story, Egwene is fuming in disgust, and uses the most spiteful and personally hurtful language she can to characterize Nynaeve, even using terms she would consider a compliment, to wound her friend. As Elayne points out, she is being as honest with Alhuin as she possibly can without telling her things that would endanger them. Egwene cannot even deny it or defend herself, petulantly asserting that she doesn’t “have to like” keeping secrets from a woman they met that very day, against Egwene’s wishes. She is so far gone in her baseless resentment of Nynaeve that she can’t even bring herself to apologize after Elayne’s slap.

Just for the record, Egwene is present when Mat & Moiraine discuss the fulfillment of one of the Prophecies of the Dragon, Rhuarc reveals that the Aiel are the People of the Dragon, and Moiraine identifies Mat as a ta’veren, “a thread more crucial…than most” and the one who sounded the Horn of Valere. She even indicates through reactions that she hears and registers these things, but over the rest of the series, the actual facts of these revelations will continue to take her by surprise.