And I would agree that if a major theme of the series is that you have to struggle to reach your goals, some of the struggles/setbacks the major characters could have faced could have been greater.
However, I would point out that, in terms of reality, the rise of many young people to power in the real world has been similiarly "Blessed".
Alexander the Great's rise to power essentially was eased by the conquests of his father. Henry Tudor's (or we know him now Henry VII) rise to power was very similiar to Egwene's, in that he got to overthrow the "imposter" Richard III, rather than his brother, whom he never would have been able to unseat (and he got the chance to lead the Lancaster party because the Yorkists had killed all the other Lancaster leaders, leaving him with the only claim, which btw, was a rather lame and somewhat illegitimate claim). Augustus Caesar was able to let Mark Anthony do all the heavy lifting until it was time to get rid of Anthony and then Anthony made an extremely foolish mistake to allow himself be rid of. Henry Plantagenet married the most powerful woman in the world (and adding to the boon of this marriage, got her previous marriage to his biggest rival annulled, thus enriching himself at the same time he dealt a body blow to Louis VII)
Sometimes in the real world, it really is that easy.
However, I would point out that, in terms of reality, the rise of many young people to power in the real world has been similiarly "Blessed".
Alexander the Great's rise to power essentially was eased by the conquests of his father. Henry Tudor's (or we know him now Henry VII) rise to power was very similiar to Egwene's, in that he got to overthrow the "imposter" Richard III, rather than his brother, whom he never would have been able to unseat (and he got the chance to lead the Lancaster party because the Yorkists had killed all the other Lancaster leaders, leaving him with the only claim, which btw, was a rather lame and somewhat illegitimate claim). Augustus Caesar was able to let Mark Anthony do all the heavy lifting until it was time to get rid of Anthony and then Anthony made an extremely foolish mistake to allow himself be rid of. Henry Plantagenet married the most powerful woman in the world (and adding to the boon of this marriage, got her previous marriage to his biggest rival annulled, thus enriching himself at the same time he dealt a body blow to Louis VII)
Sometimes in the real world, it really is that easy.
For instance, many suspect that the murder of Philip of Macedon was not a spontaneous act, and while not everyone blames Alexander specifically, his mother is held a strong contender for the responsibility, and Alexander may even been a party to her plot, if not actually a co-conspirator. In the case of Octavian, you could argue that having to share power with a guy like Antony, whose character was highly dubious long before his liaison with Cleopatra, and even offer up his sister to a degenerate & licentious brute in order to keep the wheels of power flowing smoothly, would fall into the category of things the good guys have to live with. As a similar example in WoT, Mazrim Taim's alignment with the Shadow was very disappointing to me, as it provides a convenient excuse for getting rid of him, rather than having to tolerate a jerk like that and even honor and elevate him in exchange for his first class service. Not only that, a somewhat adversarial and jerkish leader of the BT would make an interesting foil for Egwene as leader of the WT and Elayne as the technical sovereign of the BT's headquarters. Things like that keep them sharp, and while Logain as the eventual leader has promise with his jerkishness, he shows too many signs of being willing to go easy and walk soft around Aes Sedai. As long as Taim is withheld from actually trying the decision by battle, him as a non-Darkfriend but hostile adversary to the Aes Sedai would make for a more interesting setting, IMO.
Cannoli
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*
Did the characters come too easily to power?
16/03/2010 11:37:31 PM
- 1853 Views
Yes, and for Rand at least IMO, playing nice has cost dearly
17/03/2010 04:59:32 AM
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Not necessarily
18/03/2010 03:17:10 PM
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Good post.
27/03/2010 01:43:24 PM
- 704 Views
Unfortunately, no.
31/03/2010 10:23:58 AM
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Re: Unfortunately, no.
02/04/2010 07:54:10 AM
- 639 Views
All the way through, up to ripping her self-delusional assessments of her "achievements" in KoD
02/04/2010 09:27:54 PM
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TLDR *NM*
17/03/2010 05:43:01 AM
- 561 Views
Cmon ppl pls reply to this, Cannoli has spent such a long time writing it.... I couldn't be bothered *NM*
17/03/2010 10:31:38 AM
- 360 Views
I did read it and it was good
17/03/2010 02:33:26 PM
- 703 Views
That depends on certain interpretations...
18/03/2010 03:29:15 PM
- 925 Views
Rand is at the perfect position after TGS for his downfall...
17/03/2010 02:49:55 PM
- 797 Views
Re: Rand is at the perfect position after TGS for his downfall...
17/03/2010 06:15:18 PM
- 754 Views
I usually read Cannoli's epic-length posts...
17/03/2010 04:08:33 PM
- 813 Views
Ha! Imagine if I didn't double-space the paragraphs. That is a fairly new practice on my part. *NM*
18/03/2010 03:36:13 PM
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I'd suggest you had more paragraphs......with a lot of spacing..... *NM*
19/03/2010 04:42:05 AM
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Sheesh, you people are babies. I read it. Some good points.
17/03/2010 05:35:08 PM
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Re: Sheesh, you people are babies. I read it. Some good points.
17/03/2010 10:08:34 PM
- 909 Views
Oh and I forgot to add
18/03/2010 01:41:28 AM
- 798 Views
I would say those cases are both examples of aknowledging their own limitations and priorities
18/03/2010 04:02:13 PM
- 853 Views
Re: Did the characters come too easily to power?
17/03/2010 06:10:22 PM
- 781 Views
I was more focussed on the cost of GETTING power, not the prices of discharging it responsibly
18/03/2010 04:27:18 PM
- 850 Views
While most of this is true...
19/03/2010 06:47:19 AM
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Siuan's failure to properly help Rand should motivate Egwene to overthrow...oh, right. Egwene.
19/03/2010 11:52:10 PM
- 731 Views
Re: The To'Raken
06/04/2010 06:00:07 AM
- 744 Views