Aon Ati Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Hello Wheel of Time fans. I have recently started reading Eye of the World and I have a problem. I do not like Egwene. At all. When she first came on the scene I knew instantly that she was going to be the love interest and I was fine with that. But then she started to show another side, one where she would let her friends be insulted as long as it was by the Wisdom. I shrugged this off thinking that it was just her being respectful to her elders and a bit timid in confronting people. But then after the trolloc attack and the group was leaving she was told that it would be dangerous coming with them because of the other trollocs chasing after them. And she laughed at them! Claiming that the trollocs were not real and they were making it up to get out of the town. At this point I became concerned with this person being part of the group and hoped that the trip would make her realize that the world was a much harsher place then she knew. But then, when Moiraine offered her the chance to become an Aes Sedai, she didn't hesitate at all! She should have asked some questions like: "is this dangerous?", "what exactly am I agreeing to?", or "how will this affect the people I (supposedly) care about?". She jumped right in and from what I could tell she did it not because of some noble purpose to help people, but to acquire power so that she can be important! And now I just got past the part where she and Perrin were with the people who are contantly traveling to find the Song (I am not going to spell their name). And during that time she went goo-goo eyes for a boy she did not know, from a people she did not know, and hung out with him so much that even the kindly mother figure became concerned. All the while on the run from an unspeakable evil that might have the ability to shape shift into a desirable form so that it can seduce people to its side. And ignoring her very loyal friend the whole time. AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!! It's a good thing that she is not in a horror move, otherwise she would have bit the dust a long time ago. So I ask you, fans of the Wheel of Time, does she get better? Please don't spoil anything for me but PLEASE tell me that something happens that slaps some sense into her! Thank you all for letting me rant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRyan Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 13 minutes ago, Aon Ati said: So I ask you, fans of the Wheel of Time, does she get better? Please don't spoil anything for me but PLEASE tell me that something happens that slaps some sense into her! Thank you all for letting me rant. Trust me when I say that I completely understand your pain. Throughout the series, each character will be the cause of frustration, headache, annoyance, rage, despair, disbelief, and more. The Wheel of Time is fourteen books long and, without spoiling anything, I can say that each character has tremendous growth (like, yuuuge!). Egwene will still be Egwene fourteen books later but, at the same time, she will have change and grow due to what she encounters. All of the characters do. So, if you are raging mad at a character right now, give them a few books - they might get even worse haha! Many of the characters in the series are polarizing. Some people end the series despising Egwene, others see her as one of the best characters. For me, personally, I never really liked Perrin. Sanderson, on the other hand, said his favorite in the series is probably Perrin. Go figure haha. Good luck with the series! I hope you enjoy it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aon Ati Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) Thank you CaptainRyan. You have sort of inspired me with hope. I just hope it does get better soon. By the way, who is your favorite? Edited October 23, 2017 by Aon Ati 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRyan Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 12 minutes ago, Aon Ati said: By the way, who is your favorite? That is a really, really tough call. I always complain when people ask me about "favorites" haha, whether it is book characters or food. In no particular order, I very much enjoy Rand, Mat, [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and Lan. Sorry for all of the redactions but as you are only on book 1 I worry about spoiling anything. If you are super curious about who else is on the list then I can post again with the names behind a spoiler curtain for you to peek at later haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Cole Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 At some point you think every character is an idiot. I have to say that Mat is my favorite character without a doubt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sovereign Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 24 minutes ago, King Cole said: At some point you think every character is an idiot. I have to say that Mat is my favorite character without a doubt I would have to second Mat as my favorite character. Not just in the Wheel of Time but in any platform of story telling. Mat is just great. @Aon Ati, Egwene ended up being one of my favorites. I agree that she is a bit slow starting but in my opinion she significantly improves around book 7 or 8 and is arguably the best character (excluding Mat) by the end of the series. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aon Ati Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 1 hour ago, CaptainRyan said: That is a really, really tough call. I always complain when people ask me about "favorites" haha, whether it is book characters or food. In no particular order, I very much enjoy Rand, Mat, [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and Lan. Sorry for all of the redactions but as you are only on book 1 I worry about spoiling anything. If you are super curious about who else is on the list then I can post again with the names behind a spoiler curtain for you to peek at later haha That would be to tempting. Best not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormingTexan Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Egwene actually grew a lot on me as the series went but I feel your pain. Now Nynaeve had me wanting to pull my hair almost until the end of the series. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yata Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I will avoid to talk about specific istances but Edgwene is my female favorite character in the series. I hope this is enough to point in how far every character goes from the starting point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulk Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 The whole man/woman dynamic in this series is really frustrating to me in general. I started reading before the fourth book came out and I've read all of them aside from the last three at least 10 times - the last three it's more like 4-5 times each. Others have said mostly what I end up thinking about her, though I think Nynaeve and one or two others are more my favorite females when you boil it all down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ammanas Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 (edited) You have listed one of the many flaws that this series started to accumulate and that I could no longer look past. Which is a shame because this series has a lot of things going for it. Edited October 24, 2017 by Ammanas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkido Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 You will alternate between wanting to pump your fist in the air for all the awesome that Egwene does then go right back wanting to pump your fist into her face for all the undercutting and dismissive things she does. She still remains the same character, just more capable of doing great things and stupid things. Nyneve and Verin are more my favorite female characters. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erunion Posted November 4, 2017 Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 (edited) Don't worry, she changes a LOT. They all do. One thing you may find, a lot of the female characters seem to be annoying and frustrating to deal with. They can be grating, irritating, and dismissive of the male characters. That's not an accident, it's intentional. It's part of the worldbuilding. More in spoilers. Interesting worldbuilding kind of spoiler - read at your own discretion. Spoiler In about 60% of Randland, men experience low-level sexism from women at most, or all times. Men are treated there much like women are here - dismissed, ignored, considered less reliable, talked over. Sent off into the corner so the 'cool-headed women' can do the real thinking and planning. It's grating, and infuriating, and it's supposed to be. It's what really caused me to understand the low-level sexism in our society - it took Randland's mirroring it onto men for me to understand. Note - this sexism is likely grounded in historical remembrance of the breaking of the world, married to how men can no longer safely channel. Note, about 10% of society is very sexist towards men, 5% extremely sexist. About another 10% are sexist against women, and about 15% are actually properly egalitarian. Of course, the society with the best equality of the sexes is horrifically classist and has some absolutely vile forms of slavery. Yay worldbuilding! Also, those percentages are off the top of my head and may not be accurate. Haven't read the series in a couple years. Edited November 4, 2017 by Erunion 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king of nowhere Posted November 5, 2017 Report Share Posted November 5, 2017 in addition to all the true things everyone else said, i add that almost every main character in the wheel of time is power-hungry and dismissive/suspicious of those who should be his best friends and allies. this brought to be some of the worst parts to read. ultimately, all those characters end up being very heroic. They are all deeply flawed, but when push come to shove they choose to put aside personal concerns and do the right thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifth of Daybreak Posted November 5, 2017 Report Share Posted November 5, 2017 (edited) I think Egwene starts to turn around in The Shadow Rising/The Fires of Heaven. She starts an arc there where she experiences a lot of character growth. Edited November 5, 2017 by Fifth of Daybreak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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