Re-Reading "The Dragon Reborn": "Chapter 21: The World of Dreams," "Chapter 22: The Price of the Ring," and "Chapter 23: Sealed"
Egwene confronts her inner demons as she is put through the strenuous test to become an Accepted.
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For this week’s Wheel of Time Wednesday, we’re looking at a trio of very important chapters, in which Egwene learns just how difficult it is going to be to pursue her path to being an Aes Sedai. After a fateful meeting with Verin–who gives her a ter’angreal that will hopefully aid her in entering the World of Dreams–she is swept away to undertake the test to become an Accepted, where she has to grapple with the reality of what it will mean to take this path.
Unlike Nynaeve, whose test as an Accepted involved three very different scenarios and showed the various fears that consumed her, for Egwene things are a bit different. In each case, she has to contend with the fact that, as an Aes Sedai, she is going to have to either abandon Rand or actually turn against him. Each one grows steadily more horrifying–going from being married to Rand to him asking her to kill him to actually having to watch as he is gentled by the Tower–and each one takes a tremendous toll on Egwene and her emotional and mental well-being.
It’s not particularly surprising that all three of Egwene’s tests to be raised to the Accepted would involve her having to turn her back on Rand. Even though she has come to the reluctant conclusion that the two of them can never be together as a romantic couple, it’s still very clear that she cares deeply about him and wants to spare him from the worst that his ability to channel–to say nothing of his position as the Dragon Reborn–will inflict on his mind, his soul, and his body. As she will discover again and again throughout The Wheel of Time, her fate to be one of the most powerful and influential Aes Sedai in centuries often runs right into her bone-deep loyalties to Rand and the past that they shared.
Even as Egwene struggles through these tests, there are also indications that something is awry with the ter’angreal that are typically used to establish who is suited to being an Accepted. Though we’re not given an exact explanation as to what is going on, it’s yet another indication that things within the White Tower are even more unsettled than we, and Egwene, have been led to believe. In this case it very nearly costs her her life, though thankfully she doesn’t realize this fact until she has already passed–mostly safely–through the tests posed by the arches.
Say what you will about Egwene, but these chapters show just how formidable of a person she is and how she does seem to have a very grand future ahead of her as an Aes Sedai. Unlike Nynaeve–who, at this point, is still motivated primarily by getting revenge (more on that in a bit)--Egwene seems to be driven by genuine ambition, both to learn as much as she’s able to and to do everything in her considerable power to help Rand. Small wonder that the ter’angreal give her such terrible challenges to overcome. After all, if you want to achieve greatness in a world like this one, and in particular in a cutthroat realm like the White Tower, then you have to be able to endure quite a lot. I imagine Siuan Sanche would tell Egwene something similar.
For all that Egwene is the heart and soul of these chapters, these moments also reveal a great deal about Elaida and Verin, two of the other Aes Sedai who are fated to become ever more important parts of the story as their actions intertwine with those of the main characters. Verin, of course, is as enigmatic as always. As I’ve written here before, she is one of Jordan’s best literary creations, precisely because we know so little about her and because, right up until the end, we’re genuinely not sure if she is Black Ajah or not. Jordan gives us just enough information–both through other characters’ eyes and through brief viewpoint chapters from Verin’s point of view–to keep us coming back for more, never quite sure where we stand.
Just as fascinating is Elaida, who makes no secret of her antipathy toward Egwene and, by extension, anyone else who happens to be a wilder. Unlike Verin, who we’re repeatedly invited to like and appreciate (even if we can’t fully trust her), we’re never left in any doubt as to how we’re meant to feel about this member of the Red Ajah. She might have been willing to take Elayne under her wing, but the fact is that she is as rigid, inflexible, and ideologically zealous as any of the other members of her Ajah. She may not be Black Ajah but, as Egwene astutely remarks, she’s the next thing to it.
In fact, this chapter shows us how, despite her headstrong attitude and her tendency to leap into situations, Egwene actually has a very potent insight into the realities of the White Tower, even if she doesn’t realize it. It’s quite remarkable the extent to which Egwene’s third vision actually ends up being prescient, both in terms of predicting her own later rise to the Amyrlin Seat and in terms of Elaida’s coup against Siuan. Clearly there’s a part of her that is plugged into the Wheel, even if it’s just her subconscious.
Egwene’s tribulation ends when she comes back and finds Nynaeve comforting Elayne, who herself just went through the trial and, as the emotion overcomes her she ends up seeking comfort in the former Wisdom. I’ve always found this to be a very touching moment, since it shows that Nynaeve, for all of her short temper and her impatience with the younger women, truly does love them and wants to give them as much comfort as she can. At the same time, she also makes it clear that getting revenge against the Aes Sedai remains her primary mission. Nynaeve simply can’t bring herself to put aside her rage at what she sees as the damage they’ve done to the lives of those she loves most.
The Dragon Reborn continues to move at a deliberate pace, but I appreciate the way that Jordan broadens the scope so that we get greater insight into characters like Egwene. She will, of course, have much to learn as she goes on, particularly when it comes to the use of ter’angreal.
Until next week, Wheel of Time fam!