Re-Reading "The Great Hunt": "Chapter 41: Disagreements," "Chapter 42: Falme," and "Chapter 43: A Plan"

As "The Great Hunt" hurtles toward its conclusion, all of the characters are drawn to Falme, where a titanic confrontation with the sinister Seanchan awaits.

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Things are really heating up in The Great Hunt, as we’re not within the last 100 pages or so of the book. All of the plot threads that we’ve encountered so far are starting to converge at Toman Head, with Rand and company drawing close and Nynaeve and Elayne joining forces with Min to liberate Egwene from the clutches of the Seanchan. Even though nothing exactly happens in this week’s three chapters, the stage is nevertheless set for the confrontations that will prove so pivotal to the various characters and their respective arcs. 

As I wrote last week, it’s jarring–heartbreaking, even–to see Egwene reduced to a damane and treated like nothing so much as a pet (she’s even given a new name as punishment for daring to use the One Power without permission). This is one of those moments where Jordan excels at weaving us into the mind and body and soul of a person who has, for all intents and purposes, been enslaved. He allows us to see in excruciating detail how such a process is inherently dehumanizing, and how the Seanchan–and the sul’dam in particular–are so adept at manipulating the damane and breaking them in mind and spirit as well as in body. 

All of this is maybe even more disheartening and heartbreaking by the knowledge that actual Aes Sedai have been captured by these invaders, their minds and spirit broken. Given the extent to which we’ve already seen how strong the Aes Sedai are and how important they will be in the fight against the Dark One, this lands with a particularly heavy hand on the reader. Even if, like Rand, we’re a little bit skeptical of them and their intentions, it’s still horrifying to think of such empowered women reduced to such an abject state. 

If there’s one bright side to all of this, it’s that Egwene at the very least has learned more about the use of the One Power than she ever would have done in the White Tower. As I noted last week, this entire encounter with the Seanchan, as traumatizing as it is (and make no mistake, it is very traumatizing) will end up having profound consequences for both Egwene and those whose lives are impacted by the things that she is now able to do. In Jordan’s world, even the most awful things often have unexpectedly positive consequences. 

There is also, I think, a strident criticism of imperialism nestled within the whole Seanchan storyline. These are the descendants of someone, after all, who left the continent centuries before, yet now they think they are somehow entitled to own everything with which they come into contact just because they happen to be descended from one of the sons of Artur Hawkwing. Theirs is a culture that is so rigidly hierarchical that they have trouble thinking outside of it, a shortcoming that others will be eager to exploit. 

 Fortunately for Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne aren’t going to just sit by and let her be tortured and beaten into submission. These chapters give us yet more evidence that Nynaeve is truly one of the most badass characters that Robert Jordan ever created. In the space of just two books she’s gone from being the Wisdom of a small town in the middle of nowhere to finding herself in the middle of the enemy’s camp, determined to rescue her friend. As she proves in her encounter with Bayle Domon, she is someone who recognizes the power that comes just from looking as if you know what you’re doing, regardless of whether or not you actually do. She’s already proving that she is a force to be reckoned with and, though she is at the moment little more than a supporting player, so is Elayne. When these two get together, there’s almost nothing that they can’t do. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Min, who has her own role to play in the efforts to rescue Egwene. One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about Min is the extent to which she is always willing to do something, rather than just wait around. This is true even when it’s clear that she has no power to really help Egwene. It’s her good fortune that she manages to cross paths with Nynaeve and Elayne, the first of many times that their fates will intertwine with one another, with consequences that radiate throughout the world. (As a brief aside, I will say that Min is one of those who has suffered a bit when it comes to the Amazon series. I’m hoping that they find a way to bring her on-screen character closer to the badass she is in the books).

While all of this is going on, poor Rand is feeling pulled in a number of different directions. On the one hand, he hopes to go to Toman Head and meet Fain there, but there’s no reason to think that the sinister little man is going to be there after all of this time. The real climax of the chapter, of course, is yet another encounter with Ba'alzamon. Say what you will about Ishamael, the man is absolutely committed to getting Rand to bend to his will. Even after all of this time, even after the fact that Rand was very nearly able to defeat him, he still yearns for his submission so deeply that he's willing to continue pursuing him, to bend him to his will. 

By this point we know that there’s not much left of the novel, and yet so much has yet to happen! Say what you will about Robert Jordan, but the man was remarkably skilled at drawing us into a plot, stranding us there, and then hitting us with a truly spectacular ending. We may not know how the various plot threads of The Great Hunt are going to be resolved, but we know without a doubt that it’s going to be a conflagration that’s even more terrifying than that in The Eye of the World. 

I cannot wait!