#you can hold entirely contradictory views or sympathies or analyses simultaneously

[neuxue]

Has the pandemic caused you to rethink your judgments of Mat & Perrin's reaction toward Rand as a channeler in the early books of the series? Specifically, dealing with people who don't want to mask or social distance up or refuse to get vaccinated?

I don't think that's the analogy I would use, for the main reason that vaccination, masking, and social distancing are things people choose not to do (obviously with some exceptions, more on that in a second), whereas channelling is something Rand is narratively stated to be unable to help.

So if we really wanted a Covid analogy, it would probably be a closer fit to liken him to someone who is, say, severely immunocompromised, can't safely get a vaccine, and is also classified as a key worker and thus can't isolate. Which would be a combination of factors that would mean he's very likely to get Covid, probably have severe symptoms of it, and also due to factors outside of his control spread it to others.

Leaving that analogy aside... in terms of Mat and Perrin's reactions towards learning Rand can channel, I think it's very much set up to be a frustrating situation to observe as a reader. Because of course you can see where they're coming from: this is a thing of nightmares for them, a thing they've heard horror stories about their entire lives. This is something that could hurt or kill anyone close to him, and they're close to him. It's terrifying and they're entirely unprepared and unequipped to deal with it. They're young and in many ways naive and this is so far above their paygrade; of course they don't handle it well.

But we're also watching this from Rand's viewpoint, and so as the reader you are positioned to understand that this isn't something he chose, and is something he would at that point rid himself of if he could. You're positioned to see how young and scared and alone he is, how terrified he is of this power he holds and the harm it might do. You're positioned to see how badly he needs his friends not to turn away from him.

Which doesn't mean he's Right and they're Wrong; it's frustrating (in a good/satisfying way, as a reader, at least in my opinion) precisely because as an outside observer you can see where everyone's coming from... but you can also see how it's going to actively make things worse, because that's how the story is set up. It's a point of conflict established very early on, and narratively it absolutely does its job.

And I'm probably even more fed up with protagonist-centred morality than I was when I started these books, so maybe I'd be more balanced in my articulation of my reactions to those scenes (though on the other hand I'm also fed up with the idea that you have to take a perfectly balanced stance on every comment you make on a work of fiction or else it's tacitly assumed that you Side With Character A And Hate Character B, but we'll just. shelve that essay for another day)... but again I think the point of those scenes is to be frustrating, and to make you as a reader want to shake everyone in them and go 'I get where you're coming from but this is going to fuck things up so much!' but also they can't hear you and ultimately if they could there'd be no story so the frustration is part of the experience, and part of the enjoyment.

And this was years ago now but I think much of my frame of mind when commenting on those scenes was one of 'aahhhh, no, don't do that, that's going to end so badly!' but not in the sense of criticising, if that makes sense. They react in a way that's absolutely in-character and understandable. They also react in a way that is narratively crafted to Fuck Things Up. And at book 2 of a series, Fucking Things Up is kind of the point - so as a reader you get to watch it and go 'uh oh' the way you sit on a roller-coaster car as it starts climbing a very, very high ascent.

#something I've often found challenging in the course of the WoT liveblog #is making it clear when I'm Actually Criticising something vs when I'm just... #reacting the way the text wants me to be reacting? #it's one of those 'meet the story where it is' kinds of things sometimes #the narrative WANTS you to be frustrated or excited or scared or whatever #and you can embrace that on one level even if on another level you're looking from a different perspective #you can sympathise with a character's position because that's what the narrative intends #while ALSO understanding why other characters behave the way they do #one of the joys of fiction is that you can look at a conflict and feel like /everyone/ is 'right' (or like no one is) #you can pick every side or some sides or no sides #you can hold entirely contradictory views or sympathies or analyses simultaneously #do I want to shake Mat and Perrin until they pull their heads out of their asses? sure! #do I think that the story would probably be less satisfying if they were on board with it all from the start? also yes #anyway that was a digression and perhaps not the most coherent one but hey that's what tags are for #asks #anon #wheel of time #covid cw