A Few Words On Behalf Of Tuon, Faile, and Nyneave.
Tuon-bashing? Pisses me off.
Faile-bashing? Pisses me off.
Nyneave-bashing? Pisses me off.
It really, really bothers me when people say things like "I hope [ Tuon, Faile, or Nyneave ] gets put in her place/garroted/killed." I mean, maybe if the author of a fic doesn't like them and thus makes them be annoying, I could see it, but it still stems from what I think is a disturbing and unwarranted hatred.
I can maybe see where the Tuon-hatred comes from. I know some people don't like the Seanchan, and since Tuon's the one who's most likely to be ultimate ruler of all Seanchan, they don't like what she represents. Fine. I like the Seanchan despite their caste system of doom, but I can understand that you don't. Personally, I think Tuon's in a better moral position than most Seanchan, especially for where she was raised, because she treats her damane kindly and with respect. Yes, she doesn't respect them as humans, but NO ONE in the Seanchan Empire does. And I think she's going to start reconsidering the "channelers must be leashed line" because after all, she now knows that sul'dam have to potential to channel. Which must be a really, really huge blow to her, by the way- look how it affected Egeanin, and Egeanin was neither a sul'dam or going to be responsible for the entire Seanchan empire (which is reliant on the power of leashed damane, doncha know?) And it's not like Tuon hates damane, either- she feels responsible for them. There's definitely hope.
Some people don't like her because she's yet another of those women who mess with Mat. Newsflash: Have we ever met a woman who doesn't mess with Mat to some degree? Frankly, I'm more disturbed by Tylin's behavior, which was bordering on rape if not already there, than I am of Tuon and her projectile pottery (which doesn't hit Mat, by the way.) And I'd rather have Mat with Tuon than with a Darkfriend like Melindhra.
I've also heard some people complain that Mat's out of character because he's suddenly accepting his destiny and trying to woo Tuon. I don't think this is OOC- Mat really has matured in the last couple books, and I for one am quite happy with the change. I seem to recall, also, that this was foreshadowed in a very RJ-ish way- Egwene has a dream of ravens settling into Mat's shoulders, and "defiance passed across his face, and then grim acceptance." Maybe they think that once Mat falls in love with/marries Tuon, he'll be boring and "end up like Perrin", a statement which I take umbrage with but I'll go into later. But I have faith that Mat/Tuon can be dynamic and interesting- after all, she's the opposite of what Mat wants, but we always want the opposite of what we need. (/Dumbledore)
And Mat's courting her whether you like it or not, so have a little respect for the man's decision, ok?
Or maybe Tuon-haters just have issues with her personally. I've seen people mocking the fact that she's got a shaved head (because the Seanchan royal family shaves their heads) and a small bosom (I'm not even going to dignify this with an explanation. Grow up, people.) And she does have a bit of a temper, but I think she's justified. And when you come down to it, she's just a 19-and-a-half-year-old girl who's halfway across the world from her home and currently held hostage by the foreign commoner she knows she's fated to marry someday. And her world, in both personal and political aspects, has just been turned upside down. I'm frankly admiring that she can keep herself together so well- but then, she's had many attempts on her life from her own siblings, whom she had to compete with to earn her mother's affection, not that she ever saw her mother more than twice a year until she turned 16. Cut her some slack! Plus, a lot of people seem to really admire her- that one Deathwatch guard, I think it was, the one she gave the doll to? Maybe this is just the impassioned ranting of a Tuon fan, but I really think she's a very strong, interesting character.
Which brings me to my next topic. I've noticed a disturbing trend toward the bashing of strong female RJ characters- or, in other words, all of RJ's female characters, but especially Faile and Nyneave, and to a lesser extent Tuon.
As a feminist, I am really offended by someone saying that "Tuon/Faile/Nyneave needs to be put in her place." Now, these characters all have their flaws- Tuon can be petty and manipulative, Faile needs to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Perrin about their cultural differences, and Nyneave has a huge problem with admitting when she's wrong- but "put in her place" suggests a smackdown on their independence, and that is just not on.
I realize the gender balance in the third age is screwed up liek whoa. Women have the upper hand, politically, and it's really obvious. But the solution here is not to lower the women's status- the solution is to raise up the men's. Don't smackdown on the strong female characters (because with RJ, it's like playing Whack-a-Mole on the Mach 3 speed setting- you're never going to be able to keep them all down for any length of time.) Instead, start liberating the males. Rand's done it symbolically with the cleansing of saidin, and since channelers have political power, males are going to start becoming equal politically as well, and then we can have another Age of Legends and live happily ever after. :)
...wow, I guess that rant had been brewing for a while... (o_O)
Faile-bashing? Pisses me off.
Nyneave-bashing? Pisses me off.
It really, really bothers me when people say things like "I hope [ Tuon, Faile, or Nyneave ] gets put in her place/garroted/killed." I mean, maybe if the author of a fic doesn't like them and thus makes them be annoying, I could see it, but it still stems from what I think is a disturbing and unwarranted hatred.
I can maybe see where the Tuon-hatred comes from. I know some people don't like the Seanchan, and since Tuon's the one who's most likely to be ultimate ruler of all Seanchan, they don't like what she represents. Fine. I like the Seanchan despite their caste system of doom, but I can understand that you don't. Personally, I think Tuon's in a better moral position than most Seanchan, especially for where she was raised, because she treats her damane kindly and with respect. Yes, she doesn't respect them as humans, but NO ONE in the Seanchan Empire does. And I think she's going to start reconsidering the "channelers must be leashed line" because after all, she now knows that sul'dam have to potential to channel. Which must be a really, really huge blow to her, by the way- look how it affected Egeanin, and Egeanin was neither a sul'dam or going to be responsible for the entire Seanchan empire (which is reliant on the power of leashed damane, doncha know?) And it's not like Tuon hates damane, either- she feels responsible for them. There's definitely hope.
Some people don't like her because she's yet another of those women who mess with Mat. Newsflash: Have we ever met a woman who doesn't mess with Mat to some degree? Frankly, I'm more disturbed by Tylin's behavior, which was bordering on rape if not already there, than I am of Tuon and her projectile pottery (which doesn't hit Mat, by the way.) And I'd rather have Mat with Tuon than with a Darkfriend like Melindhra.
I've also heard some people complain that Mat's out of character because he's suddenly accepting his destiny and trying to woo Tuon. I don't think this is OOC- Mat really has matured in the last couple books, and I for one am quite happy with the change. I seem to recall, also, that this was foreshadowed in a very RJ-ish way- Egwene has a dream of ravens settling into Mat's shoulders, and "defiance passed across his face, and then grim acceptance." Maybe they think that once Mat falls in love with/marries Tuon, he'll be boring and "end up like Perrin", a statement which I take umbrage with but I'll go into later. But I have faith that Mat/Tuon can be dynamic and interesting- after all, she's the opposite of what Mat wants, but we always want the opposite of what we need. (/Dumbledore)
And Mat's courting her whether you like it or not, so have a little respect for the man's decision, ok?
Or maybe Tuon-haters just have issues with her personally. I've seen people mocking the fact that she's got a shaved head (because the Seanchan royal family shaves their heads) and a small bosom (I'm not even going to dignify this with an explanation. Grow up, people.) And she does have a bit of a temper, but I think she's justified. And when you come down to it, she's just a 19-and-a-half-year-old girl who's halfway across the world from her home and currently held hostage by the foreign commoner she knows she's fated to marry someday. And her world, in both personal and political aspects, has just been turned upside down. I'm frankly admiring that she can keep herself together so well- but then, she's had many attempts on her life from her own siblings, whom she had to compete with to earn her mother's affection, not that she ever saw her mother more than twice a year until she turned 16. Cut her some slack! Plus, a lot of people seem to really admire her- that one Deathwatch guard, I think it was, the one she gave the doll to? Maybe this is just the impassioned ranting of a Tuon fan, but I really think she's a very strong, interesting character.
Which brings me to my next topic. I've noticed a disturbing trend toward the bashing of strong female RJ characters- or, in other words, all of RJ's female characters, but especially Faile and Nyneave, and to a lesser extent Tuon.
As a feminist, I am really offended by someone saying that "Tuon/Faile/Nyneave needs to be put in her place." Now, these characters all have their flaws- Tuon can be petty and manipulative, Faile needs to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Perrin about their cultural differences, and Nyneave has a huge problem with admitting when she's wrong- but "put in her place" suggests a smackdown on their independence, and that is just not on.
I realize the gender balance in the third age is screwed up liek whoa. Women have the upper hand, politically, and it's really obvious. But the solution here is not to lower the women's status- the solution is to raise up the men's. Don't smackdown on the strong female characters (because with RJ, it's like playing Whack-a-Mole on the Mach 3 speed setting- you're never going to be able to keep them all down for any length of time.) Instead, start liberating the males. Rand's done it symbolically with the cleansing of saidin, and since channelers have political power, males are going to start becoming equal politically as well, and then we can have another Age of Legends and live happily ever after. :)
...wow, I guess that rant had been brewing for a while... (o_O)