“Every few minutes he craned his neck to peer behind
while he clung to Cloud’s mane and reins.
The Draghkar. . . . Worse than Trollocs and Fades, Thom had said. But the sky was empty, and only darkness and
shadows met his eyes on the ground.
Shadows that could hide an army.” – The Eye of the World, p. 148.
It is perhaps telling that this is the shortest quote that
has been opening while this is covering a longer stretch of the book. This small quote is perhaps the best encapsulation
of what the tone of The Eye of the World will be from now. This is not Frodo, Sam, and Merry slowly and
deliberately disappearing from the Shire because the One Ring needs to be destroyed.
Those only familiar with Peter Jackson’s
excellent adaptation will perhaps think that The Eye of the World is
drawing directly, though that is something that is not in the original novel,
just numerous adaptations. Tolkien’s
version of leaving one’s home for an epic quest was essentially a calm affair
with urgency, but not fear. The Eye
of the World works on fear and this sequence in particular is one built on
fear. This covers Chapters 10, “Leavetaking”,
to 15, “Strangers and Friends”, and even in the back half of this section when
they make it through to a safe place, if even for a moment, that safe place has
its own threats. There is this musing on
the idea of this being an adventure, like the stories that Rand, Mat, and
Perrin heard as children. They are being
attacked on all sides, physically and mentally.
The Draghkar adds this element of the air and fact
that the boys don’t know who to trust puts this mental strain on
everything. Thom in particular is a
source of mistrust, as there is mention of men long dead, all men who could
channel and claimed to be the Dragon Reborn: ““You might say the White Tower
killd hem. You might say that.” Thom’s
mouth tightened momentarily, then he shook his head again. “But used . . .
? No, I cannot see that. The Light knows the Amyrlin Seat has enough
plots going, but I can’t see that…I say hold your peace…Don’t tell anyone, for
the time, at least. You can always
change your mind, if you have to, but once you tell, it’s done, and you’re tied
up worse than ever with . . . with her.” – The Eye of the World,
227-228. These dreams are important as
it is the first time the figure gives a name, Ba’alzamaon, a name for the Dark
One. Now, this will be something which
will eventually become clear with what it actually means by the end of this
book, but these dreams are essentially a scare tactic, trying to get the boys
to go to some place called the Eye of the World using reverse psychology.
The entire sequence only sees people mistrusting Aes
Sedai: Moiraine and Lan use pseudonyms throughout the traveling sequences and their
intentions are clear. This is the point
where the Children of the Light first appear and in this appearance they are
simply fanatics, digging into inns where they are convinced Aes Sedai are
staying, in a broken clock is right twice a day sort of way. Mat is the one to provoke them, filling into his
trickster archetype, though Rand’s wit comes through claiming that sometimes
accidents happen, even to Whitecloaks.
There is also a reappearance of Padan Fain, the peddler from Chapter 3,
who disappeared and runs away at the sight of Rand and Mat. There is one kind face, and that’s Min, who
is a young girl who knows Moiraine and Lan, only because she can see the threads
of the Pattern of the Wheel of Time when she looks at people. First and foremost, these foreshadowings here
as they pertain to each character, though this is direct from the book and not
going to include what the spoilers are:
1. To
the group, sparks and shadow
2. About
Egwene, mutual love with Rand, but neither are for one another, the same as
Moiraine’s path (we’ll return to that in a moment)
3. About
Thom, a man, someone else, juggling fire and the White Tower
4. About
Perrin, a wolf, trees, and a broken crown
5. About
Mat, a red eagle, eye on balance, a ruby dagger, a horn, and a laughing face
6. About
Rand, “A sword that isn’t a sword, a golden crown of laurel leaves, a beggar’s
staff, you pouring water on sand, a bloody hand and white-hot iron, three women
standing over a funeral bier with you on it, black rock wet with blood, lightning
all around you, some striking at you, some coming out of you.” – The Eye of
the World, p. 216.
Looking at all of these, even the happy ones seem to
show dark portents for the future which is paramount to understanding. Even Min, who is jovial and written as a lot
of fun, not understanding and trying to comfort Rand, but she is not really
able to do that. The section leaves all
three boys cold.
This section is also where we get some genuine time
dedicated to Egwene al’Vere. While she
has appeared, it isn’t until now where her character arc actually begins. She was introduced as apprentice to Nynaeve
as Wisdom, but throughout this there is something important as to how she comes
along. She is hiding in the hayloft of
the barn, hiding like Thom who similarly pushes his way into the party. There are protests about both, especially
Egwene who Moiraine simply says is part of the pattern. Egwene through these chapters is essentially
a child who doesn’t know what she wants, not yet at least. “I wouldn’t have known. Do you think you three are the only ones who
want to see outside? I’ve dreamed about
it as long as you have, and I don’t intend to miss this chance” – The Eye of
the World, p. 141. It is important
to note the perspective of all of these chapters are Rand’s, we are seeing the
world through Rand’s eyes and this means that any fear Egwene feels, something
she is feeling, goes underneath the radar.
The reader is meant to think she’s being a bit silly, and later on she
is. She is attracted to getting out and
seeing the world, she wants to have an adventure. She is essentially a Disney princess and this
allows her to have her general wanting. It
is at this point where it is revealed that Egwene is able to use the One Power
and has the potential to become an Aes Sedai.
This sequence sends Rand into a rage, something as he
sees Moiraine taking away Egwene’s life, her freedom, and not Egwene realizing
something about herself: “Rand’s fingers dug into his knees; his jaws clenched
until they hurt. She has to fail. She has to. Light bloomed in the stone, just one flash of
blue and gone, no brighter than a firefly, but he flinched as if it had been
blinding. Egwene and Moiraine stared
into the stone, faces empty. Another
flash came, and another, until the azure light pulsed like the beating of a
heart. It’s the Aes Sedai, he
thought desperately. Moiraine’s doing
it. Not Egwene.” – The Eye of the
World, p. 170-171. This is something
that break’s Rand’s world, but Egwene isn’t entirely innocent. Throughout this she is the one who becomes
excited and is ready to learn, but this causes a paradigm shift within the
party. Egwene is losing innocence, and
coming into her own. The two halves of the
One Power are explained in the most outright exposition thus far: saidar is the
female half, saidin the male half, and only the female half can be used. The section also ends on a revelation, that
Nynaeve has followed them out of the Two Rivers and the further away the party
gets, the more into shadow they become.
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