[OB] Shallan and the voices of the Unmade

[BraidedRose]

On three separate occasions when Shallan is in Kholinar she hears at least two different voices in her head. One of the voices she thinks might be Wit. The other voice(s) she does not put a name to. I want to examine the text in more detail to see what the context tells us about who these voices are likely to be.

The first occasion occurs when Shallan makes her first (unsuccessful) attempt to infiltrate the Revel as Swiftspren. As she gets pulled into the crowd of cultists she hears “whispering in the back of her mind.”

Surrender.

Give me your passion. Your pain. Your love.

Give up your guilt.

Embrace the end.

Shallan, I am not your enemy.

“That last line stood out, like a scar on a beautiful man’s face. Jarring.”

On this occasion she does not specifically think she hears two different voices but she does note that the last line stands out and is jarring. All of the previous lines are about encouraging hedonism while the last line seems different and includes Shallan’s name.

The second occasion occurs when Veil actually does get into the Revel and again she “began to hear the voice.”

Let go.

Give up your pain.

Feast. Indulge.

Embrace the end.

Later in the same chapter as she gets into the control building and sees Ashertmarn she again hears:

Give in.

Join the revel.

Shallan, listen to me.

“She shook herself. That last voice had been different. She’d heard it before, hadn’t she?”…

I’m not your enemy. But the heart is a trap. Take caution.

I’ll get to the third occasion but before I do I want to discuss who the two voices are likely to be in these first two occasions because they seem a little more straightforward. First, one more crucial piece of evidence for the second voice. After Shallan finally confronts Ashertmarn and he flees, she sees a mirror and someone else in it. That figure in the mirror says, “Radiant, my name is Sja-Anat. And I am not your enemy.”

So in both of the previous occasions she hears a voice that in short, simple sentences tells her to indulge. This fits with what we know of Ashertmarn, from Hessi’s Mythica, “he leads people to indulge in excess.” On both occasions at the end a voice comes in and calls Shallan by name and says it is not her enemy. The second time she is clear that it is a different voice and she thinks she has heard it before. So the pattern fits that on both occasions there is a first voice, which is Ashertmarn, and a second voice, which is the same both times. Given that when Shallan actually meets Sja-Anat she says “I am not your enemy,” it seems most likely that the second voice on both of those occasions is Sja-Anat.

Finally, let’s look at the third occasion when Shallan hears voices, which is less clear but most interesting. When Shallan touches Ashertmarn she hears, “Give it all to me. Give me your passion, your hunger, your longing, your loss. Surrender it. You are what you feel.”

This voice again seems to be Ashertmarn. It fits the pattern from before and she is actually touching him this time. At this point Shallan starts flashing from one person to another and getting confused about which one is her. Then she hears:

              “All of them. A new voice. Wit’s?”…”You’re all of them, Shallan. Why must you be only one emotion? One set of sensations? One role? One life?”

              “They rule me, Wit. Veil and Radiant and all the others. They’re consuming me.”

              “Then be ruled as a king is ruled by his subjects. Make Shallan so strong, the others must bow.”

So the question is who is this second voice that she thinks is Wit? Even she questions that it is him and I think we should too. It would certainly be odd for him to be able to speak in her mind but to only do it on this one occasion. We never see her hear Wit’s voice at any other time. Later, in Part 4, she actually does think of Wit’s words, but in that case it is obvious that it is Shallan remembering the words, not hearing a voice in her head. And in that case the words match nearly exactly with what Wit actually said as opposed to being something she has never heard from him before.

Wit tells her she is only one woman and here the voice tells her instead she is “all of them.” Wit tells her to accept and forgive herself. This voice tells her to rule over the others. The advice really is not the same but instead twisted just enough.

So what I think is happening is that Shallan, in a crucial moment when she is losing track of herself, tries to remember Wit’s words. We know that she is near to both Ashertmarn and Sja-Anat and that apparently both have been able to speak into her mind when she has been near them before. Sja-Anat we know is more intelligent, seems to address Shallan by a name when she speaks to her, and is known for “corrupting.” I think she is able to essentially corrupt Wit’s words in Shallan’s mind and that is what Shallan hears. It originated with Wit’s advice, which is why she thinks it is him, but Sja-Anat twists it just enough into something fundamentally different. This also fits a pattern that has been established of Ashertmarn talking to her first and then Sja-Anat second.

Why Sja-Anat would do this isn't clear yet. We just don’t know enough about her motivation at this point to do more than speculate. Maybe she is just influencing Shallan in any way that she can because she seems to gain her trust and get something from her, judging by their subsequent interaction. But what I think more likely is that this may be setting up something for the next book. At the end of OB the Ghostbloods want Shallan to try to bring Sja-Anat to them, so it is a good bet that Shallan and Sja-Anat will be interacting more. This could simply be a lead in, and her intentions will make more sense once we see how they interact in book 4. It would be interesting for Shallan to discover that Sja-Anat has been subtly influencing/corrupting her and to see how she deals with it. 

[Greywatch]

In the future, please add [OB] before the topic title in the Oathbringer spoiler section.

[insert_anagram_here]

@BraidedRose I too think that the voice she heard wasn't Wit's, but I do not think that at that point Sja-anat was involved at all, it was all Ashertmarn.
From what Beard told Kaladin earlier in the book :  (Whatever I have bolded here is italics in the original text. Underline is my highlight.)

Spoiler

Beard shook his head. “I got close a little while back. I heard voices, Kal. Whispering to me to join them. The highmarshal says we have to close our ears to those. They can’t take us unless we listen.” He rested his hand on Kaladin’s shoulder. “Your questions are honest, Kal. But you worry too much. We need to focus on the wall. Best not to talk too much about the queen, or the palace.” - loc 14335

'Voices' There is a plural there. Ashertmarn manifests with different voices and corrupts humans into indulging themselves in the revel. Shallan got completely taken in at the moment she touched Ashertmarn and started listening to the voices, she wasn't supposed to let herself listen. And she was indeed touching the dark heart (Ashertmarn, the Heart of the Revel) right before the related conversation was exchanged. This is the immediately previous POV we have from her:

Spoiler

Shallan stepped up to the dark heart. Even though she hadn’t studied human anatomy as much as she’d have liked—her father thought it unfeminine—in the sunlight, she could easily see that it was the wrong shape. This isn’t a human heart, she decided. Maybe it’s a parshman heart.

(...)

So. Time to try what she’d done in Urithiru. Trembling, Shallan closed her eyes and pressed her hand against the heart. It felt real, like warm flesh. Like in Urithiru, touching the thing let her sense it. Feel it. Know it. It tried to sweep her away. 

So let's go back to what Shallan experienced when she was in contact with the heart.

Spoiler

Give it all to me, the voices whispered in Shallan’s mind. Give me your passion, your hunger, your longing, your loss. Surrender it. You are what you feel. Shallan swam in it, lost, like in the depths of the ocean. The voices beset her from all sides. When one whispered that she was pain, Shallan became a weeping girl, singing as she twisted a chain tight around a thick neck. When another whispered that she was hunger, she became an urchin on the street, wearing rags for clothing. Passion. Fear. Enthusiasm. Boredom. Hatred. Lust. She became a new person with every heartbeat. The voices seemed thrilled by this. They assaulted her, growing to a frenzy. Shallan was a thousand people in a moment. But which one was her? All of them. A new voice. Wit’s?

Notice, again, it is mentioned that there are multiple voices. The fact that the phrase 'All of them' replies to her inner thought is another indication that her mind is being read by the dark heart, her mind is surrendered and being corrupted. 'All of them' might've been another voice trying to manipulate her into giving all of her emotions and her sensations. But Shallan falsely assumes it's Wit's voice, because she just had the 'Girl who Stood up' pep talk from him and she was still trying to figure out how to realize what it meant. Her mind is a jumbled mess, completely under Ashertmar's control here. She voices out her question "Wit?", voices her concern that she is being ruled by Veil and Radiant and then Ashertmar grasps the opportunity to convince her into ruling her other 'selves'. (knowingly or not of who Wit is I think it's irrelevant since Shallan's mind has completely given in at this point)

Spoiler

“Wit!” she screamed, surrounded by snapping eels in a dark place. “Wit! Please.” You’re all of them, Shallan. Why must you be only one emotion? One set of sensations? One role? One life? “They rule me, Wit. Veil and Radiant and all the others. They’re consuming me.” Then be ruled as a king is ruled by his subjects. Make Shallan so strong, the others must bow. “I don’t know if I can!” The darkness thrummed and surged. And then . . . withdrew? - loc 16071

The fact that Ashertmar withdrew as if nothing happened is another indication that whatever his plan was, regarding Shallan, it was complete. And we also have Sja-anat later confirming that there is a trap set up by the both of them. Well, maybe Ashertmar's objective was to just corrupt Shallan?

If you aren't convinced yet, read back on one of Shallan's encounters with Wit:

Spoiler

“Power is a knife,” Wit said, taking his seat. “A terrible, dangerous knife that can’t be wielded without cutting yourself. We joked about stupidity, but in reality most people aren’t stupid. Many are simply frustrated at how little control they have over their lives. They lash out. Sometimes in spectacular ways . . .” “The Cult of Moments. They reportedly claim to see a transformed world coming upon us.” “Be wary of anyone who claims to be able to see the future, Shallan.” “Except you, of course. Didn’t you say you can see where you need to be?” “Be wary,” he repeated, “of anyone who claims to be able to see the future, Shallan.” Pattern rippled on the table, not humming, only changing more quickly, forming new shapes in a rapid sequence. - loc 13501

The Cult of Moments is a group of people that have let themselves be completely corrupted by emotion and indulgence, because of their lack in control. Wit specifically mentions how the frustration for power and control make people lash out in spectacular ways. Then later, when Shallan is in contact with Ashertmar she says "They rule me, Wit. Veil and Radiant and all the others. They’re consuming me. ". She obviously feels like she is losing control of them and this inner turmoil is openly revealed to the Unmade. And the advice she gets is... to rule. That is a self indulging gesture here, because it takes less effort than to just accept reality, the broken parts are still her. She wasn't supposed to rule Veil and Radiant, but she was supposed to accept them as parts of herself. That's the only way she will become whole again. (Hopefully at some point in the future)

BTW, this is one of my favorite moments in the book, because of the paradox it reveals. Wit appeared to Shallan in order to give her advice on how to confront the Unmade ( he tells her to bring food and that would gain her access to the revel). So either he can predict what happens, maybe he can foresee, maybe he's just ambitious, either way he is somehow coming up with a plan expecting a future result, but what he didn't expect was that his own advice would be the key to corrupting Shallan. Because she thought it was his voice she heard in there and because she thought it was him, she was convinced to 'let go'. The tragic irony is that he, himself, repeats to her to be wary of anyone who claims to be able to see the future and the advice includes himself. (probably because Moelach's powers are even greater at precognition? I don't know)

Also, I love how Pattern goes haywire there trying to compute the logical paradox  <3 Pattern.

 

Edited March 20, 2018 by insert_anagram_here

[BraidedRose]

@insert_anagram_here just clarifying, do you think the second voice that Shallan thinks is different is actually Ashertmarn all three times? I’m not sure if you are saying that or only the time when she thinks it is Wit.

[insert_anagram_here]

All voices are Ashertmarn's. Wit talking to her at that point doesn't make any sense. If he could communicate to her telepathically why hasn't he done that before ? Why show up and risk Odium finding him in the first place?

[BraidedRose]

@insert_anagram_here I can concede that the voice she thinks is Wit’s is the most open to interpretation (so Ashertmarn is possible even though I think there is a stronger case for Sja-Anat as I laid out in my OP). But let me see if I can convince you that she does hear Sja-Anat as a second voice the first two times at least.

In both of the first two cases Shallan seems to hear two different voices. The first time she doesn’t say there is a second voice but she finds the last line “jarring” and says it “stood out” compared with the rest. The second time she definitely thinks she hears two different voices. So just to play along for a minute, let’s assume she is right and there are two separate voices. Below is everything the second voice says:

Shallan, I am not your enemy. 

Shallan, listen to me.

I’m not your enemy. But the heart is a trap. Take caution.

One thing that seems wrong with this right away if it is Ashertmarn is that he would be warning Shallan against his own trap. Ashertmarn is the heart. That would be some next level stuff if he is both setting a trap and warning Shallan against it.

The other reason why these words seem to fit with Sja-Anat is when Shallan later sees her and knows she is talking to Sja-Anat, she says exactly that. She repeats that she is not her enemy and that the heart is a trap. So it makes more sense to me that it is Sja-Anat speaking all of those times. Especially since Shallan clearly thinks there is a difference between the voice that tells her this and the voice (or voices) that tell her to let go and indulge.

What you pointed out about “voices” is interesting and it may be that when Ashertmarn speaks it sounds like the voices of many but that would be different than making his voice sound like another voice entirely and changing from encouraging revelry to warning Shallan against his own trap at the same time.

Now, the voice that Shallan thinks is Wit is more interesting and less clear. We both agree that having it just be Wit doesn’t seem to fit. I think my above case for Sja-Anat also speaking to Shallan and taking what we know of Sja-Anat and Ashertmarn that there is a stronger case for Sja-Anat. I took Ashertmarn to be less crafty than Sja-Anat with a simpler focus on nearly mindless indulgence. I understand what you are saying about there being a kind of indulgence in not facing the reality that her personas are really her underneath. But everything else we’ve seen from Ashertmarn seems more base and less complex than that. 

So taking all the evidence above and knowing Sja-Anat’s crafty nature and tendency to corrupt as well as the likelihood that she and Shallan will interact in the future I think she is the candidate that makes the most sense to have twisted Wit’s words.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, BraidedRose said:

just clarifying, do you think the second voice that Shallan thinks is different is actually Ashertmarn all three times? I’m not sure if you are saying that or only the time when she thinks it is Wit.

I personally think, that the first time she "hears" Wit's voice it is just her imagination, remembering and paraphrasing his advice. The second voice still is her imagination, but twisted by Ashertmarn's influence of reveling, prompting her to instead indulge in her habit.

[insert_anagram_here]

44 minutes ago, BraidedRose said:

I’m not your enemy. But the heart is a trap. Take caution.

Huh, I somehow missed this line, since I was only looking at the part that Shallan was in contact with the black heart. Yes, you are right.

I was initially skeptical as to how Sja-anat would be able to telepathically contact Shallan, but the clue is right in the text. Through Shadesmar: 

Quote

Shallan, listen to me. She shook herself. That last voice had been different. She’d heard it before, hadn’t she? She looked to the side, and found her shadow on the ground, pointed the wrong way, toward the moonlight instead of away from it. The shadow crept up the wall, with eyes that were white holes, glowing faintly. I’m not your enemy. But the heart is a trap. Take caution. - loc 15264

Quote

Shallan, I’m not your enemy. That last one stood out, like a scar on a beautiful man’s face. Jarring.  - loc 14462

Yes, these two occasions, before she reached Ashertmarn, could only be Sja-anat. Maybe we can consider the voice Shallan thinks as Wit to be Sja-anat? I don't know.

Edit:

45 minutes ago, BraidedRose said:

So taking all the evidence above and knowing Sja-Anat’s crafty nature and tendency to corrupt as well as the likelihood that she and Shallan will interact in the future I think she is the candidate that makes the most sense to have twisted Wit’s words.

We currently know that Sja-anat corrupts spren, not humans, but if she somehow is more powerful towards Shallan, maybe she could be able to corrupt her as well.

Edited March 20, 2018 by insert_anagram_here