Is Jasnah Kholin gay?

[AlphaFun]

I don't want to offend anyone or anything but i have been reading the way of the king again and Jasnah struck me as very independent and strong will .. as evident by her atheism , probably because she knew almighty was dead through her spren and her visit to spren world...but her being gay will also explain why she hasnt married ! Roshar is a very sexist world as far as we know , with strong emphasis on masculine and faminine art , food etc.. I I don't think any of their culture will accept homosexuality ..They will probably claim them voidbringer and struck them in high strom for stromfather to judge which is essentially a death sentence unless you have a spren proecting you lol....However I strongly belive with her Radiant ability which allow her to travel between worlds in cosmera Jasnah is familiar with other cultures from distance world and therefore accepting her own sexual orientation although she might never openly admit in her own home world.

[Samaldin]

I think Jasnah could really be gay, but i attribute that mostly to her not being married by choice (since as a member of the royal family there are enough people who would want her).

I don´t want to offend you but somehow i read you´re first sentence like you want to say that because Jasnah is an independent, strong willed woman she is gay, also what relevance does the picture have? I don´t see any, but please correct me if i´m wrong (i dont know all fanworks, or official works )

[Vander]

Eh, there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to support that. At all. This is not to discard your theory, but people choose to remain unmarried for a whole host of reasons, and that's the only evidence you actually have.

 

Still, there's no evidence to the contrary, either, so for now we'll just wait and see.

 

Oh, and Jasnah hasn`t Worldhopped beyond Shadesmar (If that can even be called Worldhopping) - heck, Ivory was loath to bring her into Shadesmar in the first place.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Car'a'carn

[Voidus]

I always took it as just being a further part of her scholarly nature, she doesn't want to spare the time for courting and men wouldn't be particularly interesting to her, imagine if the only available partners you could have were forbidden from understanding science and nature and weren't even allowed to read.

[Argel]

Sorry, but Jasnah already has one challenging aspect for Brandon to write (aethism), so I doubt he would add another (LGBT).

[AerionBFII]

I have a really bad feeling she may have been sexually assaulted by somebody that resulted in her 'snapping' or whatever the Roshar equivilent is. I know this is rather grim but a few observations of things she has said and to how she reacted lead me to believe this:

 

. Besides, men like those…” There was something in her voice, an edge Shallan had never heard before.

What was done to you? Shallan wondered with horror. And who did it?

-wok

 

 

doesn’t bother you at all?” Jasnah said. “The idea of being beholden to another, particularly a man?”

“It’s not like I’m being sold into slavery,” Shallan said with a laugh.

“No. I suppose not.” Jasnah shook herself, her poise returning. 

-wor

 

It's why she is so reluctant to peruse a romantic interest..

[Eki]

^ I think Brandon has said he doesn't really like that 'trope' that much, but who knows.

Jasnah feels more asexual/demisexual to me, but like others have said, there could be a lot of reasons why she hasn't married, not necessarily related to sexuality. Resisting cultural norms, being too busy scholaring (that's a word now by the way), scaring away any potential suitors...

It wouldn't surprise me either way. That part of Jasnah's character hasn't been explored that much yet, especially not from her own point of view.

[king of nowhere]

while none of those can be excluded, the most likely explanation is simply that since all men on roshar are - by law and tradition - illiterate thugs, she's not interested in them. the "raped" theory however fits more with the theme that radiants have to be "broken" somehow.

Stilll, so far we don't have any relly solid data.

 

EDIT: there's also the fact that by being an "eretic" she would scare away most suitors. at least, the important ones would probably be scared by it, and those who would still want to go on are probably too lowborn to realistically marry her. Jasnah's roialty in a world where those things matter, she can't marry anyone. And while she may be willing to break a tradition there, potential suitors wouldn't dare to approach her.

Edited April 16, 2016 by king of nowhere

[The Ninja Yodeler]

while none of those can be excluded, the most likely explanation is simply that since all men on roshar are - by law and tradition - illiterate thugs, she's not interested in them. the "raped" theory however fits more with the theme that radiants have to be "broken" somehow.

Stilll, so far we don't have any relly solid data.

 

EDIT: there's also the fact that by being an "eretic" she would scare away most suitors. at least, the important ones would probably be scared by it, and those who would still want to go on are probably too lowborn to realistically marry her. Jasnah's roialty in a world where those things matter, she can't marry anyone. And while she may be willing to break a tradition there, potential suitors wouldn't dare to approach her.

All that being said, I do wonder how she will react to Kal. If she's not gay that is. I thought she might be in Ways, but now I kinda just lean toward the theory that she's just...not asexual, but it seems, for some reason, that her sex drive is just less than normal. But the idea that she basically can only wed very highborn men, who aren't educated in the sciences and aren't scholarly at all, unless in the Ardentia, is one I've never thought about before. It does make a lot of sense. And really seems pretty obvious now that I have.

[AerionBFII]

I have been curious about that as well. I'm not one of those people that ship characters for fun but i'd like them to meet to see what her reaction would be whether she would treat him as any man or take an interest because in a sense his Knight Radiance status gives him instant Brightlord status whether he wants it or not, he is a reader of glyph's better than either Dalinar or Adolin and he's rather intelligent, i would like to see if she is asexual, stand offish, gay or just disinterested.. 

Edited April 17, 2016 by WEZ313

[Patrick Star]

I don't think there's a ton of evidence either way.

However, nobody who's offered to Jasnah has really been a good fit for shipping, and that extends to most on-screen characters as well.

Really, the only (male) characters that we've met who could have a successful romantic relationship with Jasnah are Kaladin and Lopen.

Kaladin because of his background as a medic, high intellect, general awesomeness, and mutual disdain of Amaram and societal norms, and Lopen because he's Lopen. Lopen pairs well with anyone.

[Quiver]

I was hoping that Jasnadin would be a think when I first read WoK. Mostly because I hate Kaladin and Shallan as a couple, and I think Jasnah would be far more intriguing.

Personally, I would be kinda bothered if the female scholar who expressed dislike at the idea of being married to a man turned out to be gay.

I'm not saying it can't work; for that matter, I don't object to an ace!Jasnah, either. But...

I don't know. It's a thing I find difficult to articulate? I think it's more interesting if Jasnah is disinterested in love for her own reasons rather than it being related to sexuality or past trauma.

[Oudeis]

To address one minor point from above... she declared her atheism openly the night of Gavilar's assassination, before she realized she was a surgebinder or had formally met Ivory. So, while her bond may have reinforced the belief, she came to the conclusion (or at least publicly professed it) beforehand.

[Curiosity]

There was a WoB a bit ago as an answer to a question about Jasnah's sexuality. (Minor Demoux spoilers on the click-through.)

 

 

 

Q: 

I'm fairly invested in the pairings of The Stormlight Archive, with my favourite being Jasnah/Szeth. Do either of these two have any romance planned in their future?

A: I am purposefully vague about upcoming romantic pairings in my books, because most of the characters would not want to be defined by their romantic inclinations--and at the top of that list is Jasnah. So I'll remain quiet on this one for now. Sorry.

 

 

More clarification on Jasnah here, though it's not a direct quote. 

[The Ninja Yodeler]

I was hoping that Jasnadin would be a think when I first read WoK. Mostly because I hate Kaladin and Shallan as a couple, and I think Jasnah would be far more intriguing.

Personally, I would be kinda bothered if the female scholar who expressed dislike at the idea of being married to a man turned out to be gay.

I'm not saying it can't work; for that matter, I don't object to an ace!Jasnah, either. But...

I don't know. It's a thing I find difficult to articulate? I think it's more interesting if Jasnah is disinterested in love for her own reasons rather than it being related to sexuality or past trauma.

That's the same boat I'm in.

[Vander]

That's the same boat I'm in.

I honestly think that fits her better than either, too. 

[Erunion]

The best read I have of Jasnah is that she's not interested in romance. She's too driven, too busy studying originally and now too busy saving the world. She seems an extremely driven, goal oriented person. 

I think it's more suiting for her character that she just doesn't care that much for relationships. Not truly asexual, but has other priorities so strongly that it her sexuality is excluded; unimportant to her. 

 

That doesn't mean she's asexual, straight, lesbian, or anything. Just that she's busy. 

[king of nowhere]

or maybe she's just extremely picky and she feels fine as a single, so she's not actively looking.

[Nyali]

Jasnah definitely doesn't come across as gay to me (not that I'm an authority on the subject, but I am married to another woman...). If anything, as someone said above, if I had to say how her romantic tendencies might lean from what we've seen so far, I'd have to say she most comes across as demisexual. She's not very expressive of her emotions. It's part of the mask she wears at all times. Occasionally, it slips through, and I think that shows that she does have strong emotions but doesn't see a need to express them all the time.

 

I have a feeling that, somewhere down the line, she will find someone who makes sense, logically, for her to fall in love with, and she will fall in love with that person. And, to everyone else, it'll look like she's just with them because it rationally makes sense, but in truth, it will be real. I just can't see her being attracted to men because they're men, or women because they're women. I can see her being attracted to someone because they're brilliant in some way, and the union makes rational sense and provides concrete benefits to everyone involved.

 

 

And yeah, she implied that she was abused in some way as a child (and, since she can Surgebind, she has to have had a traumatic experience in her past by definition). But, as far as I know, that doesn't generally influence one's sexuality, just their expression of it.

[Quiver]

 

I have a feeling that, somewhere down the line, she will find someone who makes sense, logically, for her to fall in love with, and she will fall in love with that person. And, to everyone else, it'll look like she's just with them because it rationally makes sense, but in truth, it will be real. I just can't see her being attracted to men because they're men, or women because they're women. I can see her being attracted to someone because they're brilliant in some way, and the union makes rational sense and provides concrete benefits to everyone involved.

"We are not together in a romantic capacity. We are simply friends who exercise certain benefits from our relationship."

...actually, in all seriousness, hearing it lined out like that put's me in mind of a Vulcan. Logical -yes- and having reasons for her actions...but nonetheless having very strong emotions.

[Nyali]

"We are not together in a romantic capacity. We are simply friends who exercise certain benefits from our relationship."

...actually, in all seriousness, hearing it lined out like that put's me in mind of a Vulcan. Logical -yes- and having reasons for her actions...but nonetheless having very strong emotions.

 

... I can totally see that xD She cares so much about appearances and how people see her, but not for the usual or expected reasons. She isn't trying to attract the attentions of men (or women). She isn't trying to be something she's not, nor is she trying to make all people respect her or love her or whatever. She wouldn't be an avowed atheist if she wanted that. She wants people to see her as who she is. It's like what Shallan does to other people, she does to herself - she projects an ideal version of herself for all to see, and by doing so, becomes that idealized version of herself.

 

If she had a relationship like you say, she'd probably make sure people know exactly what she's doing and why. It's only logical, after all xD

[summers]

I dont think so, I think the feeling that she might be gay is because we have become so used to characters being paired of early in books. Its like some kinda rule; if characters is not a bad guy they got to fall in love at first sight get married and have a baby to worry about.

Last we saw jashna she was in shardsmere I think hiding from assassins, she will have a difficult time finding romance.

Same with kaldin. when news gets out that he is a badass slayer of the assassin in white, Knights radiant, honor guard to both king and highprince, battalion lords of ex-slaves; etc. he will likely be the most eligible batchler and he barely seems interested in the pursuit of love.

Edited April 18, 2016 by summers

[Nyali]

Last we saw jashna she was in shardsmere I think hiding from assassins, she will have a difficult time finding romance.

 

Just a quick point of fact - check the end of WoR again. We last see her arriving back in Roshar from Shadesmar and being harassed by Hoid, who catches her up on what's going on.

[Knight Oblivion]

while none of those can be excluded, the most likely explanation is simply that since all men on roshar are - by law and tradition - illiterate thugs, she's not interested in them. the "raped" theory however fits more with the theme that radiants have to be "broken" somehow.

Stilll, so far we don't have any relly solid data.

 

EDIT: there's also the fact that by being an "eretic" she would scare away most suitors. at least, the important ones would probably be scared by it, and those who would still want to go on are probably too lowborn to realistically marry her. Jasnah's roialty in a world where those things matter, she can't marry anyone. And while she may be willing to break a tradition there, potential suitors wouldn't dare to approach her.

 

Woah, woah, woah. First, not all men are "thugs" on Roshar. We don't see a whole lot of different professions due to the focus of the novels but it is an incredibly unfair generalization to make upon the men of Roshar. One of the main viewpoint characters was trained as a surgeon by his father whom abhorred killing. The city of Kharbranth is known for its surgeons which I'm fairly certain includes men. Stormwardens use complex mathematics to produce fairly accurate meteorological predictions for Highstorms and seem to be scientifically minded as Navani included them in the group watching her Reverser test. Many men are simple farmers, Thaylen men are seen to be traders, Horneaters only have certain children become warriors, the Shin essentially view soldiers as slave and thus seem to value more cultivating trades, the Reshi appear to mostly yell and boast when they "war", the Azish have an emphasis on their bureaucratic theocracy (or theocratic bureaucracy) and generally don't seem warlike or thuggish (too much paper work to be violent and have a civil war), etc. That's not even mentioning the fact that Ardents seem to be fairly well-educated, Alethkar has male silversmiths and presumably blacksmiths, and the book that's the basis of the pseudo-religious male/female dichotomy presumably has more professions that are either acceptable trades for men or trades without gender basis like horse groom.

 

Also, the claim to illiteracy also seems to be fairly untrue. It appears that it's mostly the eastern Vorin polities that have a general restriction on men reading. It's mostly taboo though some certainly learn it, like ardents and Taravangian. That's not even mentioning the fact that many well-educated men can read the iconographic glyphs and Stormwardens have created their own script outside of the women's script. Then, as you start going west, the literacy of men appears to go up. You have the Thaylen merchant in Kharbranth, Artmryn, of whom Shallen suspects can read but has his wife do it to protect her Vorin sensibilities. You have Szeth, a Shin, writing Gavilar's final words in the women's script. The entire succession of the Prime Aquasix in Azir involves the applicants to write essays and such, many of the applicants shown being men.

 

 

But that digresses from the point. In my opinion, Jasnah's sexuality could be asexual, bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, or any multitude of others given the lack of any information we have indicating it. What I always got was that she was just focused on her research and saving the world to the exclusion of much else. We have that scene on the Wind's Pleasure showing just how hard she works on it. Honestly, as a graduate student, I can relate.

[king of nowhere]

Woah, woah, woah. First, not all men are "thugs" on Roshar. We don't see a whole lot of different professions due to the focus of the novels but it is an incredibly unfair generalization to make upon the men of Roshar.

Fair enough, let me restate:

- most men in roshar are illiterate

- of the literate ones, most do a specific job and are trained for it, but lack general knowledge; kaladin knows his job as a surgeon, but does he have other cultural interests beside it? I get the impression that even men who do intellectual jobs are learned in their trade, but totally ignorant in everything else

- of those that are truly literate, most are in the ardentia, and are therefore forbidden to marry except for other ardents (I think)

- Jasnah is a genius, therefore she requires a men who is, if not her peer, at least close enough. People that would match up to her standards are rare indeed,even among ardents or scholars.

- most men Jasnah knows are noble, meaning they are trained as warriors, not thinkers.

- men doing intellectual works are not noble, and therefore they would never think to try to approach the sister of a king.

- in the west there are no restrictions on what men can do, but jasnah lives in the east.

 

So, taking all those into account, is it really hard to believe that jasnah simply never met the right person? sure, there must be some of those in the world, but they are rare enough that she never got to know one of them. I myself haven't met a girl who would attract my romantic interest in the last ten years, not because I'm gay or asexual but simply because I have several quirks and I need a very peculiar girl to fit with me. And jasnah is much, much stranger than I am - for the standards of her time.