Well, technically, that quote doesn't deny Mesaanas stature.
Joel Send a noteboard - 20/11/2010 12:57:31 PM
ToM (Wounds) - 'This is not about me. Egwene al'Vere is a child. But the Amyrlin is not. I may be young, but the Seat in ancient... This place is what a person is. The Amyrlin is the White Tower, and the White Tower will not bend. It defies you, Mesaana, and your lies.'
This is absolute nonsense IMO. It's fair enough to say that what a person is determines their power in TAR, but the comparison is hugely flawed. The Amyrlin Seat is not more ancient or greater than the Forsaken (except for moral superiority, which TAR does not care about from the evidence we have). The Forsaken are much older than the Amyrlin Seat and are, even if falsely, legendary. Their legendary status is actually what gives them power here, and it is obvious as Egwene flees as soon as she senses Mesaana is in the room. She is afraid to face anything that is called 'Forsaken' because of the implications. Even the Wise Ones look pensive and restrained when Egwene says that she is facing one of the 'Shadowsouled'. Egwene actually defeats Mesaana by convincing her subconscious that Mesaana is not as great as she is, but the underlying theory that she puts forward is untrue. The Amyrlin Seat cannot match the Forsaken in terms of presence - indeed, the Forsaken are some of the oldest legends of the third Age, no matter how erroneously they were made.
It only asserts that the Amyrlin Seat is not a child. If we consider "the Tel'aran'rhiod version of the Amyrlin" Egwene states a truism: The Amyrlin, as an office, carries the weight of three thousand years worth of rather imposing women. Perhaps (probably) not on the level of the Forsaken, but nothing to trifle with unless you want to go home with your head in a sack. Mesaana expects to simply sweep Egwene aside as an annoyance (if that) and Egwene makes clear that means she's SEVERELY underestimated her opposition, which might have a lot to do with why she lost (I'd add that to my list of Great Themes in TWoT if it didn't seem so trite and obvious; we've certainly seen the Forsaken demonstrate it often enough).
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Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
This message last edited by Joel on 20/11/2010 at 01:06:49 PM
Egwene... hmm... no.
- 20/11/2010 07:02:24 AM
1932 Views
Re: Egwene... hmm... no.
- 20/11/2010 08:17:52 AM
1018 Views
Re: Egwene... hmm... no.
- 20/11/2010 10:29:35 AM
1075 Views
Agreed
- 20/11/2010 10:58:33 AM
902 Views
The important thing is it is T'A'R. Her victory was not implausible at all.
- 22/11/2010 02:11:08 PM
976 Views
Yup. It might not have been the best climax, but it was definitely plausible.
- 26/11/2010 08:27:00 AM
752 Views
It's BS
- 02/12/2010 03:43:55 AM
925 Views
I disagree with Egwene being a Mary Sue
- 02/12/2010 11:42:52 AM
1469 Views
Factually incorrect en masse
- 02/12/2010 03:38:13 PM
842 Views
That. Is. Not. An. Accomplishment. Your perverse twisting of details for her sake is totally absurd.
- 02/12/2010 08:54:12 PM
855 Views
Well, technically, that quote doesn't deny Mesaanas stature.
- 20/11/2010 12:57:31 PM
941 Views
I think you are misinterpreting
- 20/11/2010 04:20:49 PM
928 Views
That's a possibility.
- 22/11/2010 02:02:20 PM
865 Views
Re: That's a possibility.
- 04/12/2010 06:48:19 AM
753 Views
The Amyrlin Seat is a modern twist on the Hall of Servants, but I don't think you can say
- 04/12/2010 01:47:03 PM
989 Views
It doesn't really matter if it is erroneous, so long as she believes it is true. *NM*
- 21/11/2010 04:17:35 AM
641 Views
Mesaana might have spent too much time reading the Tower's press releases.
- 22/11/2010 02:00:50 PM
913 Views