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Re: Such a resolution could have been a minor plot point like settling Tear or Cairhien Lord Haart Send a noteboard - 13/02/2010 10:45:06 AM
The White Tower provides structure and law to female channellers, and ensures they are afforded respect.
Part of the problem. The world needs to fall into line behind a male channeler now, and that respect that female channelers have come to assume is their due has interfered with their cooperation with Rand. Here's something to think about - without the Tower coming back together, or if it collapsed into a disastrous round of bloody internecine war, there would be a leadership vaccuum for that neutral 1/3 of the Tower, with Rand in the best position to fill it, through the powerful or respected Aes Sedai already aligned with him.


And what would Rand assume leadership of in that case? 1/3 of AS, without their millennia-old home (which BTW ties the Kin to them as well)? I think that regardless of how you approach this, 1000 channelers (plus thousands of novices/accepted, many of whom will be Raised shortly) is far better than maybe 250, many of whom might be BA, unbeknownst to Rand.

I just don't see why the Tower issue has to be elevated to some crucial piece, rather than a sidebar like the others. It is treated like the number two story, second only to Rand's mission.


Actually, I think that equal importance is given to Mat's story (how many chapters went towards simply courting Tuon?), Elayne's story (RJ could easily just have made her ascension easier, and dropped the irrelevant subplot about Adeleas's murderer), and of course Perrin's story (save Faile, save the world? Really?).

The simple explanation is that RJ didn't intend for this series to be about "how Rand defeated the evil lord of vile darkness", but rather to map a series of characters as they progress through a time of strife and change. By contrast with Perrin and Elayne, Egwene has done far more for Rand if she can deliver the tower to him (or even if it just fights the Shadow on its own). Even Mat might turn out to be less relevant, as we still haven't seen him impact Tuon in any way, nor has he saved Moiraine yet.

"Oh," I hear you say, "he's going to do that in the next book, silly!". Yes, no doubt. But Egwene could equally make large steps in the next books as well.

If you're a fan of chess, then you'll appreciate the link I posted. Sometimes we think the author is wasting time or pages instead of cutting to the meat of the plot. Only once the series ends can we claim that it was truly wasted space.
Najdorf's Immortal
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So what was the point of the White Tower struggle? - 07/02/2010 04:41:58 AM 1856 Views
I think the breaking of the tower was.... - 07/02/2010 07:55:48 AM 803 Views
Nice idea, that does seem to make sense in hindsight. - 07/02/2010 06:18:35 PM 597 Views
Yes, but that isn't the point. - 08/02/2010 04:14:32 AM 681 Views
Re: Yes, but that isn't the point. - 08/02/2010 04:40:52 AM 666 Views
YES!! The SPLIT is important. So why is ENDING the split such a necessary goal? - 08/02/2010 04:55:46 AM 590 Views
Re: YES!! The SPLIT is important. So why is ENDING the split such a necessary goal? - 08/02/2010 02:43:48 PM 689 Views
Re: YES!! The SPLIT is important. So why is ENDING the split such a necessary goal? - 10/02/2010 09:49:59 PM 657 Views
Re: the wise ones. - 13/02/2010 10:21:55 AM 501 Views
They're not the biggest clan... - 13/02/2010 02:20:38 PM 627 Views
Thank you - 15/02/2010 01:24:05 PM 701 Views
No problem. *NM* - 15/02/2010 09:05:11 PM 247 Views
Re: So what was the point of the White Tower struggle? - 07/02/2010 06:14:31 PM 703 Views
Re: The point was that Rand needed the division. - 07/02/2010 08:34:10 PM 651 Views
small disagreement - 07/02/2010 08:42:07 PM 592 Views
Re: small disagreement - 08/02/2010 04:37:03 AM 528 Views
Egwene and Siuan have noted that there are plenty of the new Novices - 15/02/2010 04:22:35 PM 596 Views
Re: So what was the point of the White Tower struggle? - 08/02/2010 04:34:52 AM 736 Views
Re: So what was the point of the White Tower struggle? - 08/02/2010 06:56:01 AM 603 Views
Such a resolution could have been a minor plot point like settling Tear or Cairhien - 11/02/2010 11:53:41 PM 655 Views
Re: Such a resolution could have been a minor plot point like settling Tear or Cairhien - 13/02/2010 10:45:06 AM 668 Views
For that matter, what is the point of Andor? - 08/02/2010 06:08:32 AM 649 Views
Re: For that matter, what is the point of Andor? - 08/02/2010 03:38:54 PM 598 Views
Especially true if - 08/02/2010 07:16:04 PM 561 Views
But Tar Valon is critical too. - 08/02/2010 07:41:43 PM 612 Views
Really? - 10/02/2010 05:30:02 AM 526 Views
Three women in a boat... - 10/02/2010 09:12:41 PM 575 Views
Nothing is ever given as a location for that boat that I recall. - 11/02/2010 11:54:39 PM 516 Views
So what? This is more or less true, but it has zero relevance to the issue of the Tower. - 10/02/2010 10:13:56 PM 651 Views
Re: So what? This is more or less true, but it has zero relevance to the issue of the Tower. - 12/02/2010 12:43:19 AM 695 Views
In this, I agree with Fionwe. - 13/02/2010 10:31:07 AM 537 Views
Re: So what? This is more or less true, but it has zero relevance to the issue of the Tower. - 15/02/2010 02:23:57 PM 681 Views
Some good points, but I still disagree. - 15/02/2010 06:30:50 PM 585 Views
- 15/02/2010 10:08:48 PM 657 Views
my thoughts - 09/02/2010 12:58:30 PM 760 Views
Belief and order give strength. - 10/02/2010 11:20:01 PM 592 Views
To pad the last few books in order to make Egwene the Amyrlin. - 17/02/2010 05:25:22 PM 552 Views
I can't say I agree with the use of the term "padding". - 17/02/2010 06:07:25 PM 520 Views
Re: I can't say I agree with the use of the term "padding". - 22/02/2010 11:05:44 PM 581 Views
To unite the Tower under competent leadership, of course. - 23/02/2010 04:55:02 AM 1032 Views
Does a main plotline HAVE to help defeat the DO? - 26/02/2010 04:11:30 PM 700 Views

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