Primary/Secondary Divine Attributes

[11thorderknight]

Something I've noticed about all the proto-Radiants we've seen so far: they all seem to exhibit the Primary attribute of their order, but they seem to struggle with the Secondary. For instance, Kaladin is naturally inclined to Protect others, but he doesn't want to be a Leader, even though he's good at it when he makes the effort. Shallan is inherently Creative, but Honesty....well, do I really need to go into detail? Dalinar is extremely Pious (he always has faith in the Almighty, even after he finds out that the Almighty is dead) but he's not very good at Guiding others. Jasnah seeks Wisdom (in the sense that she's trying to find answers, figure out the best course of action, always be informed, etc), but she's not always as Careful as she thinks she is (she's anticipating an assassination attempt and goes to sleep in a room with a mysteriously broken door lock?)

 

My theory is that the Primary attribute is an inherent trait of the individual that attracts the spren, and the Secondary attribute is a trait that they need to cultivate in order to progress in their bond.

Edited June 6, 2015 by 11thorderknight

[maxal she/her]

It has been theorized before and I tend to endorse this line of thinking. All your arguments make sense and I have used them countless of times in order to try to decipher future Radiants.

 

You could add to your list Renarin who seems naturally curious about the working of things (learning attribute), but still has to learn how to share his knowledge with others (giving attribute).

[Moogle]

I agree to an extent. Most of your examples are off, in my opinion.

 

First: Jasnah is absurdly careful. Offhand:

• One confusing meeting with her father has her err on the side of caution when sending her assassin.
• SA3:
  She had gems sewn into the lining of her dress for emergency situations. Something which should have worked, I note.

• She was consistently worried about assassins the point where she Soulcasted unfamiliar food to avoid poisons.
• She's extremely cautious about revealing her powers.
• She clearly weighs most actions she takes. Being thoughtless is not a trait you can really assign to Jasnah.

Saying she's not cautious for making one small mistake while utterly exhausted is a bit unfair, I think. (It's also not like she can do anything when Sanderson forces the plot to spirit her away from Shallan. The railroad tracks don't let anyone off.)

 

I'd also be careful with calling the Lightweavers honest. That seems to me more likely to be a Vorin misinterpretation, considering Lightweavers do in fact attract liespren. Lightweavers seem more about lying to others.

 

Finally, Kaladin had troubles with protecting, not with leading. In the first book, once he decides to try and protect the bridgemen, he takes leadership instantly. In WoR, he has problems with protecting Elhokar, not leading. I can't name a single problem he's had with leading. If anything, he's too quick to lead.

[Elithanathile he/him]

Quick Disclaimer: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS FOR WOR If you have read the book, carry on. Otherwise, skip this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This isn't really directly related, but I believe Jasnah did expect the assassins, so she could follow them and learn their plans, so she planned to fake her death. They hit her with the club/sword. (I'll need to look it up in my copy of WoR) and she healed using stormlight from her clothes. She just didn't plan to get stabbed a second time. That was what forced her all the way into shadesmar. So she did plan for almost everything. I even suspect that the "mysteriously broken door lock," as you put it, might have been intentional by Jasnah, so they would get to her, "kill" her, and then leave without hurting anyone else. If it was securely locked, they might either bash it down, making noise, so the assassins would have to kill guards, or simply burn down the ship with everyone in it. I am 90% sure there is a WoB somewhere saying that Jasnah expected the assassins, but had their plans wrong. Jasnah thought a small team would come onto the ship, try and kill her, and then leave quietly. She did not expect them deciding to simply kill everyone on the ship, just to be on the safe side.

So, at least in this case, I would say that Jasnah was cautious, and thoutful, she simply couldn't know her enemies plans exactly. "No battle plan ever makes it through a battle intact." - Person who was most likely a famous general, but I don't know his/her name.