First of all, 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. This applies to her acceptance of or requiring such behavior, as well as acting that way herself.

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.

The Pattern at work, sometimes against Egwene, sometimes her going against it

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

Taking the side of the White Tower, or a position of inherent Aes Sedai supremacy

To cope with the…issues…in the writing style of this book, I will be using a new smiley code, to indicate points where I believe her problem or issue result from mistakes by the production team.

Also will be used to indicate an act that, while not bad or wrong, is also not nearly as heroic as many people make it out to be.

Part 14The Gathering Storm, vol. 2
1: Egwene claims that Ferane has the temperament of a Domani, which is odd for a White. The Domani temperament is seductive manipulation, and the White Ajah espouses logic through the elimination of emotional considerations. Emotions are actually, for normal human beings, a hindrance in sexual manipulation. Or any sort of similarly underhanded personal exploitation – the dangers of becoming attached or emotionally invest in the target interfere with the willingness of the actor to carry it out fully. Domani women don’t fall in love with every man they try to use their wiles to persuade in their interests, because they are probably no different than normal people, and would lose interest in selfishly using people they loved.

That Egwene thinks it surprising that a woman from a culture notorious for their practice of manipulations would join an Ajah best known for emotional detachment says a lot about her own views on the subject. Recall what experience Egwene has of sexual activity – her brief relationship with Gawyn. Aside from the physical interaction, that consisted mainly of Egwene exploiting his affections to evade the notice of the Aes Sedai, and obtain intelligence on them. There was no mention of any topic of discussion between the two, other than her relationship with the Aes Sedai & their activities.

Based on her experience, Egwene obviously conflates a romantic relationship and a manipulative & exploitative relationship. She manipulates and uses the man she loves, so she naturally assumes that all the Domani do too, and can't understand why they would be emotionally detached. Love and other emotions are not obstacles to manipulation, they are the foundation of it, in her experience.

Or maybe she’s just an idiot, since she believes the embroidery on Ferane’s dress is another call-back to her Domani heritage. Domani dresses are not remotely known for embroidery or ornamentation, they are known for being see-through. Embroidery, by my limited understanding of sewing & clothing, would seem to cancel that property out.

Egwene compares the wrinkled appearance of a walnut to the brain of a small animal. She is absolutely inept at woodcraft, having worked in an indoors-oriented building in the heart of the village, but she is so familiar with the brains of small animals that the comparison instantly springs to mind. Plainly she has spent her childhood dismembering small animals.

2: While much of the stupidity of Egwene’s recommendations to Ferane and the Whites about the course of action the Amyrlin should have taken regarding the Dragon Reborn can be attributed to her putting on a show and telling her audience what would impress them, and convey her platform of Ajah unity and solidarity, rather than her actual opinions or course of action (for one thing, she never mentions berating or insulting Rand, so it can’t be what she’d really do), there are a few points that are indicative of her actual thoughts.

The woman who is constantly citing her own development and changes since leaving Emond’s Field, and who furiously resents her friends treating her on the basis of their knowledge of her from those days, or even mentioning things that happened back then if they redound to her slight discredit or mild embarrassment, suggests that step one of dealing with Rand would be a fact-finding mission to “interrogate” his friends and family (we’ll write that word off to authorial error since it was used twice in the 11 novels written by Robert Jordan, and 25 times in this book alone! The prior uses were Min balking at Sorilea’s "interrogation", and Suroth’s pet lopar making an "interrogative" motion. ). Remember her criticism of Nynaeve for thinking of Mat as he was in Emond’s Field? Or her constantly noticing how different Rand has become from the boy she grew up with?

In her private thoughts, Egwene comments Best you remember that…I know the Dragon Reborn personally. As nobody else in this Tower does. In the first place, in her own experiences, as has been amply demonstrated by this work, she does NOT know Rand very well. She is frequently surprised by his actions or finds them inexplicable, and her beliefs in his mentality, reasons or actions are usually wrong as well. Her arguments are completely ineffective against him and she is stone-blind to the realities of his love life.

And in the second place, the reality of his nature, one might argue, is a more important detail than his childhood work ethic. Elaida was the first person to get glimmers of that, and long before anyone else. Her awareness of the importance of Rand is part of what set her on the path to deposing Siuan.

And, too, Elaida DID try talking to his fellow villagers, at least the ones she could meet without taking a couple months to visit the ass end of nowhere, in the days before Traveling was rediscovered, namely Egwene & Nynaeve, and even Min. Their rather uncooperative attitudes suggest that she found Egwene’s recommended course of action futile. Egwene, of course, knows this, and once again, is tarring her adversary with an unfair brush. Funny thing about the morality of lying. The Ten Commandments do not explicitly forbid telling all lies, just falsehoods about other people! And that’s what Egwene is doing here, bearing false witness against Elaida.

3: This is also another one of those debates she wins for absolutely no reason other than Plot-Mandated-Stupidity. In the one debate between White sisters we are privy to, they leap at the slightest verbal slip-ups and in their streams of consciousness, they are constantly noting imprecise language or inaccurate descriptions on the part of others. There is no way these women would sit still for all the points Egwene makes that are completely wrong or blatant examples of logical fallacies.
- Egwene claims that if she surrendered and brought the rebels back to the Tower, they would immediately assume all the practices and behaviors that have developed in the Tower over several months’ time, which resulted in reaction to incidents for which the rebels had not been present, and therefore lack the same visceral response or fears.
- She accuses Elaida of stilling sisters in secret and executing Warders before the Aes Sedai are brought to trial, when in fact, Siuan was already deposed when Alaric died, and there is no indication that her trial or stilling were done in secret.
- She also displays blatant prejudice against the Reds and favoritism for the Greens, in the midst of a speech railing against the estrangement of the Ajahs.

The women debating the rate of food spoilage in Alviarin's return to the Tower, or arguing outside Leane's cell, or who share the intellectual abilities of Sarene Nemdahl, as displayed in LoC, would not have let that crap pass, much less taken it as something to invite into their Ajah.

4: While frustrated with one of the few incidents since leaving the Two Rivers where she is being made to do something useful, Egwene rails about having to do menial work at a time when the Last Battle is approaching and the Dragon Reborn runs free without guidance. Assuming it isn’t her usual envy that Rand gets to do things she doesn’t, just because of his role and position, there is still the point that he has not needed her guidance at any point, that the Aes Sedai have repeatedly been proven wrong when clashing with him, and that she will not actually provide any guidance in the future, nor does she have any ideas about what kind of guidance to give him.

Just as we can’t take what she tells Ferane about a course of action to deal with Rand at face value, because it is a campaign speech, it is apparent that we also can’t believe she is sincere in her admonitions against trying to control him, or affirmations that his actions so far have been acceptable.

5: While contemplating accepting Laras’ offer of escape, Egwene is already retroactively rewriting the account to her glory, saying she would return to the rebel camp having freed herself. Except, she didn’t free herself. Laras did everything, and it was based entirely on the cook’s own previously-demonstrated values, rather than being affected or inspired by Egwene’s performance to this point. She could be referring to the impression it will make in the camp, rather than the facts of the matter, but how will that impression be created? Is she going to lie? Is she going to suppress the knowledge of a secret route out of the White Tower, when she knows the Seanchan will soon be attacking and probably believes the Tower itself will be a significant target of the Shadow when Tarmon Gaidon comes?

A flash of red…like the blood of a dead rabbit in the snow. This is Egwene’s description. Of all the contexts in which you could place the color of blood, we’re back to killing small animals.

6: Perhaps Elaida…still thought of herself as a Red, although she wasn’t supposed to. As opposed to an Amyrlin thinking of herself as a Green, although she wasn’t supposed to and has absolutely no reason to?

Also, she thinks she knows what cinnamon smells like now, despite no other WoT character, ever, having experienced it before. The only question here is whether she is delusional, or diabolically possessed, which is the usual explanation for such inexplicable knowledge. Either way, not someone who should be aspiring to an important leadership position.

Elaida’s behavior during their second dinner is so OoC, down to her drinking habits, I can’t even begin to discuss it in terms of Egwene’s attitude and response. All I can say is ‘What would have happened if Egwene had been faced with an adversary who didn’t behave in a stupidly politically-suicidal fashion, who had the emotional control of any other woman who had passed the test for the shawl?” Game over. You can’t even say that such a woman would not have had Egwene opposing her, because absolutely nothing Egwene has done prior to her incarceration has been affected by any behavior or acts of Elaida, aside from possessing an office which Egwene wants for herself. A good Amyrlin would have met the same level of resistance from Siuan and Egwene, because she would stand in their way.

The Tower takes money in tribute, which it doesn't need, and even though the Borderlands seem to be the only ones to send it. They take money they don’t need, from the pockets of the people holding the line against the Shadow. Why are we supposed to be happy about their survival and success again?

As an example of one of the smarter sisters, we have Siuan, who even boasts that she was the only one to think of the tactical ramifications of Elaida possessing the ability to Travel. And, despite the self-proclaimed importance of her realization, she still sends her warning by foot! Bryne’s army is divided to cover the six bridges that lead into Tar Valon. Five of his divisions could be slaughtered in detail, while waiting for a man with a horse to ride all the way to his tent, from the Aes Sedai camp. Recall how long that took Siuan to ride in “Embers Falling on Dry Grass.” So proud of seeing the tactical ramifications, while missing the obvious and immediately relevant point.

Siuan also thinks there is some point to being circumspect in her message to Bryne, obliquely referring to “the method we used to get here.” In the first place, that doesn’t remotely conceal anything, but in the second, anyone who hears or overhears the message, is someone who passed through a gateway to get to Tar Valon with the army or the rebels! She is trying to keep the existence of Traveling a secret from people who have Traveled!

And she’s the smart one. And Egwene thinks these people should be guiding Rand? She once shrieked at Rand to show respect when he called Siuan a fool?

And thanks to the Dark One’s touch on the world, Siuan is experiencing that same dementia as other characters, substituting “lionfish” for “lion” in common expressions. Never mind that “lion’s share” refers to gender differences within the species, as opposed to behavior of lions as a whole or compared to other creatures. Do lionfish have the same social hierarchies as a pride of lions? Or are there people out there who don’t understand figures of speech, despite pretending to be professional writers, or who don’t get WoT characterizations and backgrounds, despite unprecedented access to inside information, and reading progress charted on the internet?

Gawyn’s idiocy in beating up soldiers because they are following their procedures instead of giving a stranger access to their commanding general upon request, seems to parallel some of Egwene’s obsessions with personal stature and her attitude of entitlement to rank or respect. Or it could be a case of But this is the sort of person who could love Egwene and whom Egwene believes is an ideal mate, especially on short acquaintance.

A point that is sort of strange if you think about it, is that the Sitters questioning Shemerin are surprised that Elaida did not demote her as punishment for personal or political opposition. But those are horrible reasons to punish someone. Losing your status because of a difference of opinion would be unconscionable tyranny. Shemerin’s given reason for her demotion accords with Elaida’s dissatisfaction with Shemerin way back in tFoH. Setting aside the questions of particular legality, if you are going to strip someone of a rank or status, behavior that is unsuited to the position, or an inability to live up to the demands of the position are just about the best reasons for it. Since the test for the shawl is essentially a test of composure and maintaining calm when confronting dangers, an Aes Sedai who cannot keep her demeanor in the face of the world-wide crisis would seem to be manifestly unfit for the shawl.

So what’s so bad about that? And if it is because the status of an Aes Sedai is so inviolate that an Amyrlin’s decree cannot revoke it, logically, an Amyrlin has no business bestowing that status as a spur-of-the-moment party favor in celebration of her inauguration.

7: In her discussion with Siuan regarding her possible fate, Egwene reveals her true reason for not wanting to be rescued – “the Sitters themselves come to visit me”! She gets to play martyr, and she gets attention, without having to earn it politically. Since she’s not running around exacerbating their conflict with the Tower, or stirring up trouble among hostile foreign armies, or straining their logistics with insane recruitment proclamations, the loyalist Sitters Egwene is encountering in the Tower are not working against her, or to restrict her power, so she can bask in their attention and feed her fantasies of being respected and honored. Siuan’s very good argument about the possibility of her execution is only able to obtain an impossible condition – that Egwene can be rescued if she is sentenced to death. When she fails to convince Siuan, she proves that she is unlike Elaida by ordering the discussion closed. That’s the only way she ever wins an argument, of course.

The master politicians and stateswomen supreme have a conversation that goes as follows:
“Thank you, but I don’t need the reminder.”
“Don’t you? Sounds like something Elaida would say.”
“That’s unfair!”
“Prove it”
I have heard second graders conduct more rational and reasoned debates. “Not fair!” and “Prove it!” are so universally recognized as the retort of children, that even the most petty and stupid politicians have the sense to dress up their dialogue a bit.

8: When contemplating the cell in which she is being kept, Egwene decrees that when she comes to power, all such cells will be destroyed. It would be one thing to resolve to not use such a cell when she comes to power, but why destroy them, except as an act of petty & pointless vengeance?

Somebody thought it would be a good idea to have those cells. Given how short a time has passed since Egwene entered first the Tower, that somebody certainly had more experience. Given her good opinion of Aes Sedai in general, it is unlikely that that somebody was deranged or stupid. Where then, does Egwene get off saying that the things they built were a bad idea or should not be there? But this is an incident that is representative of her attitude to the White Tower in general. They have many institutions and practices that thousands of years of collective experience have not persuaded the sisters to set aside, but Egwene thinks herself a sufficient and superior judge to undo what so many more of her predecessors have done.

Granted, in this particular case, it might not be necessary to have such uncomfortable cells…but considering they mentally torment petty criminals with the One Power, to psychologically traumatize them as punishment or a twisted form of brainwashing euphemized as rehabilitation, is the physical existence of small cells REALLY something Egwene needs to eradicate from the White Tower? Especially with Tarmon Gaidon in the offing?

9: When Egwene starts speculating on the outcome of her faction going their separate way if they fail to convince their counterparts in the Tower to depose Elaida and reunite, she comes up with a list of reasons why that would be a bad idea, despite allowing them to go about helping the world without coming to blows with their sisters.
- Unless they have a monopoly on the title Aes Sedai, they will have difficulty compelling outside groups to submit to them.
- “Kings might very start up their own centers for women talented in channeling”, which would allow people to fight for their country, and make the services of Aes Sedai available in each country, and with international competition, there would be no fear of women missing the narrow window in which they are allowed to apply for training. The nations would not let so many women go unfound as the Tower has, being secure in its monopoly. Fewer soldiers would die of their wounds or be maimed, with capable Healers in the service of the same king. Aes Sedai who only answer to the Tower make gardens bloom in the winter for the amusement of the royals. Channelers in service of their country would find ways to make farms produce more for the greater good. Borderland nations with their own channelers would not have to fear Malkier’s fate, dying under waves of Trollocs in the time it takes Aes Sedai to hear about their need and make the trip of several weeks from Tar Valon. It might mean more destructive wars, with the One Power being used, but it might also mean countries would be more reluctant to fight, fearing the destruction. Since the advent of nuclear weapons, no two nuclear-armed powers have gone to war with one another, except for India & Pakistan, who have, nonetheless, refrained from an exchange of their ultimate weapons.

Even if you take the most charitable interpretation of genuine fears of disasters, or subscribe to the idea that central control of the One Power is for the best, once again, Egwene finds an excuse not to settle for a lesser degree power. The frequency of the “right” or “best” course of action happening to coincide with the way that will bring her the most power is too great to be coincidence. Her thoughts about the dangers focus on what amounts to less power for her, and more power for other people. At the heart, that is always her motivating concern.

10: In hindsight, Egwene characterizes her behavior with Aram as flirting, and smiles to remember it, as well as Perrin’s “scowling disapproval”. That’s not at all how she verbally described her behavior at the time, which is to be expected when you consider that she was supposed to be committed to another person at the time, and took a very disapproving view of other women coming away from an encounter with Rand holding a positive impression. If Rand is to be compared to Shadowspawn for inspiring her friends to ask if he is well, what then should Egwene be compared to for actually flirting and dancing, in the face of a friend’s disapproval?

11: When Verin starts talking philosophically of her observations of the Dark One and the Forsaken, it is profoundly appropriate that Egwene’s response, as is always the case when people start discussing esoteric knowledge or things that might be useful against the Shadow, is “What does this have to do with me?” What relevance does information relating to Tarmon Gaidon have for someone who aspires to be leading a major power in the forces of the Light come that day?

And more telling, which would be devastatingly puncturing to all Egwene’s pretensions of superiority (or even mere parity) to Rand, is Verin’s response: “Not much.”

At last we come to the heart of it. For all her status as a protagonist in a book series concerned with a fight against ultimate evil, Egwene and her role don’t really have much to do with the ultimate goal and agenda. It’s almost as if she and her compatriots exist solely to show the readers exactly how a world where people can channel is in so much danger. But meta stuff aside, when pushed to the brink, facing the final moments of her life, or helplessness before an admitted Darkfriend, Egwene blurts out a tacit admission of how little her primary concerns have to do with the struggle against the Shadow, and Verin acknowledges the lack of relevance of her fight to Rand’s. This war Egwene has been waging is really only about her and her aggrandizement.

12: After Verin’s suicide, Egwene wishes for the Oath Rod urgently because of the appeal of lying in situations like having a dead Black sister in your bed. That’s like a rapist wish he was castrated so he wouldn’t be so tempted to rape. How about not being a total scumbag? Ever think of trying that? Apparently not, in Egwene’s case. Never mind that the “truth-telling” Egwene uses on Turese is just as deceptive and immoral as a flat-out lie. Egwene, by virtue of the Oath Rod enslaving sisters more tightly to her control, has embraced the literal meaning of the Oaths as significant principles, while ignoring the actual values with which they have a passing acquaintance. Making untrue statements to Turese about Verin’s presence in her bedroom is no more immoral than the lie-in-spirit Egwene actually tells. She is so consumed in the benefits of the Oath Rod that she honestly believes there is a difference, because one is permitted and the other is not.

13: In hindsight, Egwene has suddenly claimed retroactive prescience, asserting that she had suspected Sheriam back when she was first assigned to hunt the Black Ajah, once she has Verin’s journal stating Sheriam’s true affiliation. In fact, she hardly suspected Sheriam, and often criticized Nynaeve’s outright suspicions and hard questioning of the Mistress of Novices.

The Dark One’s touch has warped Gareth Bryne’s sword into a heron-marked blade, when there was no indicator that he was a blademaster in any prior book, even being specifically quoted as disdaining swordsmanship, saying that an army is a general’s blade, and a general who uses a sword is mistaking his job.

Also he gives orders to wake up the night guard and for them to put on their armor. What the hell is the point of a night guard, if they have to be awakened during the night and told to put on their armor? Plainly madness and chaos are truly infesting the land.

14: Egwene calls Nicola a fool for believing that the Seanchan are just a rumor, like all of her superiors and teachers do.

15: Egwene gives a hint as to her motivation for protecting the novices. It is not altruism or heroism, rather greed and selfishness. As she tells the novices “You are mine.” Except they aren’t by any law or anything. For the Amyrlin to express possession of the novices through her office is one of those tyrannical excesses Egwene is always criticizing in Elaida. Rather, it is a personal declaration, that Egwene sees them as her servants and possessions, people who augment her power by being her subordinates. It is for this same reason she is always so adamant about reunifying the Tower and refusing to deny the Reds – she wants as many followers as possible, because she sees them as assets for her use and aggrandizement.

Siuan substitutes the word “devilfish” where a person in the real world would say “devil”. I wonder what inspired people to name a fish by that term, since their world has no concept of devils?

Okay, one more split. I promise to wrap up tGS in the next volume, beneath the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth.