Re-Reading "The Shadow Rising": "Chapter 19: The 'Wavedancer'," "Chapter 20: Winds Rising," and "Chapter 21: Into the Heart"
As Elayne and Nynaeve set off for Tanchico, Moiraine shows again why she is one of the series' most fascinating, and ruthless, characters.
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Well, things are finally starting to move along in The Shadow Rising though, in typical Wheel of Time fashion, they’re still quite slow. The first two chapters for this week focus on Elayne and Nynaeve as they begin their journey to Tanchico in the company of the Sea Folk, while the latter gives us one of the very rare (but always very welcome) insights into Moiraine’s state of mind as Rand continues to shake Tear to its foundations.
Even though she is a relative newcomer to POV chapters, I’ll admit that I love Elayne (though not as much as I love Nynaeve). She might have been raised as the Daughter-Heir of Andor, but that doesn’t mean that she is willing to lean on her pedigree to get things done. Indeed, one of Elayne’s most appealing qualities is the fact that she has a genuine concern and care for the common folk. She goes out of her way to make sure that those who are lower than she is in the social order feel as if they matter. Say what you will about Morgase, but it’s clear that she’s inculcated in her daughter some very ethical practices when it comes to ruling.
This attention to the needs and wants of the commoners not only sets Elayne apart from the High Lords of Tear–who, as we’ve seen repeatedly, really do not think of their social betters as actual people deserving of rights–but also from many royals in our own world. One gets the sense that Jordan is drawing on Princess Diana in his characterization of Elayne, and this helps to explain why she is so much fun to spend time with. She’s heroic in the most basic sense of the term, in that she truly does want to make the world a better place. It’s also quite fun to watch her clash and mesh with Nynaeve who, as we’ve already seen, is quite prone to letting her own desires get in the way of social niceties.
I also enjoyed the way that these chapters really immerse us in the strange, exotic, and yet deeply egalitarian world of the Sea Folk. Like the Aiel, they have their own way of doing things and their own complicated social mores and, also like the Aiel–and many of the other “exotic” peoples of The Wheel of Time–much of their existence has been shaped by their origins in the aftermath of the Age of Legends and its cataclysmic destruction. While it can sometimes get a bit bewildering, I give Jordan a great deal of credit for being able to sketch out so many different ethnic groups with such remarkable detail. It’s really quite astonishing when you sit down and think about it, and one can’t help but be in awe of his ability to keep his own civilizations and cultures straight when writing about them.
Moreover, there are also hints that the Sea Folk aren’t as vulnerable to the Seanchan as some of the other folks of the Westlands. The fact that they were able to defeat them is also a sign that the Sea Folk, contrary to what they might want outsiders to believe, are quite capable of channeling and doing so in ways that even the Aes Sedai have barely begun to imagine. Then again, considering that they are literally born on the water–in an interesting juxtaposition to the Aiel, for whom water is always both a blessing and a threat–it makes sense that they would have developed ways of engaging with it that go far beyond what anyone bound to the land might be able to imagine. When it comes to their skills on the sea–but the Sea Folk aren’t going to be bullied by anyone, not even those who claim to be the descendants of Artur Hawkwing himself. (It’s also worth noting that their own prophecies, like those of the Aiel, correspond to those of the Dragon even though, as they are at pains to make clear, they don't map onto them exactly. Rand, as we see again and again, is many things to many people).
I was also quite struck by Elayne’s conversation with Thom and how revealing it is of the historical consciousness that suffuses the Wheel of Time ethos. Despite the fact that Thom is more than a little conceited–and rightly so, considering both his musical skills and his abilities at playing the game of politics–he’s not foolish enough to believe that his life and contributions will be accurately remembered by those who come in later Ages. This series reminds us, again and again, that there is no telling or controlling how history will remember us. All we can do is the best that we can, an injunction that weighs particularly heavily on men like Thom, who are caught up in the tempest that is the end of one Age and the beginning of the next. No matter whether Rand ends up victorious at the Last Battle or whether he goes down in defeat, the world that he has inherited will never be the same as it was before.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on we also get some important insight into Moiraine. I continue to insist that she is by far the most exciting and interesting character in the entire saga–except perhaps for Verin–and so I always look forward to those chapters where we get to spend time inside her head. She is, surprisingly enough, just as cold and calculating in her own thoughts as she is in her engagements with others, and she repeatedly makes it clear that she isn’t going to let Rand to the Dark, no matter what it takes to ensure that that doesn’t come about.
What’s especially striking about Moiraine’s chapter is just how willing she is to deal out death if it means that Rand will be able to survive to fight the Last Battle. Of all of the characters that we meet in The Wheel of Time, she is the one with the keenest sense of the sacrifices that must sometimes be made on the altar of the big picture. Of course, she’s had years to perfect this method of thought and, as she makes clear near the end, she’s also sacrificed more than a little in her pursuit of the Dragon Reborn. One can hardly blame her if she tends to grow impatient with the young Emond’s Fielders that she’s taken under her wing, just as one can’t help but share her frustration that Rand refuses to trust her judgment, despite the fact that he’s a bit of a dunce. At the same time, one also can’t help but feel at least a little queasy about the fact that she is so willing to manipulate Lan, a man who has already given up a great deal to be her Warder. But, as I’m sure Moiraine would be sure to remind us, desperate times often call for desperate measures.
Overall, I really loved getting to read these chapters. The canvas of The Wheel of Time continues to expand again as our various characters are dispersed to the various corners of the continent. As time will tell, it will be a very long time indeed before any of them get to see one another again. There is a very long and treacherous road ahead for all of them, and no one is ever going to be the same.