““I don’t understand, Mother,” Egwene said after a
moment. “I suppose you don’t, at
that. You are the only two in the Tower
I can be absolutely sure are not Black Ajah.”
The Amyrlin’s mouth still twisted around those words. “Liandrin and her twelve went, but did all of
them go? Or did they leave some of their
number behind, like a stub in shallow water that you don’t see till it puts a
hole in your boat? It may be I’ll not
find that out until it is too late, but I will not let Liandrin and the others get
away with what they did. Not the theft,
and especially not the murders. No one
kills my people and walks away unscathed.
And I’ll not let thirteen trained Aes Sedai serve the Shadow. I mean to find them and still them!”” – The
Dragon Reborn, p. 178.
These essays, while slowing down unintentionally as life
has interfered with the writing of these, have made mention of the White Tower
politics, however, this section is really where they begin to effect Egwene and
Nynaeve, brought back and initially confined to their rooms at this point. There is this genuine fear that they are in
trouble and when brought in front of the Amyrlin with Elayne, they essentially
are. They will be physically punished and
socially ostracized due to fleeing the Tower, despite the fact (which Siuan
acknowledges) that they were tricked by Liandrin and the Black Ajah. “You think
so, do you child? It may be your salvation
that no on e in the Tower but Verin, Leane, and I even suspects you had
anything to do with Liandrin. If that
were known, much less the little demonstration you put on for the Whitecloaks –
no need to look so surprised; Verin told me everything – if it were known you
had gone off with Liandrin the Hall might very well vote for stilling the three
of you before you could take a breath.”” – The Dragon Reborn, p.
170. This is all a game, the Aes Sedai
as a group are all playing a game and Egwene especially gets a taste for what
it is all about. As soon as Elayne is dismissed,
Siuan can actually acknowledge what they did as heroic and in secret task them
with being the ones to find the Black Ajah.
They must endure the punishments, punishments that are degrading as this
is the first time Robert Jordan essentially uses spanking in the plot and far
from the last. This is at least a form
of switching from Sheriam which harkens back to strict private school, usually
Catholic, nuns doing this to their students, however, it isn’t quite clear if
it is meant to be seen as archaic.
Degrading, yes, but not archaic, after all Siuan is the one to give out
this punishment and while not overtly sexist when a woman forces spanking on another
woman, there are some hints of sexism underlying the idea of spanking as a
punishment. It is made more apparent
when their punishment includes the task of scrubbing dishes in what is
essentially a lowly position of a servant making the degradation that Jordan
intends apparent.
The degradation is of course contrasted with the high
honor bestowed upon Nynaeve and Egwene in being the ones to hunt down the Black
Ajah. The implication is that Egwene
will be raised to Accepted, though not yet full Aes Sedai simply because of the
trouble that would cause with the implications.
Siuan still has to play the game herself and contend with several enemies
within and without the Tower. ““For the
most part…you must work within the limitations of the Accepted. The ide ais for no one to suspect you. But . . . .”
She opened the black box on her table, hesitated and looked at the other
two women as if still unsure she wanted to do this t hen took out a number of
stiff, folded papers…It held writing in a neat, round hand, and was sealed at
the bottom with the White Flame of Tar Valon.
What the bearer is done at my order and by my authority. Obey, and
keep silent, at my command.” – The Dragon Reborn, p. 181. While limited as Accepted, they must learn to
play the game, still accept their punishment, and Egwene must be raised, they
still have power.
The game is also played almost immediately, with Suian
not being specific on which sisters to trust, though Verin and Moiraine are
mentioned as most likely trustworthy (Moiraine especially), however, as soon as
they leave, still fearful for Mat who has not been healed, and upon arrival in
Elayne’s room there is something there. A creature they cannot see, something that
moves too fast, something that forces them to embrace saidar: “He was an
average-appearing man, of average height and average build, with features so
ordinary Egwene did not thing she could have noticed him in a group of three.” –
The Dragon Reborn, p. 187. This
is a Grey Man, perfectly named and built by the Shadow to camouflage in crowds,
moving too quickly but killed with a dagger from someone and a crossbow bolt
presumably fired by the same person. It
is what occurs after that plays the game, Sheriam arrives, the Mistress of
Novices, who builds a cover story out of the truth that there is a death that
they happened upon, though Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne still can tell lies, a
small one being included here. There is
the question of why Sheriam is there, something she refuses to tell them point
blank as they are Accepted and not full Aes Sedai, and it is important to note
that she does not question how the Grey Man was killed. While they do not have any skill at the game,
they still have to play it, even if here there is no clear way of them gaining
information. They are stuck in the tower
and have to learn before their mission can truly begin.
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