RJ did such a horrendous job portraying relationships in this series. As a world builder he is a master, but regarding his characters, its just the pits.

Its painful to read about Egwene/Gawyn, Rand/Aviendha/Elayne, Tuon/Mat, Siuan/Gareth and most of all Perrin/Faile.

I just cannot believe that people would want to be in any of these relationships. The women consistently tell others how much they love these men but they consistently treat them like men they cannot stand. Egwene treats Gawyn like shit almost all the time... How dare you read my letter? I will not tolerate that in a husband etc. Elayne and Aviendha are extremely irritating women around Rand. Elayne berates him for the surprise visit and says that she "saw him yesterday". Aviendha dismisses everything he says and consistently thinks that her wisdom is far greater than even Lews Therin Telamon. Its so toxic it's difficult to read. Tuon treats Mat like she always has, an object. Its strange that some readers actually like Tuon... She's a monster and about as human as one of the Forsaken.

Its also mirrored by the fact that the men are idiots of the highest order. Perrin is retarded but it seems he was born that way, so Faile had very little to do there to dominate the situation. Rand just smiles at the continuous insults and says how beautiful his women are, like an adolescent. Mat can't be serious if he tries. Life is one big game.

The healthiest relationship is Nynaeve/Lan and Rand/Min. Nynaeve/Lan because she doesn't put up with his constant depressive moods and suicidal ideation, and because he keeps the bitch mode in check in her. Two people who show mutual respect. Min has a soul so that's already a winner, and she knows how to be kind, despite the fact that she only recently found a purpose in the series.

So yes, Faile is irritating and pathetic, but so are most of the women. Luckily its fiction...