All three are pretty good military tacticians. And I imagine Tuon wouldn't be too bad either. I would imagine that there are also other female generals amongst the Seanchan, but we haven't seen them. In the westlands soldering is pretty much a male dominated occupation.
NaCl(just because we haven't seen them doesn't mean they aren't there)H2O
NaCl(just because we haven't seen them doesn't mean they aren't there)H2O

Women still can't fight all that well in an era of muscle-powered weaponry. Few men would follow a commander who had never put her own butt on the line. Gareth Bryne and other generals had to earn their stripes, even if they were born to the nobility. Women like Elayne are the exceptions, because they represent a higher allegiance for their soldiers, but that is why Queens of Andor have both a professional military officer (Captain-General) and a personal champion/deputy (First Prince of the Sword) to handle the military aspects of rulership.
The Seanchan exceptions are due to their having institutionalized women in the military. Egeanin's mother was more or less the equivalent of the Chief of Staff of the Navy or Chief of Naval Operations. Women like Tylee have worked their way up to the top ranks and proven themselves, but there are few to no opportunities for wetlander women to do the same. The Aiel women similarly cannot advance, ironically because of their approach to gender equality. Since they give chiefs and roofmistresses equal but seperate duties, they need a mechanism for unifying that power and have chosen a family relationship as the means. Unless they are willing to let a Maiden marry a woman who can be roofmistress, a Maiden cannot rise to a command position. I would imagine a Maiden who was tactically adept might be given subordinate commands under a chief, but she could never be chief or battle-leader of a sept or hold, because that is tied up in the institution of marriage.
Are women really bad generals?
- 01/10/2009 07:05:03 PM
1702 Views
No.
- 01/10/2009 07:41:35 PM
1137 Views
Or RJ just loves stacking ridiculously unfavourable odds against the male Forsaken generals...
- 01/10/2009 08:40:47 PM
1209 Views
Lol... too true
- 01/10/2009 09:32:29 PM
1128 Views
And you guys whine about the lameness of RJ's villains?
- 01/10/2009 09:41:54 PM
1204 Views
I still haven't seen proof of Demandred or Ishamael's "brilliance".
- 01/10/2009 09:56:41 PM
936 Views
but you are difficult to please
- 02/10/2009 05:10:13 AM
902 Views
But they are lame... they've done minimal damage to the Light
- 02/10/2009 05:06:05 AM
837 Views
You can't have it both ways....
- 02/10/2009 06:47:21 AM
931 Views
Why not?
- 02/10/2009 08:45:35 AM
898 Views
Yeah
- 01/10/2009 09:57:01 PM
922 Views
Re: Yeah
- 01/10/2009 10:40:28 PM
910 Views
I thought the same in the past...
- 02/10/2009 07:01:18 AM
877 Views
Gah! Hate!
- 02/10/2009 04:11:49 PM
895 Views
Ah, come on...
- 02/10/2009 04:41:37 PM
872 Views
No no, I was just being pouty that I haven't read the new stuff yet.
- 02/10/2009 05:01:15 PM
877 Views
- 02/10/2009 05:01:15 PM
877 Views
Re: Or RJ just loves stacking ridiculously unfavourable odds against the male Forsaken generals...
- 01/10/2009 09:51:30 PM
975 Views
Good points! Also, these "generals" haven't actually fielded any troops
- 01/10/2009 11:23:40 PM
844 Views
But as individuals they are meant to be deadly too
- 02/10/2009 05:09:21 AM
831 Views
Well, yeah. They're knowledgable and deadly in person. Generalship doesn't come into it.
- 04/10/2009 12:09:50 AM
832 Views
nope
- 01/10/2009 08:06:57 PM
1009 Views
Tylee Kirgan, Birgitte, and one other, Egeanin
- 01/10/2009 09:47:00 PM
1282 Views
Birgitte's not a soldier though.
- 01/10/2009 10:10:50 PM
866 Views
She says she's not, but so does Mat.
- 01/10/2009 10:34:04 PM
776 Views
- 01/10/2009 10:34:04 PM
776 Views
Mat's not a soldier, either - he's a general
- 01/10/2009 10:51:29 PM
911 Views
Right.
- 02/10/2009 01:36:59 AM
855 Views
Well said. (And its short and to the point.)
- 02/10/2009 03:54:23 AM
986 Views
Birgitte is too cautious to be better than an adequate tactician.
- 02/10/2009 04:22:45 AM
910 Views
My opinion
- 02/10/2009 01:30:12 AM
1322 Views
That's a poor excuse
- 02/10/2009 11:59:42 AM
811 Views
I disagree
- 02/10/2009 04:26:28 PM
893 Views
Re: I disagree
- 02/10/2009 08:31:29 PM
1135 Views
Oh, puh-lease.
- 02/10/2009 09:09:30 PM
1050 Views
Re: Oh, puh-lease.
- 03/10/2009 04:52:37 PM
878 Views
Re: Oh, puh-lease.
- 05/10/2009 05:08:27 PM
3347 Views
I always know I've out-argued an idiot when they fall back on the tired old "RJ wanted it that way"
- 06/10/2009 04:42:11 AM
944 Views
And I can tell you're through when you've gotten to three+ insults per paragraph.
- 06/10/2009 05:46:24 PM
1027 Views
Monday morning quarterbacking at its worst
- 04/10/2009 07:28:36 AM
986 Views
Men and football.
- 05/10/2009 04:49:35 PM
911 Views
She didn't kill anyone! Why SHOULD she feel guilty? She gave necessary orders.
- 06/10/2009 03:33:15 AM
980 Views


